I expressed my fears to Mecsey, who promptly proposed that we should discover where the colonel had been taken.
This, however, was more easily said than done, as we soon found.
Russian troops in charge of their prisoners were marching in all directions, and it was impossible to scan them all.
We went about hither and thither, asking questions of the crowd to little purpose; but at length we had the good fortune to meet with a number of soldiers belonging to the 9th Honveds, who had slipped from the ranks at the very moment of surrender.
They were all looking miserable and dejected; but one, catching sight of me, ran up eagerly.
"From the colonel, sir," he cried joyfully; "though neither of us ever expected I should have the luck to meet you."
He took a folded paper from his pocket, and I pounced on it quickly. Here, no doubt, was the very information we sought; but in this I was disappointed.
The dear, unselfish fellow, indifferent to his own fate, had used the last moments of his freedom to send me a warning.
"Look out for yourself," the note ran; "your name alone will get you into trouble. Give Gyula [that was my home] a wide berth till the wolves are gorged.--J.R."
Not a word either of hope or fear for himself; all his cares were for me.