After waiting two days at Waitzen we learned that Görgei, by a sharp manoeuvre, had joined hands with Perczel, and that the Austrians were marching into Pesth.
Many of us had wondered at being sent with stores to Waitzen, but now we began to understand something of our leader's foresight.
Leaving the main army to retreat behind the Theiss, Görgei, making a great show with his scanty numbers, turned north to join us, and this drew the bulk of the Austrians on his own track.
Amongst the first of the advance-guard to arrive at Waitzen was my brother Stephen; and though he had little leisure for conversation, the meeting did us both good.
He was looking a trifle thinner, but in good health, and related with much glee his experiences with the general. According to his account, he lived almost entirely in the saddle, slept at odd times where he could, ate what he could pick up, and had not once taken off his clothes since we left him.
Of the general he spoke enthusiastically.
"Görgei never gets tired," he said. "He is made of iron, and can do without sleep. As to riding, I never saw any one like him. After a day's hard work he'll jump into the saddle and ride to the outposts at full gallop on a pitch-dark night and in the stormiest weather. At first I used to ache in every muscle, but I'm getting used to it. Now I'm off to Kremnitz."
For several days longer we remained at Waitzen picking up recruits from the north, and then moved on towards Kremnitz.
Rakoczy and I had been regularly appointed as major and lieutenant in the 9th Honved regiment, the men of which were well equipped and in fairly good spirits.
The recruits had brought our numbers up to about twenty thousand; and, leaving Kremnitz, we marched in a south-west direction to make Windischgratz believe we were striking at Vienna. In this we succeeded, and thus prevented the Austrian general from crushing our main army, then in full retreat to Debreczin, behind the Theiss.