A thought then occurred to me. My face became suddenly brighter.
"Lorand, of course you are joking; you are fooling me. You merely wished to alarm me. We are all going away to the country to enjoy ourselves! and you only wished to take the drowsiness from my eyes when you told me father was dead."
At these words Lorand clasped his hands, and, with motionless, agonized face, groaned out:
"Desi, don't torture me; don't torture me with your smiling face."
This caused me to be still more alarmed. I began to tremble, seized one of his arms, and implored him not to be angry. Of course, I believed what he said.
He could see that I believed, for all my limbs were trembling.
"Let us go to him, Lorand."
My brother merely gazed at me as if he were horrified at what I had said.
"To father?"
"Yes. What if I speak to him, and he awakes?"