At last the street door opened, and steps made direct for his door.
Only let him come! but he, whom he expected did not come alone: the first to open his door was not Pepi Gyáli, but his brother, Desiderius. By chance they had met.
Lorand received his brother in a very spiritless manner. It was not he whom he wished to see now. Yet he rushed to embrace Lorand with a face beaming triumph.
"Well, and what has happened, that you are beaming so?"
"The school tribunal has acquitted me: yet I drew everything on myself and did not throw any suspicion on you."
"I hope you would be insulted if I praised you for it. Every ordinary man of honor would have done the same. It is just as little a merit not to be a traitor as it is a great ignominy to be one. Am I not right? Pepi,—my friend?"
Pepi Gyáli decided that Lorand could not have heard of his treachery and would not know it until he was placed in some safe place. He answered naturally enough that no greater disgrace existed on earth than that of treachery.
"But why did you summon me in such haste," he enquired, offering his hand confidently to Lorand; the latter allowed him to grasp his hand—on which was a glove.
"I merely wished to ask you if you would take my vis-à-vis in the ball to-night following my farewell banquet?"
"With the greatest pleasure. You need not even have asked me. Where you are, I must be also."