"You do not know?—go and look again."
His friend hesitated.
"Let me go—I must know," said Imre impatiently, as the young man endeavoured to detain him.
"O stay, Imre, you cannot look on them; they are all—headless!"
"My God!" exclaimed the young man, covering his face with both his hands, and, bursting into tears, he threw himself down with his face upon the earth.
His comrades questioned the Wallachian closely as to what he knew about the young girl. First he returned no answer, pretending to be drunk and not to understand; but on their promising to spare his life, on the sole condition that he would speak the truth, he confessed that she had been carried away to the mountains, where the band were to cast lots for her.
"I must go!" said Imre, starting as if from a trance.
"Whither?" inquired his comrades.
"To seek her! Take off your dress," he continued, turning to the Wallachian, "you may have mine in exchange;" and, hastily putting on the tunic, he concealed his pistols in the girdle beneath it.
"We will follow you," said his comrades, taking up their arms; "we will seek her from village to village."