"At home."
CHAPTER XXVII.
THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER.
Ödön could not persuade himself that Boksa had done him a kindness in bringing him home. It was a time of torturing suspense for all the family. The Austrian general had been duly informed where Ödön Baradlay could be found, and a summons from him was daily expected. Poor Aranka could not hear a door open, or the sound of a strange step, without starting and turning pale. Every day, when the mail came, they all ran to look over the letters and make sure that the dreaded call to Ödön was not among them.
One day a suspicious-looking letter came to view addressed in German to "Herr Eugen von Baradlay."
Eugen—why, that was German for Jenő. He opened the letter, read it, and put it in his pocket. All the family were present, and his mother asked him from whom his letter came, and what news it brought. But Jenő only answered, "I must go on a journey."
"Whither and for what purpose?" asked the baroness.
"I can't sit idle here any longer," he replied. "One of my brothers has vanished from our sight, and the other daily expects to be taken prisoner. Such a life is more than I can bear any longer. It is my turn now to try what I can do."
"But what can you do?" asked his mother.
"That is my secret."