"A terrible destiny seems to oppress the whole family. The little girl, her father's darling, disappeared one day without leaving a trace behind her, and the other child was struck dead by lightning while the mother was watching by its sick bed; the mother was killed at the same time."
The General was deeply affected by these words. The heart of the iron man trembled.
"Merciful God...!"
"Old Hétfalusy had a stroke when the dreadful tidings reached him."
"No, no! He did not deserve so much suffering. Fate has been more rigorous towards him than he deserved."
"And as if this were not enough—you knew Hétfalusy's son who became a soldier?"
"I knew him. He was a hot-blooded youth, warfare might have made a good soldier of him."
"Well, he quarrelled with his captain in Poland and fired a pistol at him."
"A misfortune, a great misfortune," said the General, pressing his fists so tightly together that if there had been anything inside them it would have been crushed to pieces.
"After this deed the youth fled."