Béldi decided to remain; shame prevented him from flying.
Nevertheless, Michael Vay told his wife and children of his danger and they insisted, supplicating him on their knees, that he should hasten away and save himself.
"And what about you?" asked Béldi, looking at his tearful family.
He had two handsome sons, and his daughter Aranka had grown up a lovely damsel; she was the apple of her father's eye, his pride and his glory.
"What about you?" he asked with a troubled voice.
"You can more easily defend us at Stambul than here," said Dame Béldi; and Béldi saw that that was a word spoken in season.
That word changed his resolve, for, indeed, by seeking a refuge at the Porte, he would be able to help himself and his family much more, and perhaps even give a better turn to the fortunes of his country. There, too, many of the highest viziers were his friends who had very great influence in affairs.
He immediately had his horse saddled, and after taking leave of his family with the utmost confidence, he escaped through the Bozza Pass the same night with an escort of a few chosen servants into Wallachia, where he found many other fugitive colleagues, and with them he took refuge at the Porte—then the highest court of appeal for Transylvania.