Mr. King. He led me through several vaults till we came to a door which led into an underground passage, and this ended in a cave, which I took good note of, so that I could find it again; and when we had passed through[Pg 65] it and reached the open air, my spirits rose. We went on through a thick wood, Mr. Samson taking the lead. The night was dark and stormy. I kept him talking all the while, and tried to enliven him with all sorts of jokes; and he actually called me a very sly dog, and laughed himself as if he enjoyed them.

[Pg 65]

"We had been going on about a couple of hours, when Mr. Samson said we had reached our destination, and that before long a rich Jew would be passing by, and that he had a well-filled money-bag which we were to take away from him. He warned me to be careful, and not to use my dagger unless he called out.

"I suppose Mr. Samson had heard of the rich Jew's coming from his Jew friends, who frequently came to the castle without any one's knowing anything about it—so I heard from Kálmán—and by secret ways which he had told them of.

"The moon shone out through the thick trees for a moment, and I saw that Mr. Samson was standing near a footpath, and facing a narrow opening in the wood, about three steps away from me.

"Presently I fancied that I heard footsteps, and Mr. Samson whispered, 'Come here behind me, quietly, that they may not hear you.'

"In a short time I saw a dark shadow moving[Pg 66] towards us. Mr. Samson stood like a lynx, stiff and motionless, with his eyes fixed on the approaching Jew.

[Pg 66]

"'Now,' thought I, 'now or never!' and I drew out a rope-noose which I had kept carefully hidden under my dolmány. The next moment I had thrown it over Mr. Samson's shoulders, and so successfully that his two arms were pinioned to his body, and he was helpless in a moment.

"'Traitor!' roared Mr. Samson, and in a moment he gave a stab backwards with his dagger in spite of his pinioned arm, and he did it so cleverly too that it went about three inches deep into me. Fortunately it struck my thigh-bone, or there would have been an end of me.

"The pain was sharp, but in spite of that I pulled the noose tighter, and then I suddenly tripped him up with my foot, and threw him down.

"'Here! here!' I cried 

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