“I’ll tell you when we are alone.” And when no one else was within earshot he told us the news he brought. I remember clearly that I nodded and wondered at the same time why I did so. My mother has been examined.... Eight armed soldiers surrounded our cottage. Meanwhile detectives examined everybody in the house separately. It lasted two hours. They were threatening and declared that it was useless to try to deceive them, they were on my track and knew full well where I was. My mother showed the letter I had written to her and declared it had reached her from the other side of the Danube. That was all she knew about me. She seemed cool and composed all the time and she looked so haughtily at them that suddenly they ceased calling her comrade. They even took their hats off and talked to her bareheaded. After they had left, my sister Mary found my mother in her room lying on the sofa. She was in a state of collapse and cried bitterly. On her table lay the warrant for my arrest. “I cannot bear the sight of it,” she said. “Put it somewhere where I cannot see it.” No tears came to my eyes, and yet I was sobbing inwardly and unseen. I saw by their faces that they thought I was quite collected. My brothers and sisters were questioned too, principally Vera, who had worked so much with me in the interests of the Counter-revolution, and Géza. They were called to the police station. Charles Kiss also was arrested. He came before a Jewish monster called Juhász, the head of the investigation department of the political police. The other officials were just like him. The office was all dirt, confusion and Jews. “They filled me with disgust and when I found myself unguarded I escaped.” He laughed like a naughty boy who had played a prank. And I laughed too, though my heart was breaking. Then suddenly I thought, what if they were to arrest my mother in my place? Or take some other hostage?... The room reeled round me at the thought. “I must go home and give myself up,” I stammered. All of them began to argue at this. It would be sheer madness, they said; nobody would suffer for me. “I shall bring disaster on this house too....” I tried to find words to express my regret. Meanwhile the others were planning my escape. I only realised this when T heard that my family wanted me to fly the country. [Illustration: BÉLA JUHASZ _alias_ GOLDSTEIN. A CHIEF OF THE SECRET POLICE. ] [Illustration: JOSEPH PECZKAI. ONE OF SZÁMUELLY’S “DEATH TRAIN” COMPANY. ] “Through Balassagyarmat....” I heard Elisabeth approve the plan. Aladár Huszár was sure to help me across the river Ipoly.