“It was my custom to keep sentinels posted in the top of my old tower who watched for small parties of travelers and single wayfarers on the roads crossing my lands. When they appeared my horsemen would go out and relieve them of two thirds of the money and other valuables that they happened to have with them. They would then be provided with a token which they could show to the minions of neighboring vassals of the king, over whose lands they might have occasion to pass, and these tokens would insure immunity from further high financing--to use a modern expression. We always respected these tokens from other domains, so you see the system enabled the traveling public to retain quite a decent portion of gold and worldly goods, considering the opportunities offered to business enterprise. We were called robber barons at that time, and the term may sound a little harsh, but we were universally respected throughout the country. Nowadays our practices would be called mild profiteering, and leaving the wayfarers a third of their pelf when there was a chance to get it all would be considered magnanimous charity. “In return for these privileges from the crown it was my custom to send a wagon load of Turk’s heads to the King about once a month, and this was a source of great gratification to him. I was enabled to collect the trophies by frequent sorties with my forces against small bodies of Turks that were constantly hovering along our frontiers and making sudden forays into our territory. “After King Mathias defeated Frederick of Austria, who had had the impudence to proclaim himself King of Hungary, and who intended to exterminate all of us if he was successful, Mathias moved his army against the Turks. This war was successful, and after the capture of Jaicza in Bosnia by assault, I was placed in charge of the conquered districts and made a duke. After this we had another war with Frederick and I was one of the generals commanding the army that captured Vienna after a short siege in 1487. “The Magyars were a wonderful people. There was a man named Kinisi in our army when we were attacked by the Turks under Ali Bey. In the heat of the battle he rushed among the enemy and rescued a fallen friend. We were getting badly worsted in this battle, but this signal act of bravery inspired the Magyars and the Turks were almost annihilated. In the midst of the rejoicing over the victory, Kinisi was seen holding the body of a Turk by his teeth, and two others in his arms, and executing the Hungarian national dance. I mention this as a sample of his hardihood and originality for the reason that I have asked his shade to visit me in this tower, and it may happen that he will appear to you if conditions permit. Kinisi was what the world calls an honest man--that is to say he would never pick up anything that was too hot to hold, or take anything that was out of his reach. My reason for inviting my spiritual confrère here may seem a little queer to you.