One morning Éva was absent from school. A few hours into class time the butcher stopped by the school and asked if anyone had seen Éva, but no one had. He continued to ask around town, but no one in town had had seen her either.
That afternoon when school was over, the bishop went to the orphanage to play football with the boys. There were a lot of children playing on the grass. The bishop then saw a man on a horse ride out from some trees and head toward the playground. He watched as the man rode up to Maria, grabbed her, and then rode back into the trees. Maria was kicking and screaming. A wagon had just pulled into the orphanage carrying building materials. The bishop ran to the wagon and told the man that he needed one of his horses so that he could go after the man that had taken Maria. As the man driving the wagon unhitched his horses, the bishop ran to the woodshed and grabbed a short axe. He got back to the wagon, jumped on one of the horse’s backs, and rode after the kidnapper. It had rained the night before so he could see where the man’s horse’s hooves had sunk into the mud. He had a pretty easy trail to follow. The bishop heard someone riding behind him. It was the fellow that owned the wagon on his other horse. He had come to help him. It didn’t take long before they saw the man and Maria. He had stopped and met up with three other men. He had his hands full. Maria was kicking and biting him with all her might. The wagon driver jumped off his horse and pulled out his double-barrel pistol. Suddenly something flew through the air towards him and he fell to the ground with an axe buried deep inside his skull. Luis was already off his horse and his gun pulled out. He went toward the man who was holding Maria and shot him clean between the eyes. The man’s lifeless body fell into the creek he was standing next to.
Maria ran but the three other men grabbed her; they too struggled to contain her. For being so small, Maria was one hell of a fighter. One of the men pulled out his pistol to shoot Louis but Louis beat him to it; his body fell into the creek as well. The two other men had swords and charged toward Louis. He easily disarmed one of the men and then the other. Armed with a sword in each hand, Louis was quick to make minced meat of the two remaining kidnappers. Little did they know who that had gone up against.
As Luis ran to Maria, he noticed that Éva and three other girls were being held captive in a wooden cage. Once he freed the girls, he walked with them back to the orphanage and surprisingly the horses followed them. Louis felt that it was the hand of God leading them along.
When Luis and the girls arrived to the orphanage, the sisters ran out and tended to the girls. Some of the girls’ dresses were ripped into rags, so he told one of the sisters that he was going to ride into town to get some new dresses for the girls.
Luis took Éva into town with him so that he could take her back to her parents. It was late when they got into town. He knocked on the butcher’s door. When he answered it, he saw Éva standing there and he and his wife ran and hugged her.
He also brought in the six horses with him. He had a small stable and a small corral. He put two horses in the corral and two in the stable. As he was putting the horses up he saw the butcher walking toward him. He told the bishop that Éva had told them about the fight between him and the kidnappers. He thanked Luis profusely and helped him feed and water the horses. Luis then asked him if he had room to house the other two horses. He did, so he took them back to his stable.
The news of what had happened went through town like wildfire. Father Miklos stopped by to talk to Luis about what had happened and he explained everything to him. Father Miklos was amazed.
The next morning Luis got up and put on his best Cossack, his best pair of boots, and his purple sash. As he walked toward the church, he saw that there was a big crowd that had gathered in front of the building. As he reached the crowd, men and women alike graciously shook his hand. Soon after, a carriage pulled in front of the church carrying the Nagyváradis. Big Luke stepped out and went over to Bishop Luis and gave him a big hug. As they walked inside the church they talked a little. Luis told Luke in broken Hungarian that all of the missing girls had been rescued. It was only then that Luke saw the fighting man that lived inside Luis.
When Father Miklos got to the church, Luis asked him to tell Luke that he wanted to go out and give the kidnappers a proper Christian burial after the services were over. That Sunday every seat was filled. There were even people standing along the back walls and out the door. Father Miklos and all of the girls were sitting on the front row. Father Miklos talked for about 10 minutes about the girls and the fight that had ensued to get them back.
After the services, Luke and eight men with shovels were waiting outside for Luis. The bishop went home to change and they headed out. Miklos did the same; he wanted to help too.
When they got out the kidnappers, they happened upon a messy scene. A wild boar was feeding on one of the men. Big Luke shot and killed the boar and then the men buried the half-eaten man. They then dragged the other men out of the water. Their bodies were in real bad condition. While their graves were being dug, a few of the other men went through their pockets looking for money or money belts. Father Miklos was in charge of that. They ended up collecting quite a bit of money off the four men. After they had a short funeral service, they headed home.
Luis asked Luke if he could keep the kidnappers’ horses; Luke insisted. He then asked Luke if he would supply him with a small buggy to get around in, and of course Luke didn’t hesitate to grant that request either.
Luis came home to two slabs of bacon, a dozen lengths of kolbasz, and a large ham hanging in his pantry, along with some freshly baked bread. He invited Miklos over that night to help him put a dent in the meat.
That next morning Miklos brought over some eggs and they fixed a nice breakfast. Miklos had plenty of eggs to go around; he had 20 chickens.
While they were eating, there was a knock at the door. A woman and her daughter were standing at the door. It was one of the girls Luis had rescued. They were holding two big jars of pickles. They didn’t have much but she wanted to thank him somehow. As she spoke, Miklos translated for Luis. He told him that she had a heavy wagon with only one horse. Luis asked Miklos to ask her why she only had one horse for such a wagon. She said that her other horse had died and she had no way of getting another. She told him that she had a hard time plowing with just the one horse. Her husband had been killed and she was raising five girls by herself. She and her girls did all of the farming. Luis asked if she had any hay for her horses. She said that she had a big pasture that could be cut but she didn’t have the time to do it. Luis had Miklos tell her that he would cut her pasture if she would sell him some of the hay. Luis then offered to loan her one of his horses.
They all went over to the butcher’s stable to look at the two horses he was holding for Luis. Miklos told the butcher that they were going to loan one of the horses to Mrs. Vajos because she only had one horse and she needed another. The butcher then told Miklos that he also was in need of a second horse. Miklos told Luis what the butcher had said. Luis then had Miklos tell the butcher to take his pick of the two and then Mrs. Vajos would take the other. The butcher took the gelding and Mrs. Vajos took the mare.
They tied the mare to Mrs. Vajos’ wagon. Before she headed out, Luis had Miklos tell her that he was planning on cutting her pasture the next day because he needed hay for his horses.
That next morning he hitched up to the bandits’ wagon and headed out to the Vajos’ farm. He cut all day long and still had another day’s worth of cutting left. They fed him very well. He left his wagon and one horse at their farm and rode the other horse home. He then rode back the next day.
After he finished all of the cutting, he then started to help the girls turn the hay. He figured that the first cut hay would be ready in two more days and the second cut hay would be ready in three.
The next day he went back out and loaded his wagon full. After he had finished, he helped the Vajos girls fill their barn full of
hay. Mrs. Vajos was very happy. She had been steadily plowing her field the entire time everyone else was taking care of the hay. Luis then told her that as soon as the pasture was high enough to cut again, he would like to cut it. She happily agreed.
As his Hungarian improved, Luis became more and more involved in the community. He and Father Miklos were very good friends. Miklos took care of all the finances. While Miklos was at the church every morning hearing confessions, he gave Luis unlimited time to ride out to the different farms to see if he could be of service. This was how Luis met up with a farmer named Farkas.
Farkas had a place close to the forest and had quite a problem with the wild boars and hogs eating his crops. Luis told him that he would help with his problem. Early the next morning Luis loaded his two rifles in his wagon and headed out to the Farkas farm. While he was surveying the property he saw and shot a wild boar. Mr. Farkas heard the shot and took his wagon out to where Luis was. As he arrived, a sow came out from the corn field and Luis shot it. Farkas tied the sow’s leg behind his wagon and dragged it over to a tree where he started to skin it out. Luis helped all that he could. They pulled the hog up to finish skinning it and then split it in half with an axe. Then they untied the rope and lowered the hog into Farkas’ wagon and he took it home to butcher it. Farkas asked Luis what part of the sow he wanted. He told him that he’d take a shoulder and take it to the orphanage.
When Luis got to the orphanage, he ended up boning the hog shoulder out for goulash. The doctor was there and he told Luis that the children didn’t get fresh meat very often.
When Luis got home, he ran into Éva and told her about the sow and the boar that he had shot earlier that morning. A little while later the butcher went over to Luis’ house and asked him if he could get some hogs. Luis told him he wasn’t sure but he’d try.
The next morning Luis took the butcher out to Farkas’ farm. It didn’t take long before they shot a sow. They dragged it over to the tree, skinned it, chopped it in two, lowered it on their wagon, and then headed home. It took the butcher two days to prepare the meat to go in his smokehouse.
Mr. Farkas talked to Luis that next Sunday and he told him that he saw another boar and some sows in his corn again. Luis and the butcher went out after the hogs. They shot the boar and dragged it out of the field. Then they shot a sow and took it home.
Luis heard that farmer Rozaia Béla had fallen from his wagon and broke his leg. He immediately went out to his farm to see if he needed any help. He spent the next two weeks plowing up Rozaia Béla’s field. Because of Luis, the farmer was able to get his spring wheat in just in time. His kindness was greatly appreciated.
Hajos Ferenc came down with a bad fever and they took him to the hospital. He then broke out in sores and the doctor’s feared that it was smallpox. Luis went by to see what was going on. When he arrived the doctors were away, so he went in to check on Hajos Ferenc. Ferenc was burning up, so Luis applied some cool wet rags to his forehead to try to cool him down. Dr. Van Baden from the orphanage stopped in. She told Luis that Ferenc’s diagnosis was not good and he didn’t have long to live. Luis stayed and took care of Ferenc for four days. Dr. Van Baden came back several times and gave Ferenc some powders and Luis kept him hydrated with tea. Four days later Ferenc was conscious and Dr. Van Baden brought him some broth to eat. Luis went home and changed his clothes and then went straight back to the hospital and stayed with Ferenc until he was well enough to go home. His kindness was once again greatly appreciated. Everyone in town and the surrounding countryside all agreed that Luis was by far the best priest they had ever had.
20
Luis received a letter from Esztergon. It was from the cardinal stating that Luis was going to be replaced with a Hungarian bishop. Luis, letter in hand, went straightway to Kisvárda to talk to Luke. Luke told him that he had received a letter stating the same thing. He said that the cardinal and another bishop would be arriving soon. Luke was going to meet with the cardinal and try to straighten things out.
When the cardinal and the bishop arrived, Luke picked them up at the rail station. Luke tried to reason with the cardinal but he told Luke that he had already made up his mind; he would not reconsider. He then asked Luke if the Frenchman had moved out of the bishop quarters.
Luke told him, “Bishop Luis is living in home in Nagyvárad that does not belong to the church. He is welcome to stay there as long as he wants.”
After Luke put the cardinal and the bishop up at the castle, he sent a corporal to deliver a message to Uncle John. It read, “Send 40,000 kronen. I may need it.”
The next day was Sunday and everyone was at church. Luke talked to all of the elders and none of them wanted to loose Bishop Luis. The cardinal and the Hungarian bishop then entered the church with Luke, Luis, and Father Miklos following behind them. After everyone had taken their seats, the cardinal addressed the congregation. He explained that he had brought a new Hungarian bishop with him that would be taking over for Bishop Luis. He stated that Bishop Luis would have to go back to France or Saltsburg. The wheel write stood up and told the cardinal that the elders had voted and they wanted Father Luis to remain. They didn’t want any changes.
The wheel write stated, “The local population likes Father Luis and they don’t want him to go. He is the best bishop we have ever had.”
The cardinal addressed the crowd stating, “I am the one that makes the changes concerning the bishops. To oppose me can get you excommunicated.”
After the cardinal spoke these words, people began to exit the church. As a group of people were heading toward the door, the butcher stood up and said, “Go ahead and excommunicate this whole town.”
The cardinal wasn’t expecting this type of reaction and was quite surprised to say the least. Luke then went and whispered in the cardinals ear, “Let’s go over to the bishop’s house so we can talk,” and the cardinal followed him there. When they walked into the house, there was a small sack sitting on the table. Luke picked it up and emptied some of its contents onto the table. He then told the archbishop, “Nagyvárad had its own archbishop 60 years ago, and I think it is time we have our own again. We want you to recommend to the pope that Father Luis be promoted to the archbishop of Nagyvárad. If you comply, you can walk away with the 40,000 kronen in this sack. If Luis becomes the archbishop, we guarantee you another 40,000 kronen free and clear. Luis is staying here. He’s the only one that has been able to get our entire community attending church.”
The cardinal looked at Luke and said, “Well, it looks like you had better take me back to the railroad station. I’ve been here far too long.”
After they left, Luis and Father Miklos got everybody back into church to finish mass. Luis told the people, “I plan on staying in Nagyvárad for the rest of his life, even if it means living out the rest of my days as an altar boy. This is my home, you are my family, and this is where I belong.”
After the services were over, Luke showed Luis a new six-bedroom house. It had a nice big barn and stables in the back. Luke told him, “This is your new home. Behind the house there are 80 acres that you can farm if you’d like.”
Next to the house a big building was being built. Luke told him that it was going to be the new orphanage. They were also building a small home behind the orphanage for Dr. Van Bergen to live in. They were also planning on building a new hospital and once Magda and John finished medical school, a home for them to live in next to the hospital. John was set up to be mayor of the town and would oversee everything for the Nagyváradis.
A few weeks later Luis went back out to Mrs. Vajos’ farm to cut her pasture again. When the new hay was ready, he filled his new barn.
Across the way was the furniture plant. The master of the furniture shop borrowed Luis’ wagon at times. The bishop’s wagon was a flatbed and it was easier to haul the furniture on.
A month later, both the orphanage and hospital were finished.
They repainted the old hospital and let the girl who had been raped by the previous bishop live there. She had a little girl. They also gave her a job working in the orphanage.
The bishop helped move everything from the old orphanage into the new one. After that, he plowed his land and had it ready to plant potatoes, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers. He moved his things over to his new house but needed more furniture. All he had was two beds, a table, and a couple of chairs.
While he was moving things into the new orphanage, someone dropped off a boy who was around 9 years of age. The boy was unable to speak. If spoken to, he would just nod his head. He held a small bag of clothes that were too small for him. Father Luis took the boy under his wing. There was a tag on the boy’s shirt that his name was written on. His name was Johnny. Luis took him over to the store and bought him a pair of long pants and a shirt. After that, he took him to his house and the two ate dinner together. That night he let the boy sleep in one of his spare rooms. It started to rain quite hard that night with very loud thunder and lightning. It scared the boy and he ran into Luis’ room and stood by his bed until Luis told him to lay with him. He snuggled right to up to Luis.
The next morning Luis took the boy with as he did his errands and the two spent the whole day together. Everywhere Luis went the boy went too. Luis stopped by the butcher shop. They were making kolbasz and the boy helped with the grinding. It took a lot of strength to turn the grinder. The butcher had a batch of wieners cooking and when they were done he gave the boy two of them, along with a big slice of fresh bread. Johnny was in heaven.
A while later the smell of smoke filled the air. Everyone ran outside to see what was burning. It was the furniture shop across from the orphanage. They ran to take a closer look and saw flames shooting from the door. Then they heard a voice from inside calling for help. The furniture master was outside said, “That’s my boy. He must still be inside.” His son and another boy had been inside sanding some furniture and weren’t able to get out once the fire started. The man tried to go in after his son but the flames were too hot and drove him back. Luis then ran over to a horse trough filled with water and laid down in it. He and his clothes were literally soaking wet. He then ran for the door of the furniture shop and fought his way inside. The fire was so hot that it singed every bit of hair from off his head. Once inside, he got down on his hands and knees and made his way towards a room where the kids were. He pushed his way through the door and went inside. The smoke wasn’t as intense once he was through the door. He made sure the boys were safe and then looked around the room for some type of exit. He saw a window they could climb out and then picked up a nightstand and threw it through the window. He then picked up one of the boys and handed him out the window to the men outside, and then did the same with the other boy. As Luis was going out the window, he sat on a piece of glass and it cut deep into the back of his leg. He was bleeding pretty badly.
The Nagyvradi Brothers Page 19
