I was thinking that with Istvan as their enforcer, he should be able to get away easily himself. Then I woke up, and realized a huge black guy in a gold vest and gypsy outfit who can't talk can't declare his independence in 1897 small-town Maine very effectively. Now comes the first meal he needs, and ...? Americans have been raised to feel that freedom is all over, and all you need is legs that work, that can take you away. My own experience should have told me otherwise. I was dependent on a maniac for 17 years, because of medical problems. The bars of the jail cell are invisible sometimes.
I think Petofi is quite the theatrical ham and needed an audience for his spectacular sound and light show. Barnabas makes the perfect captive audience.
Chuckle. I have to wonder what Petofi really gets out of life, and maybe that's it. He's always performing, always "on". He'd also have to take refuge in artistic things like music, since they are things you can still enjoy in the culture without liking people very much. You get to enjoy the refined product of their creativity without having to interact with the creator or performers.