第37章 STORY OF ALI BEN BEKKAR AND SHEMSENNEHAR.(17)

When he had finished，I said to him，O my lord，I would fain return to my house；it may be the damsel will come back to me with news.'It is well，'answered he；go and return to me speedily with news，for thou seest my condition.'So I took leave of him and went home. Hardly had I sat down，when up came the damsel，choked with her tears. What is the matter？asked I，and she said，O my lord，what we feared has fallen on us；for，when I returned yesterday to my lady，I found her enraged with one of the two maids who were with us the other night，and she ordered her to be beaten. The girl took fright and ran away；but one of the gate-keepers stopped her and would have sent her back to her mistress. However，she let fall some hints，which excited his curiosity；so he coaxed her and led her on to talk，and she acquainted him with our case. This came to the ears of the Khalif，who bade remove my mistress and all her gear to his own palace and set over her a guard of twenty eunuchs. Since then he has not visited her nor given her to know the cause of his action，but I suspect this to be the cause；wherefore I am in fear for myself and am perplexed，O my lord，knowing not what I shall do nor how I shall order my affair and hers，for she had none more trusted nor trustier than myself. So do thou go quickly to Ali ben Bekkar and acquaint him with this，that he may be on his guard；and if the affair be discovered，we will cast about for a means of saving ourselves.'At this，I was sore troubled and the world grew dark in my sight for the girls words. Then she turned to go，and I said to her，What is to be done？Quoth she，My counsel is that thou hasten to Ali ben Bekkar，if thou be indeed his friend and desire his escape；thine be it to carry him the news forthright，and be it mine to watch for further news.'Then she took her leave of me and went away. I followed her out and betaking myself to Ali ben Bekkar，found him flattering himself with hopes of speedy enjoyment and staying himself with vain expectations. When he saw me，he said，I see thou hast come back to me forthwith Summon up all thy patience，'answered I，and put away thy vain doting and shake off thy preoccupation，for there hath befallen that which may bring about the loss of thy life and goods.'When he heard this，he was troubled and his colour changed and he said to me，O my brother，tell me what hath happened.'O my lord，'replied I，such and such things have happened and thou art lost without recourse，if thou abide in this thy house till the end of the day.'At this he was confounded and his soul well-nigh departed his body，but he recovered himself and said to me，What shall I do，O my brother，and what is thine advice？My advice，answered I，is that thou take what thou canst of thy property and whom of thy servants thou trustest and flee with me to a land other than this，ere the day come to an end.'And he said，I hear and obey.'So he rose，giddy and dazed，now walking and now falling down and took what came under his hand. Then he made an excuse to his household and gave them his last injunctions，after which he loaded three camels and mounted his hackney. I did the like and we went forth privily in disguise and fared on all day and night，till nigh upon morning，when we unloaded and hobbling our camels，lay down to sleep；but，being worn with fatigue，we neglected to keep watch，so that there fell on us robbers，who stripped us of all we had and slew our servants，when they would have defended us，after which they made off with their booty，leaving us naked and in the sorriest of plights. As soon as they were gone，we arose and walked on till morning，when we came to a village and took refuge in its mosque. We sat in a corner of the mosque all that day and the next night，without meat or drink；

and at daybreak，we prayed the morning prayer and sat down again.

Presently，a man entered and saluting us，prayed a two-bow prayer，after which he turned to us and said，O folk，are ye strangers？Yes，'answered we，robbers waylaid us and stripped us，and we came to this town，but know none here with whom we may shelter.'Quoth he，What say you？Will you come home with me？

And I said to Ali ben Bekkar，Let us go with him，and we shall escape two evils；first，our fear lest some one who knows us enter the mosque and so we be discovered；and secondly，that we are strangers and have no place to lodge in.'As thou wilt，answered he. Then the man said to us again，O poor folk，give ear unto me and come with me to my house.'We hear and obey，