Ying Sheik has come for you. Come, come from behind the trees, you shall not go free.” As I was saying this I heard one of the maidens, and I did not see who it was, calling out in Aramaic to her, “Why have you done this, O my lord? why are you killing this prince?” “My lord,” I said, “it is I Who send that message; I have sent to the palace of the king. I am the servant of the king and, therefore, his servant will no longer be to you. When they hear that I have brought your prisoner, they will say, ‘Truly the chief among all the Arabs of Medina has come for our servant; if he has killed, his death is as divine as that of the emperor himself and will bring great blessing on us.’ Thus they will say it; then if it pleases the king, he will send someone to fight for you, to fight at your side, to win that sword for you that is to slay this tyrant.” “And who can fight for you?” I asked. “My lord,” said she, “there are soldiers to the very walls on both sides, who will swear by their own loyalties that they will do your bidding.”

At the same time I said to her, “Let us return to the palace.” So I went out and called to my men what I could about what happened; but at last they called all together and told me all; and I spoke as follows:—they had an idea of going in to their palace and making their king’s person known to him and to myself, but they had no such intention, or, by the way, had never known each other. They had left themselves no time for speaking when, while they were making off to the palace, the chief of the party with me, seeing the enemy coming towards us, opened fire at them. But for the king they had no need of fire; they had killed this tyrant, and were preparing to make good the loss; and they would tell no one what had happened, or if he did hear or see, what message had come from their king. On the other hand, the messenger I had sent to the palace would know what I had said there, and what he had given to the lady.

So to the palace I returned, but the messenger would not come, and for that I had no wish