Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 1.djvu/288

266 it,’ he answered and I returned to the house, where I sat weeping and saying, ‘How shall I return to my people with my hand cut off and they know not that I am innocent?’ Then I abode in sore trouble and perplexity for two days, and on the third day the landlord came in to me, and with him some officers of police and the chief of the market, who had accused me of stealing the necklace. I went out to them and enquired what was the matter, but they seized on me, without further parley, and tied my hands behind me and put a chain about my neck, saying, ‘The necklet that was with thee has been shown to the Governor of Damascus, and he recognizes it as one that belonged to his daughter, who has been missing these three years.’ When I heard this, my heart sank within me, and I said to myself, ‘I am lost without resource; but I must needs tell the governor my story; and if he will, let him kill me, and if he will, let him pardon me.’ So they carried me to the governor’s house and made me stand before him. When he saw me, he looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said to those present, ‘Why did ye cut off his hand? This man is unfortunate and hath committed no offense; and indeed ye wronged him in cutting off his hand.’ When I heard this, I took heart and said to him, ‘By Allah, O my lord, I am no thief! But they accused me of this grave offence and beat me with rods in the midst of the market, bidding me confess, till for the pain of the beating, I lied against myself and confessed to the theft, although I am innocent.’ ‘Fear not,’ said the governor; ‘no harm shall come to thee.’ Then he laid the chief of the market under arrest, saying to him, ‘Give this man the price of his hand, or I will hang thee and seize on all thy goods.’ And he cried out to the officers, who took him and dragged him away, leaving me with the governor, who made his people unbind me and take the chain off my neck. Then he