Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 3.djvu/168

148 cast them down in the fork of the road. Then they ate and drank and taking horse set forward again. ‘O my brother,’ said Kemerezzeman, ‘what is this thou hast done and how will it profit us?’ ‘Know,’ answered Merzewan, ‘that thy father, when he finds that we have outstayed the night for which we had his leave, will mount and follow in our track till he comes hither; and when he sees the blood and thy clothes torn and bloodied, he will deem thee to have been slain of highway robbers or wild beasts; so he will give up hope of thee and return to his city, and by this devise we shall gain our end.’ ‘By Allah,’ said Kemerezzeman, ‘this is indeed a rare device! Thou hast done well.’ Then they fared on days and nights and Kemerezzeman did nought but weep and complain, till they drew near their journey’s end, when he rejoiced and repeated the following verses:

When he had made an end of these verses, Merzewan said to him, ‘See, yonder are King Ghaïour’s Islands.’ Whereat Kemerezzeman rejoiced with an exceeding joy and thanked him for what he had done and strained him to his bosom and kissed him between the eyes. They entered the city and took up their lodging at a khan, where they rested three days from the fatigues of the journey; after which Merzewan carried Kemerezzeman to the bath and clothing him in a merchant’s habit, provided him with a geomantic tablet of gold, a set of astrological instruments and an astrolabe of silver, plated with gold. Then he said to him,