Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 6.djvu/73

53 returned not till midday, when they found that El Hemel had sacked the camp and carried off the women and children captives, and Mehdiyeh among them. When Gherib saw this, he lost his wits for rage and cried out to Sehim, saying, ‘They have plundered our camp and carried off our women and children! Up and at the enemy, that we may deliver the captives!’ So Gherib and Sehim and their hundred horse rushed upon the foe, and Gherib’s wrath redoubled, and he reaped a harvest of heads, giving the warriors to drink of the cup of death, till he won to El Hemel and saw Mehdiyeh among the captives. Then he drove at the prince of the Benou Nebhan and transfixing him with his lance, hurled him from the saddle; nor was the time of the afternoon-prayer come before he had slain the most part of the foe and put the rest to the rout and rescued the captives; whereupon he returned to the camp in triumph, bearing El Hemel’s head on the point of his lance and reciting the following verses:

Hardly had he made an end of this when up came Merdas, to whom he related all that had passed in his absence. So Merdas alighted and entered his pavilion, and the men stood about him. Then all the people of the tribe fell to praising Gherib and saying, ‘But for Gherib, O our lord, not one of the tribe had been saved!’ So Merdas thanked him and said, ‘Thou hast well requited our pains in rearing thee, O Gherib!’

Now, when Gherib delivered Mehdiyeh from El Hemel, she smote him with the arrows of her glances and he fell