Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night, Vol 8.djvu/148

136 appointed to betide him of the vicissitudes of time, the father of wonders, that which was not in his reckoning.

Meanwhile, when the King of France arose in the morning, he missed his daughter and questioned her eunuchs and women of her. ‘O our lord,’ answered they, ‘she went out last night, to go to the church, and after that we know nothing of her.’ But, as the king talked with them, there arose a great clamour of cries without the palace, that the place rang thereto, and he said, ‘What is to do?’ ‘O king,’ answered the folk, ‘we have found ten men slain on the sea-shore, and thy ship is missing. Moreover, we found the postern of the church, that gives upon the alley leading to the sea, open and the Muslim prisoner, who serves in the church, missing.’ Quoth the king, ‘If my ship be missing, without doubt my daughter is in it.’ So he summoned the captain of the port and cried out at him, saying, ‘By the virtue of the Messiah and the True Faith, except thou overtake my ship forthright with troops and bring it back to me, with those who are therein, I will put thee to death after the foulest fashion and make an example of thee!’

The captain went out from before him, trembling, and betook himself to the old woman of the church, to whom said he, ‘Heardest thou aught from the captive, that was with thee, concerning his native land and what countryman he was?’ And she answered, ‘He used to say, “I come from the town of Alexandria.”’ When the captain heard this, he returned forthright to the port and cried out to the sailors to make sail. So they did his bidding and straightway putting out to sea, sailed night and day till they came in sight of the city of Alexandria, what time Noureddin landed, leaving the princess in the ship. They soon espied the king’s bark and knew it; so they moored their own vessel at a distance therefrom and putting off in a little ship they had with them, which drew but three feet