Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 3.djvu/222

196 Whilst we were thus drowned in the sea of gladness" (continued the jeweller) "behold, there came in to us a little maid trembling and said, "O my lady, look how you may go away for the folk have found you out and have surrounded the house; and we know not the cause of this!" When I heard her words, I arose startled and lo! in rushed a slave-girl who cried, "Calamity hath come upon you." At the same moment the door was burst open and there rushed in upon us ten men masked in kerchiefs with hangers in their hands and swords by their sides, and as many more behind them. When I saw this, the world was straitened on me for all its wideness, and I looked to the door but saw no issue; so I sprang from the terrace into the house of one of my neighbours and there hid myself. Thence I found that folk had entered my lodgings and were making a mighty hubbub; and I concluded that the Caliph had got wind of us and had sent his Chief of the Watch to seize us and bring us before him. So I abode confounded and ceased not remaining in my place, without any possibility of quitting it till midnight. And presently the house-master arose, for he had heard me moving, and he feared with exceeding great fear of me; so he came forth from his room with drawn brand in hand and made at me, saying, "Who is this in my house?" Quoth I, "I am thy neighbour the jeweller;" and he knew me and retired. Then he fetched a light and coming up to me, said, "O my brother, indeed that which hath befallen thee this night is no light matter to me." I replied, "O my brother, tell me who was in my house and entered it breaking in my door; for I fled to thee not knowing what was to do." He answered, "Of a truth the robbers who attacked our neighbours yesterday and slew such an one and took his goods, saw thee on the same day bringing furniture into this house; so they broke in upon thee and stole thy goods and slew thy guests." Then we arose" (pursued the jeweller), "I and he, and repaired to my house, which we found empty without a stick remaining in it; so I was confounded at the case and said to myself, "As for the gear I care naught about its loss, albeit I borrowed part of the stuff from my friends and it hath come to grief; yet is there no harm in that, for they know my excuse in the plunder of my property and the pillage of my place. But as for Ali bin Bakkar and the Caliph's favourite concubine, I fear lest their case get bruited abroad and this cause the loss of my life." So I turned to my neighbour and said to him, "Thou art my brother and my neighbour and wilt cover my nakedness; what then dost