Part 3 (1/2)
?Yours!? returned the other in a fury ?There is but one God! Am not I the Banou of this harem? I will have it?
?You shall not,? retorted the other
Upon this an uproar ensued which beca, that I feared it would come to the ears of Aslan Sultan, who very probably would have settled the dispute by taking at once the bone of contention froer interfered, and when he had assured the second wife that the blood of the Banou would be upon her head if anything unfortunate happened on this occasion, she consented to give up her pretensions I accordingly prepared to bleed my patient; but when she saw the penknife, the cap underneath to receive her blood, and the anxious faces of those about her, she beca after all that I should lose acious look, felt her pulse, and said that her refusal was unavailing, for that it was her fate to be bled, and that she and every one knew nothing could avert an event which had been decreed since the beginning of the world To this there was no reply; and all agreeing that she would coreat sin were she to oppose herself to the decrees of Providence, she put out her bare arm, and received the stab froht, and, when the operation was over, I ordered that it should be conveyed to a little distance from the camp, and that none but ood or evil thatdepended upon what happened to the blood after it had flown froht, when everybody was asleep, and then with great anxiety ripped up the lining, where to my joy I found the fifty ducats, which I i a hole for the cap, which I also concealed In theseen so unlucky ht happen to her blood, and that I had buried it, caouk and all This appeared to satisfy her; and by way of recompense for the service I had rendered, she sentof a lamb roasted whole, stuffed with rice and raisins, accompanied by a bowl of sour milk with salt in it
I must confess that when I became possessed of the fifty ducats, a recollection ofa melancholy life in thein comparative luxury, came across my mind, and I half resolved to restore theue differently with enuity,? said I, ?the money was lost for ever; who therefore has a better claiain, it could be of no use to him in his new profession, and it is a hundred to one but what it would be taken from him, therefore, I had best keep it for the present: besides, it was his fate to lose, and mine to recover it? This settled every difficulty, and I looked upon itimate possessor of fifty ducats, which I conceived no law could take from me Meanwhile, I made an attempt to convey to hih theinto the mountains, and who proh I doubted his word, yet, after my deliberation about the ducats, my conscience wanted some quietus: ?I cannot do less,? said I, ?than make my fellow sufferer in adversity a partaker of my prosperity?
But alas! the boy had scarcely crossed the deep ravine that bordered the enca the meat to his mouth, and I made no doubt that every bone was picked clean before he was out of sight It would have been a useless undertaking to have pursued hi the distance that already separated us, so I contenteda stone and a malediction at his head, neither of which reached their destination
[Illustration: Turco]
CHAPTER V
Hajji Baba becomes a robber in his own defence, and invades his native city
I had now been above a year in the hands of the Turco which I had acquired the entire confidence of my master He consulted me upon all his own affairs, as well as those of his coht now be depended upon, he determined to permit me to accompany him in a predatory excursion into Persia,--a perood opportunity to escape, I had frequently entreated of hirant Hitherto I had never been allowed to stray beyond the encanorant of the roads through the great salt desert which separated us from Persia, I knew that it would be in vain for ht, as many before me had done, and had invariably perished or returned to their our than before I therefore rejoiced that I now had an opportunity of observing the country ere about to cross, and deter this expedition, nothing should hinder enerally , when they find pasturage for their horses in the highlands, and fresh corn in the plains, and because they then are al caravans to plunder on their ether the chiefs of his tribe, the heads of tens and the heads of hundreds, and all those ere skilled in plunder, and proposed a plan to them of an incursion into the very heart of Persia Their object was to reach Ispahan itself, to enter the city in the night, when all was quiet, and to sack the caravanserai, to which the richest reat salt desert was to be e were greater than that of any of his contest them, except myself, knew the streets and bazaars of Ispahan, I should lead the hen once we had entered the city This was opposed by several, who said that it was ier and a native of the very place they intended to attack, ould be likely to run off the th, after uide in Ispahan; that two men should ride close on each side of me, and in case I showed the least symptom of treachery insettled, the Turco,[11] and one was appointed fortwice borne away the flag at their races I was equipped as a Turcoe sheep-skin cap on my head, a sheep-skin coat, a sword, a bow and arrows, and a heavy spear, the head of which was taken off or put on as the occasionof corn tied behind on my horse, besides ropes to tether him e made a halt,--and for my own food I carried several flaps of bread,[12] and half a dozen of hard eggs, trusting to the chapter of accidents, and to er, for further sustenance I had already made a very tolerable apprenticeshi+p to a hard life since I had first been taken, by sleeping on the ground with the first thing that I could seize for a pillow, and thus I looked upon the want of a bed as no privation My coue, perhaps, ere a match for any nation in the world
I took previous care to unbury the fifty ducats, which I tied very carefully inhad worn himself down to a skeleton, that if ever I had an opportunity, I would do all in my power to make his friends ransom him
?Ah,? said be, ?no one will ever ransoet et another husband: so no hope is left There is only one favour I beg of you, which is, to inquire what is the price of lale with my conscience on the subject of the ducats Should I restore theeous, even to my e of this opportunity to escapea littlerelieved but through s considered, I let the fixed upon a lucky hour for our departure, we, htfall Our party consisted of Aslan Sultan, as appointed chief of the expedition, and of twenty men, myself included
Our companions were composed of the principal hbourhood, and were all, more or less, accomplished cavaliers They were mounted upon excellent horses, the speed and bottohout Asia; and as we rode along in the ht, completely ar of ruffians as ever took the field
For my part, I felt that nature had never intended ht that I could keep up appearances as well as most men in my predicament, and indeed I believe did act my part so perfectly, as to ot a very _Rustam_[13] in me, yet I dreaded the time when I should be put to the trial
I was surprised to observe the dexterity hich our chief led us through the thick forests that clothe the ers of the precipices and the steep ascents were so traveller like reatest unconcern, confident in the sure-footedness of their horses Having once ascended the mountains, we entered upon the arid plains of Persia, and here ain conspicuous He knew every summit the moment it appeared, with the sanizes a distant headland at sea But he showed his sagacityhis inferences from the tracks and footsteps of anied to, whence co, whether enemy or friend, whether laden or unladen, and what their probable nureatest precision
We travelled withas ere in the inhabited parts of the country, lying by during the day, and ht Our stock of provender and provisions was renewed at the last enca tribes which we visited before we reached the great salt desert, and e entered it, we urged our horses on with as th was likely to support At length, after travelling about 120 parasangs,[14] we found ourselves in the environs of Ispahan Theave me when I heard of the plan of attack which my companions proposed
Their scheuarded avenues, which ell known to ht for the Royal Caravanserai, where ere sure to find a great many merchants, who at this season of the year collect there with ready money to make their purchases We were at once to carry off all the cash we could find, then to seize and gag each a merchant if ere able, that before the city could be alarain I found the plan so hazardous, and so little likely to succeed, that I gave it as ht not to atte on his most determined look, said to me, ?Hajji!
open your eyes--this is no child?s play!--I swear by the beard of the Prophet, that if you do not behave well, I?ll burn your father We have succeeded before, and why should we not be as successful now? He then ordered me to ride near him, and placed another ruffian at my side, and both vowed, if I flinched, that they would ih the body We then took the lead, and, froh the ruins which surround it, and then entered into the inhabited streets, which were at that tiht entirely forsaken When near the scene of action, we stopped under the arches of one of the ruined houses, which are so frequently to be met with even in thefros and heelropes,[15]
and left them under the care of two of our men By way of precaution we appointed a rendezvous in a lonely dell about five parasangs from Ispahan, to which it was deterht require Once on foot, we proceeded without noise in a body, avoiding as much as we could the bazaars, where I knew that the officers of the police kept watch, and by lanes reached the gate of the caravanserai Here was a place, every square inch of which I knew by heart, naate of the caravanserai would be locked, Iup a stone, knocked, and called out to the doorkeeper by name: ?Ali Mohammed,? said I, ?open, open: the caravan is arrived?
Between asleep and awake, without showing the least sy, ?What caravan?? said he
?The caravan frodad? why that arrived yesterday Do you laugh at ed to have recourse to my own name, and said, ?Why, a caravan to be sure with Hajji Baba, Kerbelai Hassan the barber?s son, ent aith Os the news, and expect the present?
?What, Hajji?? said the porter, ?he who used to shavebeen ean to unbolt the heavy gates of the entrance porch, which, as they creaked on their hinges, discovered a little old man in his draith an iron laht to show us that the place was full of merchants and their effects