These verses were soon published amongst the whole tribe, and men and women sang and repeated them. It happened about this time that Rebia gave an entertainment, to which he invited Shas, and Malik, Ibla’s father and his son Amroo to come and eat, and drink wine, and when they became merry, the girls began to sing these verses. Do you not see how that slave is talked of? exclaimed Shas, how his name is renowned, and his character and fame are celebrated?
Thus they went on talking till Amroo became exceedingly angry. Death, O Chief, said he to Rebia, would be more tolerable to us than such proceedings. I have frequently spoken to my father to cast off this slave; but he says, the fellow is a slave, and the son of a slave, he is of no consequence; and were we to drive him out of our tents, King Zoheir would take him, and encourage him against us, and then his avidity would only increase, and we should injure ourselves; for how can we presume to oppose King Zoheir? And then again, he enrages us by his verses. I have longed to kill him from the moment I heard that he mentioned my sister in his rhymes, let happen what may.
We have not invited you, said Rebia, to do any thing of this kind; who is this slave, that you should stain your sword with his blood? Let us consult on other means of killing him. I will to-morrow conceal twenty of the stoutest of my slaves, and will order them to kill him in the rocky precipices. My slave Bazam is the brother of Zajir, and he has long wished to kill him; but I would not let him do it, for fear of the reproaches of King Zoheir; but now that his son Shas is with us, and takes a part in the affair, we shall be secure from blame. Then said Shas, I will assist you in word or deed, were even my father and brother and cousins to oppose me; and I will persevere in this enterprize, even if I were obliged to take a personal part in it; and I too will engage twenty of my slaves in it, to kill him by the cruellest death, and make an example of him. They did not break up the entertainment till Shas, Rebia, and Amroo had all three bound themselves by oath; and they arranged the forty slaves, all strong as lions, twenty from Shas, and twenty from Rebia.
Now Shedad had a daughter, and her name was Merweh, but not by Semeah; and she was married to a man called Jahjah, one of the tribe of Ghiftan, and he was a celebrated warrior. It happened that Jahjah had married his sister to one Magid, son of Leith, also one of the Ghiftan tribe; and when the bridal festival was preparing amongst the Ghiftanians, Merweh came to the tribe of Abs and Adnan, with a party of women, to invite the females belonging to her father, and her uncles Malik and Zakmet-ool Jewad, and their relations amongst the tribe of Carad, to the feast. They accordingly obtained their husbands’ permission to make the visit, and their husbands went with them. In front of the howdahs they sounded the cymbals, and the servants brandished their swords; and Antar was among them, in attendance on Ibla and Semeah, and the wives of his uncles. And when he assisted her to alight and mount the howdah, he used to gratify himself in talking to her, and was mad in gazing on her charms; and he was in hopes the journey would be long. Ibla’s mother laughed at him, when she saw him assiduously attending on her daughter. Verily, said she, you love my daughter so much as to compose verses on her, and in description of her beauties. Yes, said Antar, by the God that has decorated the heavens, and raised them on high, and has adorned them with stars, were I able, I would make my eye her resting-place. They journeyed on, and Antar walked before the howdah of Ibla, repeating these verses.
“March the way of security. O thou, all my hope, proceed, for he who encompasses thee is an intrepid warrior, that smites with his sword when the battle clashes. O Ibla, one look from the veil of thy eyelids is sufficient. Should I never attain my object in this world, the extended plains and mountains must press upon me.”
Thus they proceeded on their journey; singing and playing, till the day was spent and darkness came on, when they dismounted in a spacious plain near a pool of water. They ate and drank, and remained in that spot till it was day; and just as Antar was ordering the slaves to raise the howdahs on the camels backs, lo! a great dust arose, spreading rapidly over the valleys and the mountains. In an instant there came forth a hundred slaves on horseback, and Arabs; at their head was a horseman like an eagle, crying out,
“This day will I be revenged; verily I am the conqueror, and I will settle the business with my sword and my spear, on a slave of a tribe whom the Absians regard not, but who listens not to one that chides him. How many men have I trampled down in the dust. I am a valiant one, like whom there is no hero.”
As was before stated, Shas and Rebia had sworn to destroy Antar, and having placed their spies and scouts for that purpose, they stationed the forty slaves, putting Basam at their head, just at the time that Merweh, the daughter of Shedad, happened to come by, and was returning home. The slave, with his comrades of the tribe of Ham, followed the party until they came to the valley of Ghifal, where they resolved to lie in ambush for Antar: when lo! the sound of horses’ hoofs alarmed them, and heroes rushed upon them, crying out—“Stop where ye are, or your sculls shall fly. Tell us who ye are, and of what tribe of Arabs, before we pour down destruction upon ye.” On hearing this, Basam prepared his people for the attack; O Arabs, he replied, we are of the tribe of Abs, inhabitants of this country; but who are you, and why are ye halting in this place? Slaves of a coward race, cried the chief, we are in search of you, for amongst you is that accursed slave Antar, the son of Shedad.
Now these were Arabs and horsemen of the tribe of Moostalik, and their chief was called Vethab; he happened to be out of the way when Antar slew his brother, some time before; but when he returned, they informed him of it. He went forth to be revenged, exclaiming, Verily, a slave of the tribe of Abs has slain my brother, but I will destroy none but their King, and not return but with Antar’s head. He thus met Basam, and all this occurred. And after some explanation; know, O noble Sir, said Basam, our masters have sent us in search of you, that we may together hasten to kill this slave, and waylay him: here he has halted this night. If ye wish, we will slay him, said Vethab, and we will give you his head; but if you please, do you kill him, and give us his head. But swear you will not betray us.