The Absians having taken possession of the howdah and the property with the dispersed cattle, and a vast quantity of articles besides, asked the slaves about the bride, who was her husband, and who her father? Arabs, said they, she is called Aminah, the daughter of Yezid, the son of Handhalah, surnamed the Blood-drinker, the chief of all the princes of Tey; and her husband, to whom she is going, is called Nakid, the son of Jellah, a warlike and bold horseman, the protector of the race of Marah; and you have executed this villainous act of violence upon us, and have ventured on this hazardous enterprize!!
They proceeded, and passed over the deserts and the wilds, the lady weeping and lamenting at the misfortune that had overwhelmed her. But when Antar heard from the slave this account of her father and her husband, he was convinced he would come down on her account, and that a great battle and slaughter would ensue between them, and he wished the Absians should feel his power and weight, for what he had heard them say about himself. So he came toward them. God has granted you victory and safety, said he: and thou too, they answered, he has also given thee cause to rejoice. You are aware, said Antar, that this plunder is much more valuable and precious than the former; let us put it out in lots and divide it, and let us give to each his portion, that he may defend it with his soul and body.
You, Antar, took the first plunder for yourself alone, said one, and do you demand your share of the second? With respect to the first plunder, O my cousins, said Antar, did you not give it me? and it is not customary with chiefs to take back their donations. The fellow, said Ghegadh, is right in what he says; divide the spoil, and give him half of one of your shares. Arabs, treat me fairly, cried Antar, and speak the truth. Ghegadh got into a passion, What do you mean? said he. According to our agreement, said Antar, which was settled between you and me, of all the plunder we should take, I was to have one half of the whole; and all of you the other half.
Rage filled the heart of Ghegadh. Thou son of Zebeebah, thy avarice demands impossibilities; thou art indeed mad, and a villain. Verily thou hast not kept thy word; and O, had the day never come that we met thee in this road! No one, said Antar, is mad, but he who keeps company with you, and agrees to your demands; for ye are a set of fellows of little justice, and great oppression and violence; the fact is, I will not take a jot less than one half of the plunder, even were my soul to drink of the cup of death. Come on, on to this black slave, cried Ghegadh to his friends, who rebels, and outrages us. Upon this they all jumped up, and cried out against Antar, resolved to kill him, and make him drink of the cup of annihilation. Antar went apart from them for a while into the rocky plain, then galloped, and challenged them to the contest, thus addressing them;—
“When my foe sues me for a debt, I settle the debt with the Redeinian spear:[2] my scimitar’s edge shall extirpate ye all, and shall justly decide between you and me. I am exalted by my sword and spear far above the minutest stars and the two bears. Foul wretches! ye know not my power, but the inhabitants of the two hemispheres shall feel it. The grasp of fortune has not destroyed my strength, and the fingers of time have not been stretched out against me. Many a horseman have I left sprawling, his cheeks grovelling, his hands dyed in blood, whilst the birds of death hover round him, and the magpies assemble over his corpse.”
His verses finished, he was about to attack them, when lo! a dust arose and covered the whole country. In a short time the cloud opened and discovered three hundred horsemen, all clad in steel, and the father of the damsel, the Blood-drinker, appeared in front of them. He roared like a lion; his sword was an Indian blade. Whither would ye flee, O ye base-born, he cried out—I am he, surnamed the Blood-drinker, the Cahtanian.
Now the cause of the arrival of these men was this: out of the ten that escaped by flight from the combat, five went to the father of the damsel, the lion of the land, and five went to Nakid the son of Jellah; but the residence of her father happened to be the nearest. So he set off with three hundred men, all stern lions, and he galloped on till he overtook the Absians, as we have mentioned; and it was he who prevented the combat between the Absians and Antar.
When Antar saw the father of the damsel coming on—See where the heroes advance, he cried; now protect your plunder, if ye are men of valour—no portion is mine, neither great nor small, not a camel or a sheep. I will quit you, and will neither be with you nor against you. He spurred away his Abjer from them, and mounted to the top of a high hill; he took his feet out of the stirrups, and sat cross-legged upon the neck of his horse, resting on his dreadful spear, and there he remained contemplating the terrors of the approaching conflict.
The Blood-drinker cried aloud to his warriors; and they rushed down upon the Absians, and men encountered men, heroes heroes; and blood was spilt and shed. In a moment swords clashed, every heart and feeling were roused; heads flew off like balls, and hands like leaves of trees. The Teyans rushed upon the race of Abs; also the Blood-drinker assailed them in his courage, and released his daughter. The Absians quitted their plunder, for their souls could not stand firm; and they fled over the wilds.