“Wait!” cried the most forbidding-looking of them all, “old Selim has a wise head, but not so wise as he would have us believe. It is true we swore that we would spare the man’s life, but if we leave him alive, but bound hand and foot, the burning sun and the sharp teeth of the jackals will soon make an end of him.”
Said had made up his mind to the worst, but was determined to make an effort to regain his liberty. Suddenly he turned his horse aside, and, setting spurs to it, rode like the wind across the desert. But the five robbers understood the desert better than he did. In a moment they separated, urged their horses forward at a furious pace, and speedily succeeded in surrounding the unhappy youth. They would not use their weapons on account of the oath they had taken, but once more using a lassoo they threw it over his head and brought him to the ground; then they beat him unmercifully, bound his hands and feet with ropes, and left him lying upon the burning sand.
Said begged for mercy, promising them a handsome sum as ransom: but they laughed mockingly and rode away. He listened to the sound of their horses’ hoofs for a few moments and then gave himself up for lost. He thought of the grief of his father when his only son did not return to him, and he thought of his own misery, in being left to die such a terrible death in the flower of his youth. The sun rose higher and higher and scorched his head and face. With great difficulty he succeeded in rising to his feet. But this gave him little relief. The little whistle had fallen from his girdle and hung loosely from his neck. He succeeded at length, after great trouble, in taking it between his lips; but again it failed him. Overcome with despair he sank down upon the sand once more and speedily became unconscious.
Several hours later he awoke, hearing a voice close to him and feeling himself seized by the shoulder. He uttered a cry of horror, for he thought it was a jackal that was about to devour him. Next he felt a touch upon his legs, and became aware that it was not the claws of a wild beast that were mauling him—but the hands of a human being tending him carefully, and then he heard a voice say, “He is alive, but evidently takes us for enemies.”
At length Said opened his eyes and saw a little man bending over him. He was very fat and had small eyes and a very long beard. He spoke to the young man in friendly tones, helped him to rise, gave him food and drink, and told him as he refreshed himself that he was a merchant from Bagdad, named Kalum-Bek, and that he dealt in shawls and veils for women. He had been on a business journey and was on his way home when he found Said lying half dead upon the sand. The young man’s brilliant apparel and the glittering jewels in his dagger had attracted his attention, and he had used every effort to revive him, and at length he had succeeded.
The young man thanked him for saving his life, for he saw that without this man’s intervention he must have perished miserably, and as he had no means of helping himself and did not take kindly to the idea of trudging afoot through the desert, he thankfully accepted a seat on one of the heavily-laden camels and determined to go to Bagdad first, [!-- original location of full page illustration --] [!-- blank page --] and then see if he could join himself to a party travelling to Balsora.
THE ADVENTURES OF SAID
“He saw a little man bending over him”
p. [292]
On the way the merchant discoursed on the excellent qualities of the Ruler of the Faithful, Harun Al-Raschid. He told him of his love of justice and his shrewdness, and how he could unravel the deepest mysteries of the law in the most remarkable manner. “But he takes good care to keep himself informed as to what is taking place among his subjects,” said Kalum-Bek. “His chief Chamberlain Messour is my cousin, and he tells me that he never goes to bed as other folks do, but just contents himself with a few hours’ sleep in the morning, but every night he disguises himself as a merchant or sailor, or in some everyday costume, and wanders about Bagdad to see that everything is right and in order, as it should be. That is the reason that folks are so polite to everyone who speaks to them, for it may just as well be the Caliph as some dirty Arab, and there is sufficient timber around Bagdad to provide rods to whip the whole populace.”