Latest / Khaled, A Tale of Arabia / 08 - Khaled, A Tale of Arabia by Francis Marion Crawford

Transcript

08 - Khaled, A Tale of Arabia by Francis Marion Crawford · Khaled, A Tale of Arabia

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: Chapter eight. Abdullah ibn Mohammed, though a young man, was
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: now the shakeh of a considerable tribe which had frequently
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: done good service to the late Sultan Zahawa's father, and
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: which had also borne a prominent part in the recent war.
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Abdul Karim, whom almosta had murdered, had been the sheikh
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: during his lifetime, and if the claims of birth had
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: been justly considered, his son, though a mere boy, should
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: have succeeded him. But Abdullah had found it easy to
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: usurp the chief place, and in the council which was
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: held after Abdul Karim's death, he was chosen by acclamation.
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: It chanced, too, that he was not married at the
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: time when he took Almasta. For of two wives, the
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: one had died of a fever during the summer, and
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: he had divorced the other on account of her unbearable temper,
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: having been deceived in respect of this by her parents,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: who had assured him that she was as gentle as
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: a dove and as submissive as a lamb. But she
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: had turned out to be as quarrelsome as a wasp,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: and as unmanageable as an untrained hawk. So he divorced her,
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: and the more readily because she was not beautiful and
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: her dower had been insignificant. Almasta therefore found that she
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: was her husband's only wife. She would certainly have killed him,
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: as she had killed Abdul Karim and indeed the late Sultan,
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: in the hope of being taken back into the palace.
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: But she was prevented by the fear of death, for
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: she had seen that Kalad's threat was not empty and
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: would be execute if harm came to Abdullah after his marriage.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: She accordingly set herself to please him, and first of all,
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: she learned to speak the Arabic language in order that
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: she might sing to him in his own tongue and
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: tell him tales of distant countries, which she had learned
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: in her own home. Abdullah passed the months of autumn
• 2:25
  Speaker 1: and the early winter in the desert, moving about from
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: place to place, as is the custom of the Bedouins,
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: it being his intention to reach a northerly point of
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: Achman in the spring in order to fall upon the
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Persian pilgrims and extort a ransom before they entered the
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: territory of Njt, for it would not be lawful to
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: attack them after that, since there was a treaty with
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: the Emir of Basra allowing the pilgrims a safe and
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: free passage towards Mecca, for which the Emir paid yearly
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: a sum of money to the Sultan of k Nejd.
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: But Almasta knew nothing of this, for she was wholly
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: ignorant of the desert. And moreover, Abdullah was a cautious
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: man who held that whatsoever is to be kept secret
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: must not be uttered aloud. Though there be no one
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: within three days journey to hear it. Abdullah treated her
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: with great consideration, not obliging her to weary herself over
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: much with cooking and other work of the tents, for
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: he rejoiced in her beauty and in the sweetness of
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: her voice. And his chief delight was to sit in
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: the door of the tent at night, chewing frankincence, while
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: almosta set within close behind him, and told him tales
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: of her own country or of the life in the
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: palace of Riod. The latter, indeed, was as strange to
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: him as the former, and much more interesting. Now one
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: evening they were alone together in this manner, and it
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: was not yet very cold, but the stars shone brightly,
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: as though there would be a frost before morning, and
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: the other tents were all closed, and no one was
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: near the coals which remained from the fire. After baking
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: the blanket bread, one might hear the chewing of the
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: camels in the dark, and the tramping of a mare
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: that moved slowly about her hind feet being chained together.
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: Tell me more of the palace at Riad, sat Abdullah.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: For your kurra and your snow covered cosback, and your
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: tifless with its warm springs and gardens, I shall never see.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: But I have seen the courts of the palace from
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: my youth, and the Sultan's kawah, and the latticed windows
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: of the Harem from which you say that you saw
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: me and loved me in the last days of summer.
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: Al Maosta had said this to please him, though it
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: was not true, for she knew that men easily believe
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: what flatters them, as women believe that what they desire
• 5:23
  Speaker 1: must come to pass. The palace is a wonderful palace,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: said Almasta, and I will tell you of the treasures
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: which are in it. That is what I wish to hear,
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: answered Abdullah, putting a piece of frankncence into his mouth
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: and beginning to chew it. Tell me of the treasures,
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: for it is said that they are great and of
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: extraordinary value. The value of them cannot be calculated, o Abdullah,
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: For if you had seventy thousand hands, and on each
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: hand seventy thousand, you could not count upon your fingers
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: in a whole lifetime the gold shereefs, and sequins and
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: tomans which are hidden away there in bags. Beneath the
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: court of Strangers, there is a great chamber built of stone,
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: in which the sacks of gold are kept, and they
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: are piled up to the roof of the vault on
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: all sides and in the middle, leaving only narrow passages between.
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: If it is all gold, what is the use of
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: the passages, asked Abdullah, I do not know, but they
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: are there, and there is another room filled with silver.
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: In the same manner, there are also secret places underground
• 6:48
  Speaker 1: in which jewels are kept in chests, rubies and pearls,
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: and Indian diamonds and emeralds, in such quantities that they
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: would suffice to make necklace of a thousand rows each
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: for each of the mountains in my country. And we
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: have many mountains, great ones, not such as the little
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: hills you have seen, but several days journey in height.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: For we say that when the Lord made the earth,
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: it was at first unsteady, and he set our mountains
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: upon it in the middle to make it firm, and
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: it has never moved since. I do not believe this,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: said Abdullah. Tell me more about the jewels in Riod.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: There is no end of them. They are like the
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: grains of sand in the desert, and no one of
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: them is worth less than a thousand gold. Shereefs. I
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: do not even know the names of the different kinds.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: But there are turquoises without number of the Maidan, and
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: all good, so that you may ride upon them with
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: the piece of gold, as with a pen. And there
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: are red stones as large as a dove's egg, red
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: and fiery as the wine of Kacchettia, and others blue
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: as the sky in winter, and yellow ones, and some
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: with leaves of gold in them, like morsels of trangue
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: floating in the juice. But besides the gold and silver
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: and precious stones, there are thousands of rich garments, which
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: are kept in chests of fragrant wood, in upper chambers,
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: a boss woven of gold and silk, and linen, and
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: vests embroidered with pearls, and shoes of which even the
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: soles appear to be of gold. And there are great
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: pieces of stuff Indian silk and Persian velvet, and even
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: satin from Stamboul, woven by unbelievers with the help of devils.
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: Then too, in the Palace of Riad, there are stored
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: great quantities of precious weapons, most of them made in Syria,
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: with many swords of sham, which you say are the best,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: though I do not understand the matter, each having an
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: inscription in letters of gold upon the blade and the hilt,
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: most cunningly chiseled in the same mettle or carved out
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: of ivory. I saw the treasure of Hiel when we
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: took it away after the war, and most of it
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: was distributed among us. But there was nothing like this,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: said Abdullah. The treasure of Hil is to the treasure
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: of Riad as a small black fly walking upon the
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: face of the sun, answered Almasta. And yet there was
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: wealth there also, and there was much which you never saw.
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: For that Khalad who is now Sultan, is crafty and avaricious.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: And he loaded many camels secretly by night, being helped
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: by black slaves, all of whom he slew afterwards with
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: his own hand, lest they should tell the tale. And
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: he then called camel drivers and sent them away with
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: the beasts to Riod. And he said to them, these
• 10:30
  Speaker 1: are certain loads of fine wheat and of mellow dates
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: for the Sultan's table, such as cannot be found in Riod.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: But he sent a letter to his father in law,
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: who caused all the packs to be taken immediately to
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: one of the secret chambers, where he and his daughter
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Zahawa took out the jewels and stored them with their own.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: And as for me, I believe that Khalad made an
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: end of the Sultan himself by means of poison in Derayea,
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: for he rode away suddenly after they had met, as
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: though his conscience smote him. What is this evil tale
• 11:14
  Speaker 1: which you are telling me, cried Abdullah. Surely it is
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: a lie. For Khaled is a brave man who gives
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: every one his due and deceives no one. And he
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: is by no means subtle. For I have heard him
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: in council, and he generally said only smite. But sometimes
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: he said strike, and that was all his eloquence. But
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: whether he said the one or the other, he was
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: generally the first to follow his own advice, which, indeed,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: by the merciful dispensation of Allah, procured us the victory.
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: But what is this tale which you have invented? And
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: who is this color lad whom you praise, asked Almasta?
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: And how can you know his craftiness as I know it?
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: Who have lived in the palace and braided his wife's
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: hair and brought him drink when he was thirsty. Is
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: he a man of your tribe whose descent you can
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: count upon your fingers from him to his grandfather and
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: to Ishmael and Abraham. Or is he a man of
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: a tribe known to you and whose generations you also know.
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: Has any man called him Khaled ibn Mohammed or Khaled
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: ibn Abdullah? Or has he ever spoken of his father,
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: who is probably now drinking boiling water and the black
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: angels are pounding his head with iron maces. Yet he
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: says that he came from the desert, Then you, who
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: are of the desert, do not know the desert, for
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: you do not know whence he is. But there are
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: those who do know, and he fears them lest they
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: should tell the truth and destroy him. These are idle tales,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: said Abdullah. Is it probable that the Sultan would have
• 13:16
  Speaker 1: bestowed his daughter and all the treasures you have described
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: upon such a man without having made inquiries concerning his family?
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: And if the Sultan said nothing to us about it,
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: and if Khaled holds his peace, they have doubtless their reasons.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: For it may be that there is a blood feud
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: between the people of Khaled and some great person in Riod,
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: so that he would be in danger of his life
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: if he revealed his father's name. Allah knows. It is
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: not our business, Oh Abdullah, you are simple and you
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: believe all things, cried Almasta. But I heard of him
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: in Basra. What did you hear in Basrah? And how
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: could you have heard of him? There? I was in
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: the Emir's harem, being kept there to rest from the
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: journey after they had brought me from the north, and
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: there I heard of Khald, for the women talked of him,
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: having been told tales about him by a merchant who
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: was admitted to the palace. Now this is great folly,
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: answered Abdullah, For Khalid came suddenly to Riad and was
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: married immediately to Zahawa. And on the next day he
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: went out with us against Taiel, which we took from
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: the Shamar in three weeks time from the day of
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: our marching. Moreover, we found you there in the palace.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: How then could news of Khald have reached Basra before
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: you left that place? I had come to hail, but
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: the day before you attacked the city, said Almasta. But
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: did I say that I had heard of him as
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: already married to Zahawa. For she saw that she had
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: run the risk of being found out in a lie,
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: and she made haste to defend herself. What did you
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: hear of him, asked Abdullah. He was a notable fellow
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: and a robber, answered almosta for he is a Persian
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: and a Shia who offers prayers to Ali in secret.
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: But because he had done many outrageous deeds, a great
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: price was set upon his head throughout Persia. So he
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: fled into Arabia, and by his boldness and craft he
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: married Zahawa. And now he has made a secret covenant
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: to deliver over the kingdom of Nejd to the Persians.
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: Then Abdullah laughed aloud who shall deliver over the Bedouin
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: to a white faced people who live on boiled chestnuts
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: and ride astride of a camel. And when a man
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: has got a kingdom, why should he give it up
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: to any one except under force. There is a reason
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: for this too, Almasta answered unabashed. For the king of
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: the Persians, who may call the Padishah, has an only
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: daughter of great beauty, and Colet is to receive her
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: in marriage as the price of Nejt. Then he will,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: by treachery destroy the Padishah's sons, and will inherit Persia
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: also as he has inherited Nedged. And after that he
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: will make war upon the Romans in Stambul and will
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: become the master of the whole world. This is a
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: strange tale and seems full of madness, said Abdullah, I
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: do not believe it. Tell me rather a story of
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: your own country, and afterwards we will sleep. For tomorrow
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: we will leave this place. I will tell you a
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: wonderful history which is quite true. Answered almosta. Take this
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: fresh piece of frankincense which I have prepared for you,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: and put it into your mouth, for you will then
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: not interrupt me with questions. While I am speaking. So
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: Abdullah took the savory gum and chewed it, and Almasta
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: told him the tale which here follows. There is in
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: the north beyond Persia a great and prosperous kingdom, lying
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: between two seas, and resembling Paradise for its wonderful beauty.
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: All the hills are cover with trees of every description,
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: in which innumerable birds make their nests, all of a
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: beautiful plumage and good for man to eat. And in
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: these forests there are also great herds of animals, whose
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: name I do not know in Arabic, having branching horns
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: and kindred to the little beast, which you call the
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: cow of the desert, but far better to eat, and
• 18:30
  Speaker 1: as large as full grown camels. A man who is
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: hungry need only shoot an arrow at a venture, for
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: the birds and animals are so numerous that he will
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: certainly hit something. This kingdom is watered everywhere by rivers
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: and streams abounding in fish, all good to eat and
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: easily caught. And all the valleys are filled with vineyards
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: of black and white grapes. But the people of this
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: country tree are chiefly Christians. May Allah send them enlightenment Now,
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: the king was an old man who delighted in feasting
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: and cared little for the affairs of the nation, preferring
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: a loot to a sword, and a wine cup to
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: a shield, and the feet of dancing girls to the
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: hoofs of war horses. He had no son to go
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: out to war for him, but only one beautiful daughter,
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: like the Sultan of our country who died, said Abdullah
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: very much. There were also other points of resemblance. Now
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: there was a certain Tartar in the Kingdom of Samarkand
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: called Isma'il, who was a robber and had destroyed many
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: caravans on the march, and had broken into many houses,
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: both in Samarkand and Tashkent, a notable evil. But having
• 20:02
  Speaker 1: one day stolen a fleet mare from the Sultan's stables,
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: the soldiers pursued him, and, in order to escape in palement,
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: he fled. No one could catch him, because the mayor
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: he had stolen was the fleetest in Great Tartary. So
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: he rode westward through many countries and by the shores
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: of the inland sea, until he came to the kingdom,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: which I have described. There he hid himself in the
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: forest for some time and waylaid travelers, making them tell
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: him all that they knew of the kingdom, and afterwards
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: killing them. But when he had obtained all that he wanted,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: both rich garments and splendid weapons, and the necessary information,
• 20:53
  Speaker 1: he left the forest and rode into the capital city.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Then he went to the king and desired of him
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: a private audience, which was granted. He said that he
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: was the son of a powerful Christian prince and had
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: been taken captive by the Tartars, but had escaped, and
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: he offered to make all Tartary subject to the king
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: if only he might marry his daughter. And whether by
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: magic or by eloquence, he succeeded, for the king was
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: old and feeble minded, But soon after the wedding he
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: poisoned his father in law and became king in his place.
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: Though there were many in the land who had a
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: better right, being closely connected with the royal blood. This
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: is the story of Khaled, said Abdullah, I know the truth.
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: Why do you weary me trying to deceive me and
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: calling him a robber? But it is true that in
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: edged there are men of good descent who have a
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: better right to sit on the throne hear what followed,
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: answered Almasta. This man is Mael afterwards took captive a
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: woman of the Tartars, who knew who he was, though
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: he supposed her ignorant, and he gave her in marriage
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: to the youngest and bravest of his captains, a man
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: to whom Allah had vouchsafed the tongue of eloquence and
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: the teeth of strength and the lips of discretion to
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: close together and hide both at the proper season. The
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: woman told her husband who Ismaiel was, and instructed him
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: concerning the palace, its passages and secret places, and the
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: treasures that were hidden there. And she told him also
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: that Ismael had made a covenant with the sultan of
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: his own country, which would bring destruction upon the nation
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: he now ruled. For she loved her husband on account
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: of his youth and beauty, and she had embraced his
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: faith and was ready to die for him. The husband's
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: name was Abdullah, said Abdullah, and he also loved his wife,
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: who surpassed other women in beauty as a bay mayor
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: surpasses piggs. He afterwards loved her still better, answered Almasta,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: For though he was only chief over four hundred tents,
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: she gave him a kingdom. Hear what followed, but I
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: will call him Abdullah if you please. Though his name
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: was mshchet Allah is merciful, there are no such names
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: in Arabia. This one is like the breaking of earthen
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: nds vessels upon stones. Call him Abdullah. Abdullah therefore went
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: to the wisest and most discreet of his kindred and
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: spoke to them of the great treasures which were hidden
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: in the palace. And he pointed out to their obscured
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: sight that all this wealth had been got by them
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: and their fathers in war, and had been taken in
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: tithes from the people, and was now in the possession
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: of Ismael. And they talked among themselves and saw that
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: this was indeed true. And at another time he told
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: them that Ismael was not really of their religion, but
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: a hypocrite. And again a third time he told them
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: the whole truth, so that their hearts burned when they
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: knew that their king was but a robber who had
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: been condemned to death, though they were great men. The
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: story was in some way told abroad among the soldiers,
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: doubtless by the intervention of angels so that all the
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: people knew it and were angry against Ismael and ready
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: to break out against him, so soon as a man
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: could be found to lead them. But said Abdullah, this
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Ismael doubtless had a strong guard of soldiers about him,
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: and had given gifts to his captains and shown honor
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: to them, so that they were attached to him, undoubtedly,
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: replied Almasta. And but for his wife, Abdullah could not
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: have succeeded. She advised him to go to his discreet,
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: kindred and friends and say to them, see if you
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: will afterwards support me. I will go alone into the
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: palace and will get the better of the this Ismaeil
• 26:01
  Speaker 1: when he is asleep. And I will so do that
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: the soldiers shall not oppose me, And afterwards you will
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: all enter together, and the treasure shall be divided, but
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: we will throw some of it to the people, lest
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: they be disappointed. And so he did, for his wife
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: knew the secret entrances to the palace, and took him
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: in with her by night, disguised as a woman, and
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: they went together silently into the harem and slew Ismaeil
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: and bound his wife and took the keys of the
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: treasure chambers from under the pillow. After this they took
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: from the gold as many bags as there were soldiers,
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: and waked each man, giving him a sack of shereefs,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: and bidding him take as much more as he could find,
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: for the king king was dead. Then Abdullah's friends were admitted,
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: and they divided the treasure and went abroad before it
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: was day, calling upon the people that Ismael was dead
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: and that a man of their own nation was king
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: in his place, and scattering handfuls of gold into every
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: house as they passed, and behold, before the second call
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: to prayer, Abdullah was king, and all the people came
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: and did homage to him, And Abdullah himself was astonished
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: when he saw how easy it had been, and loved
• 27:41
  Speaker 1: his wife even better than before. So Almasta finished her tale,
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: and there was silence for a time, while Abdullah sat
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: still and gazed at the closed tents in the starlight
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: and listened to the distant chewing of the camels. Give
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: me some water, he said, at last, I am very thirsty.
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: She brought him drink from the skin, and soon afterwards
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: he lay down to rest. But they said nothing more
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: to each other that night of the story which Almasta
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: had told. On the following day, they journeyed fully eleven
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: hours to a place where there was much water, And
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: in the evening, when the camels were chewing and all
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: the Bedouins had eaten and were resting in their tents,
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: Abdullah sat again in his accustomed place. Almasta, light of
• 28:41
  Speaker 1: my darkness, he said, I would gladly hear again something
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: of the tale you told me last night, for I
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: have not remembered it well, being overburdened with the cares
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: of my people and the direction of the march. Surely
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: you said that when a woman and her husband had
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: killed Ismael, they took the keys of the treasure chambers
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: from under his pillow. Is it not so? They did so, Abdullah,
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: And they immediately went and took the gold and gave
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: it to the guards. But I have forgotten, for it
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: is a matter of little importance, being but a tale,
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: that is what they did, answered Almasta. But surely this
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: is a fable. How could the woman know the way
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: to the treasure chambers and find it in the dark.
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: For you said also that these secret places were underground,
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: and therefore a great way from the Harem. I did
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: not say that Abdullah, For the secret places underground are
• 29:52
  Speaker 1: those in Riod, which I described to you before I
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: began the other story. This may be true, for I
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: am very forgetful, But I dare say that the treasures
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: in the city you described were also hidden in similar places.
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: Since you speak of this, I remember that it was so.
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: The glorious light of your intelligence penetrates the darkness of
• 30:19
  Speaker 1: my memory and makes it clear the places were exactly similar.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: How then, could the woman who only knew the harem
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: find her way in the dark and lead her husband
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: to a part of the palace which she had never visited.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: This is a hard thing. It was not hard for her.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: She had seen Ismael open with his key a door
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: in his sleeping chamber, and he had gone in, and
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: after some time, had returned bearing sacks of gold pieces.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Was this a hard thing? Or does a wise man
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: make two doors to his treasure house, the one for
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: himself and the other for thieves, the one leading to
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: his own chamber for his own use, and the other
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: opening upon the highway, for the convenience of robbers. It
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: is possible, but I think not Ismael had but one door.
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: He was not an Egyptian Jackass. This is reasonable, said Abdullah,
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: and I am now satisfied, But my imagination was not
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: at rest, for the story is a good one and
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: deserves to be well told. After this, Abdullah wandered for
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: a long time with the Bedouins who accompanied him, often
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: changing his direction so that they wondered whether he was
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: leading them, and began to question him, But he answered
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: that he had heard secretly of a great spoil to
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: be taken, and that they should all have a share
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: of it. And whenever they came upon Arabs of another tribe,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: Abdullah invited the sheikh and the most notable men to
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: his tent and entertained them sumptuously with camels, meet afterwards
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: talking along with them in private. Before many weeks had passed,
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: the skillful men of the tribe, who knew the signs,
• 32:33
  Speaker 1: were aware that many other Bedouins were traveling in the
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: same direction as themselves, though they could not be seen.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: But neither Abdullah's men nor Almasta herself could know that.
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: In three months, the shaikhs of all the tribes from
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: Hassa to Harb and from Adjban to Elkhora had heard
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: that Khaled the Sultan was a Persian robber and a
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: Shia at heart, venerating Ali and execrating the true sna,
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: a man who, in all probability drank wine in secret,
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: and who was certainly plotting to deliver up all nedged
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: to the power of the agem. Some of them believed
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: the tale readily enough, for all had asked whence Khaled was,
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: and none had got an answer. Could a man be
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: of the desert, they asked, and yet not be known
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: by name in any of the tribes, nor his father
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: before him. Surely there was a secret, they said, And
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: he who will not tell the name of his father
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: has a reason for changing his own. And as for
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: his being brave and having fought well in the war
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: with the Shamar, how could a man have been a
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: robber if he were not brave? And why should he
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: not fight manfully, since he had everything to gain and
• 34:10
  Speaker 1: nothing to lose. As for the spoils, too, he had
• 34:14
  Speaker 1: made a pretense of dividing them justly, but it was
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: now well known that he had laden camels by stealth
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: at Hiel, and had sent them secretly to Riod, slaughtering
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: with his own hand all those who had helped him.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: Little by little too. The story came to Riod, and
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: was told in a low voice by merchants in the bazaar,
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: and repeated by their wives among their acquaintance, and by
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: the slaves in the market, and among the beggars who
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: begged by the doors of the great Mosque, but were
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: fed daily from the palace. And though many persons of
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: the better sort thought that the story might be true,
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: and wagged their heads when Khaled's name was spoken, yet
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: the beggars, with one accord, declared that it was a lie,
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: for Khaled was generous in almsgiving. And they said, if
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: Khaled is overthrown and another sultan set up in his place,
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: how do we know whether there will be boiled camels
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: meat from time to time, as well as blanket bread
• 35:31
  Speaker 1: and a small measure of barley meal. And will the
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: next sultan scatter gold in the streets as Kaled did
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: on the first day when he rode to the mosque. Truly,
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: these chatterers of Bedouins talk much of the treasure in
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: the palace which will be divided. But they who talk
• 35:52
  Speaker 1: most of gold are they who most desire it, and
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: we shall get none. Therefore we say it is a lie,
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: and Khaled is a true man and a sauna like ourselves,
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: not a swiller of wine, nor a devourer of pigs.
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: Allah show him mercy now and at the day of resurrection.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: The cock sparrow is pluming his breast, while the hunter
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: is pulling the string of the snare. Thus the beggars
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: talked among themselves all day, reasoning after the manner of
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: their kind. But they suffered other people to talk as
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: they pleased, For one who desires alms must not exhibit
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: a contradictory disposition, lest the rich man be offended. And
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: eat the melon together with the melon peels, and exclaim
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: that the dirt scraper has become a preacher, For the
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: rich man's anger is at the edge of his nostril,
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: and always ready. As the winter passed away and the
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: spring began, the tribes of the desert grew nearer and
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: nearer to the city, as is their wont at that season.
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: For many of the sheikhs had houses in the city
• 37:18
  Speaker 1: in which they spent the hot months of the year,
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: while their people were encamped in the low hill country,
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: not far off, where the heat is less fierce than
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: in the plains and the deserts. And now also the
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: season of the haj was approaching, for Ramadan was not
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: far off, and the beggars congregated at the gates, waiting
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: for the first pilgrims and expecting plentiful alms, which in
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: due time they received. For in that year Abdullah did
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: not molest the Persian pilgrimage, his mind being occupied with
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: other matters. And of chapter eight