"Her husband?" asked the Spaniard, carelessly.
"You have heard his name--Richard of the Great Cimeter--a terrible emir who slays his captives ruthlessly."
"I have heard of him; go on."
"_Ya!_ Iftikhar prepares his band to go to Antioch, and swears he will take this houri with him, that she may see the fate of her dear Franks with her own eyes. He vows likewise he will give her Emir Richard"s head to fondle, since she loves it so."
"Verily he is a b.l.o.o.d.y man," commented the Spaniard.
"It is so; yet his captive will find she had best put the clouds from her face and try to please him. He is a man of will harder than Damascus steel."
The Spaniard took up the coral necklace and eyed it critically.
"Five dirhems?" suggested he. "Take it for five, yet count it as a gift. Alas, my profit!" sighed Asad.
The other drew the coins from a lank pouch, waited while Asad bit each to prove it, placed the coral under the folds of his turban, then whispered to the muezzin, "Friend, follow me,"--the same time slipping a coin into his closing palm. Asad"s eyes shut in a contented cat-nap when adieus were over; profit enough gained for one day. Khalid followed the stranger into the bustling street.
"Good father," said the stranger, affably, "do you know, this tale of the Emir Iftikhar is most interesting. Why? Because it is most marvellous any prince should go to such lengths to court favor with a mere captive, be she brighter than the sun. But you surely repeat gossip on the streets, you do not know the eunuchs, or have access yourself to El Halebah?"
Khalid chuckled, "I swear by Mohammed"s beard there is not a courtyard about Aleppo I may not find and enter, blind though I am. The gate of El Halebah is as open to me as to a glutton the way to his mouth, and I chatter all day with the eunuchs." His questioner began to rattle his money-bag.
"Friend," said the Spaniard, "you appear an honest man. Now swear thrice by Allah the Great that you will not betray me, and to-night you shall count over fifty dirhems."
"Allah forbid!" cried the muezzin, raising his hands in holy horror.
"I cannot know what wickedness you desire to make me share."
"And I swear to you I have no attempt against any man"s goods, or wife, or life, or honor; and you shall count seventy dirhems?"
"I cannot; how can I go before the Most High on the last day with some great sin on my soul!"
"_Ya!_ Eighty, then?" A long pause; then Khalid answered very slowly, and his seared eyeb.a.l.l.s twinkled:--
"Impossible!--yet--a--hundred--"
"They are yours!" was the prompt reply.
"Oh, fearful wickedness! how can I satisfy the Omnipotent? Yet"--and the blind eyes rose sanctimoniously toward heaven--"the divine compa.s.sion is very great. Says not Al Koran, "Allah is most ready to forgive, and merciful"?"
"You will swear, then?" demanded the other, promptly.
"Yes," and Khalid folded his hands piously while he muttered the formula; then added, "Now give me the money."
"Softly, brother," was the reply. "Remember well the other words of the Apostle, "violate not your oaths, since you have made Allah a witness over you," The money in due time; now lead me and do as I shall bid, or in turn I swear you shall not finger one bit of copper."
Now it befell that on the afternoon of the day when Khalid the blind muezzin sold his conscience for a hundred dirhems, Hakem and his fellow-eunuch Wasik sat by the outer gate of the great court of El Halebah with a _mankalah_ board between them, busy at the battle they were waging with the seventy-two sh.e.l.l counters. As they played, their talk was all of the languishing state of the Star of the Greeks, and how since her attempted flight to Antioch all the temper seemed to have burned out of her mettle.
"I protest, dear brother," quoth the worthy Wasik, studying the game-board, "doves of her feather cannot perch all day on a divan, saying and doing nothing, and not droop and moult in a way very grievous to Cid Iftikhar."
"The Cid"s commands are very strait--refuse her nothing in reason, only make plain to her that he is the master. _Wallah_, I little like this manner of bird! To my mind there hatches trouble when a woman refuses so much as to rage at you. This very day I said in my heart, "Go to, now, Hakem; pick a quarrel with the Star of the Greeks; she will be happier after giving a few pecks and claws." I call the Most High to witness--she submitted to all my demands meekly, as though she were no eaglet, but a tethered lamb! An evil omen, I say. Allah forbid she should die! Iftikhar would make us pay with our heads!"
And Wasik shrugged his shoulders to show agreement with Hakem"s last desire. Before he replied there was a loud knocking at the gate; the lazy porter stopped snoring, and began to shout to some one without.
"For the sake of Allah! O ye charitable!" was the cry from outside, evidently of a beggar demanding alms.
"Allah be your help! Go your way!" the porter was replying, and adding: "Off, O Khalid, blind son of a stone-blind hound! Must I again lay the staff across you!"
But a second voice answered him:--
"Not so, O compa.s.sionate fellow-believer; will you drive away a stranger whom the excellent Khalid has led here, craving bounty? Allah will requite tenfold any mercy. See, I am but just come from Mecca.
Behold a flask of water from the holy well Zemzem, sovereign remedy for the toothache. I ask nothing. Let me but sit awhile in the cool of the porch. I am parched with the heat of the way."
Hakem had reputation for being a pious personage.
"Let the worthy pilgrim come in!" he commanded, the porter obeying.
Wasik had his doubts.
"This is Sat.u.r.day, the most unlucky day; beware!" he muttered.
But Hakem would have none of him. Behind Khalid there entered a tottering fellow, bent with age, gray and unkempt; a patch over one eye, his blue kaftan sadly tattered, his turban a faded yellow shawl.
He swung a huge hempen sack over one shoulder and trailed a heavy staff.
"Allah requite you and your house!" was his salutation, as he dropped heavily upon the divan under the shaded arcade.
"And you also," replied Hakem, ever generous at his master"s expense.
"Be refreshed. Eat this cool melon and be strengthened."
The pilgrim put aside the plate. "Give to Khalid. Alas! I can eat nothing that was not eaten by the Prophet (Allah favor and preserve him!); such is the rule of my order of devotees. And who may say the Apostle did or did not eat the rind of a melon!" The eunuchs laid their heads together.
"A very holy man!" "A most worthy sheik; a true saint; a _welee_!"
their whispered opinions. So they kissed the old man"s hand; called him "father"; brought sherbet, dates, and bread. After the stranger had eaten and edified them all by his pious conversation, presently his one eye began to twinkle very brightly, and he started to unpack his sack. Suddenly he drew forth a long iron spike, and plunged it down his throat to the very b.u.t.t; then drew it out, laughing dryly at the wide eyes of the eunuchs. "Verily," cried he, "I am versed in "high" magic--the n.o.ble art handed by the obedient angels and genii to devout Moslems. I know the "great name" of Allah, uttering which bears me instantly to the farthest corner of the world; see!" A puff of smoke blew from his mouth; a flash of fire followed. Hakem was all eyes when the sheik rose, drew from his sack a number of brazen pots, placed them on the pavement, blew a spark seemingly from his mouth, and the bowls gave forth a blue aromatic smoke. The eunuchs began to quake under their ebony skins. The sheik turned toward them.
"My sons--I show great marvels; many should see. Your master--away?
But are there no "flowers of beauty" in the harem who would admire the one-eyed Sheik Teydemeh, the greatest "white" magician in all the land of Egypt?"
Hakem put his mouth to Wasik"s ear. "Bring out Morgiana and the Greek.
Let them be thickly veiled."
Wasik hesitated. "We are bidden to keep the Greek closely in the harem," he remarked.
"We are bidden to see that she does not pine away with naught but grief to think of. Bring both forth."
Before the magician had finished unburdening his mysterious sack, Wasik led in a lady all buried in silks and muslins. Hardly were her dark eyes visible under the veils. "I bring the Greek," whispered Wasik to Hakem; "she obeyed me like a dumb ox, but Morgiana is in her moods and will go nowhere."
The lady sat upon the soft divan listlessly, hardly so much as rustling her dress. The sheik rose, mumbled words doubtless of incantation, and commenced reeling cotton ribbons from his lips till they littered the floor. Then he drew from his teeth a score of tin disks big as silver coins, again poured water into a borrowed cup, and gave it to Hakem to drink--behold, the water was become sugar sherbet!
Then the magician blew on a tiny reed flute a strain so sweet, so delicious, Hakem verily thought he heard the maids of Paradise; and as he sang the sheik began to juggle with b.a.l.l.s, first with one hand, tossing three b.a.l.l.s; then laying aside the flute he kept six flying, all the time dancing and singing in a low quaver in some tongue that the eunuch did not understand, but thought he had once heard spoken among the Franks of Sicily. Presently the sheik threw up two more b.a.l.l.s, making eight speed in the place of six; and he danced faster, spinning round and round amid the smoking bowls, until he came to a stand right before the veiled lady, who was no longer listless now, but sat erect, eager, her bright eyes flashing from beneath her veil, though Hakem did not see--all his gaze was on those flying b.a.l.l.s. The sheik halted before her, spinning upon one foot, yet keeping his place. Suddenly he broke off his chant in the unknown tongue and sang in Arabic with clear, deep voice:--