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Where didst thou buy it? said the Khalif, and who could come
by its like to sell it to thee? Then they beat him, till he
confessed that he had stolen the lantern and the rest, and the
Khalif said, O traitor, what moved thee to do this thing and
ruin Alaeddin Abou esh Shamat, the Trusty and Well-beloved? Then
he bade lay hands on him and on the Chief of the Police, but the
latter said, O Commander of the Faithful, indeed I am unjustly
entreated; thou badest me hang him, and I had no knowledge of
this plot, for the thing was contrived between Ahmed Kemakim and
his mother and my wife. I crave thine intercession, O Aslan. So
Aslan interceded for him with the Khalif, who said, What hath
God done with this lad s mother? She is with me, answered
Khalid, and the Khalif said, I command thee to bid thy wife
dress her in her own clothes and ornaments and restore her to her
former rank; and do thou remove the seals from Alaeddin s house
and give his son possession of his estate. I hear and obey,
answered Khalid, and going forth, carried the Khalif s order to
his wife, who clad Jessamine in her own apparel; whilst he
himself removed the seals from Alaeddin s house and gave Aslan
the keys. Then said the Khalif to Aslan, Ask a boon of me; and
he replied, I beseech thee to unite me with my father. Whereat
the Khalif wept and said, Most like it was thy father that was
hanged and is dead; but by the life of my forefathers, whoso
bringeth me the glad news that he is yet in the bonds of life, I
will give him all he seeketh! Then came forward Ahmed ed Denef
and kissing the earth before the Khalif, said, Grant me
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indemnity, O Commander of the Faithful! Thou hast it, answered
the Khalif; and Ed Denef said, I give thee the good news that
Alaeddin is alive and well. Quo the Khalif, What is this thou
sayest? As thy head liveth, answered Ed Denef, I speak sooth;
for I ransomed him with another, of those who deserved death, and
carried him to Alexandria, where I set him up as a dealer in
second-hand goods. Then said Er Reshid, I charge thee fetch him
to me; and Ed Denef replied, I hear and obey; whereupon the
Khalif bade give him ten thousand dinars and he set out for
Alexandria.
Meanwhile Alaeddin sold all that was in his shop, till he had but
a few things let and amongst the rest a bag. So he shook the bag
and there fell out a jewel, big enough to fill the palm of the
hand, hanging to a chain of gold and having five faces, whereon
were names and talismanic characters, as they were ant-tracks.
God is All-knowing! quoth he. Belike this is a talisman. So
he rubbed each face; but nothing came of it and he said to
himself, Doubtless it is a piece of [naturally] variegated
onyx, and hung it up in the shop. Presently, a Frank passed
along the street and seeing the jewel hanging up, seated himself
before the shop and said to Alaeddin, O my lord, is yonder jewel
for sale? All I have is for sale, answered Alaeddin; and the
Frank said, Wilt thou sell it me for fourscore thousand dinars?
May God open! [FN116] replied Alaeddin. Wilt thou sell it for
a hundred thousand dinars? asked the Frank, and he answered, I
sell it to thee for a hundred thousand dinars; pay me down the
money. Quoth the Frank, I cannot carry such a sum about me, for
there are thieves and sharpers in Alexandria; but come with me to
my ship and I will pay thee the money and give thee to boot a
bale of Angora wool, a bale of satin, a bale of velvet and a
bale of broadcloth. So Alaeddin rose and giving the jewel to
the Frank, locked up his shop and committed the keys to his
neighbour, saying, Keep these keys for me, whilst I go with this
Frank to his ship and take the price of my jewel. If I be long
absent and there come to thee Captain Ahmed ed Denef, he who set
me up in this shop, give him the keys and tell him where I am.
Then he went with the Frank to his ship, where the latter set him
a stool and making him sit down, said [to his men], Bring the
money. So [they brought it and] he paid him the price of the
jewel and gave him the four bales he had promised him; after
which he said to him, O my lord, honour me by taking a morsel or
a draught of water. And Alaeddin answered, If thou have any
water, give me to drink. So the Frank called for drink, and they
brought sherbets, drugged with henbane, of which no sooner had
Alaeddin drunk, than he fell over on his back; whereupon they
weighed anchor and shoving off, shipped the poles and made sail.
The wind blew fair and they sailed till they lost sight of land,
when the Frank bade bring Alaeddin up out of the hold and made
him smell to the counter-drug, whereupon he opened his eyes and
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said, Where am I? Thou art bound and in my power, answered
the Frank; and if thou hadst refused to take a hundred thousand
dinars for the jewel, I would have bidden thee more. What art
thou? asked Alaeddin, and the other replied, I am a sea-
captain and mean to carry thee to my mistress. As they were
talking, a ship hove in sight, with forty Muslim merchants on
board; so the Frank captain gave chase and coming up with the
vessel, made fast to it with grappling-irons. Then he boarded it
with his men and took it and plundered it; after which he sailed
on with his prize, till he reached the city of Genoa, where he
repaired to the gate of a palace, that gave upon the sea, and
there came forth to him a veiled damsel, who said, Hast thou
brought the jewel and its owner? I have brought them both,
answered he; and she said, Then give me the jewel. So he gave
it to her and returning to the port, fired guns to announce his
safe return; whereupon the King of the city, being notified of
his arrival, came down to receive him and said to him, What
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