第29章

Cried he 'Thou liest！' 'How so，O Prince of True Believers？' asked the Emir.So he told him the case and added，'I charge thee to bring me back all the stolen things.' Replied the Emir，'O Commander of the Faithful，the vinegar worm is of and in the vinegar，and no stranger can get at this place.'[97] But the Caliph said，'Except thou bring me these things，I will put thee to death.' Quoth he，'Ere thou slay me，slay Ahmad Kamakim，for none should know the robber and the traitor but the Captain of the Watch.' Then came forward Ahmad Kamakim and said to the Caliph，'Accept my intercession for the Chief of Police，and I will be responsible to thee for the thief and will track his trail till I find him； but give me two Kazis and two Assessors for he who did this thing feareth thee not，nor cloth he fear the Governor nor any other.' Answered the Caliph，'Thou shalt have what thou wantest； but let search be made first in my palace and then in those of the Wazir and the Chief of the Sixty.' Rejoined Ahmad Kamakim，'Thou sayest well，O Commander of the Faith ful； belike the man that did this ill deed be one who hath been reared in the King's household or in that of one of his officers.' Cried the Caliph，'As my head liveth，whosoever shall have done the deed I will assuredly put him to death，be it mine own son！' Then Ahmad Kamakim received a written warrant to enter and perforce search the houses；--And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and ceased to say her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-fourth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Ahmad Kamakim got what he wanted，and received a written warrant to enter and perforce search the houses； so he fared forth，taking in his hand a rod[98] made of bronze and copper，iron and steel，of each three equal-parts.He first searched the palace of the Caliph，then that of the Wazir Ja'afar； after which he went the round of the houses of the Chamberlains and the Viceroys till he came to that of Ala al-Din.Now when the Chief of the Sixty heard the clamour before his house，he left his wife Jessamine and went down and，opening the door，found the Master of Police without in the midst of a tumultuous crowd.So he said，'What is the matter，O Emir Khalid？' Thereupon the Chief told him the case and Ala al-Din said，'Enter my house and search it.' The Governor replied，'Pardon，O my lord； thou art a man in whom trust is reposed and Allah forfend that the trusty turn traitor！' Quoth Ala al-Din，'There is no help for it but that my house be searched.' So the Chief of Police entered，attended by the Kazi and his Assessors； whereupon Ahmad Kamakim went straight to the depressed floor of the saloon and came to the slab，under which he had buried the stolen goods and let the rod fall upon it with such violence that the marble broke in sunder and behold something glittered underneath.Then said he，'Bismillah； in the name of Allah！ Mashallah； whatso Allah willeth！ By the blessing of our coming a hoard hath been hit upon，wait while we go down into this hiding-place and see what is therein.' So the Kazi and Assessors looked into the hole and finding there the stolen goods，drew up a statement[99] of how they had discovered them in Ala al-Din's house，to which they set their seals.Then，they bade seize upon Ala al-Din and took his turban from his head，and officially registered all his monies and effects which were in the mansion.Meanwhile，arch-thief Ahmad Kamakim laid hands on Jessamine，who was with child by Ala al-Din，and committed her to his mother，saying，'Deliver her to Khatun，the Governor's lady：'

so the old woman took her and carried her to the wife of the Master of Police.Now as soon as Habzalam Bazazah saw her，health and heart returned to him and he arose without stay or delay and joyed with exceeding joy and would have drawn near her； but she plucks a dagger from her girdle and said，'Keep off from me，or I will kill thee and kill myself after.' Exclaimed his mother，'O strumpet，let my son have his will of thee！' But Jessamine answered 'O bitch，by what law is it lawful for a woman to marry two men； and how shall the dog be admitted to the place of the lion？' With this，the ugly youth's love-longing redoubled and he sickened for yearning and unfulfilled desire； and refusing food returned to his pillow.Then said his mother to her，'O harlot，how canst thou make me thus to sorrow for my son？ Needs must I punish thee with torture，and as for Ala al-Din，he will assuredly be hanged.' 'And I will die for love of him，' answered Jessamine.Then the Governor's wife arose and stripped her of her jewels and silken raiment and，clothing her in petticoat-trousers of sack-cloth and a shift of hair-cloth，sent her down into the kitchen and made her a scullery-wench，saying，'The reward for thy constancy shall be to break up fire-wood and peel onions and set fire under the cooking-pots.' Quoth she，'I am willing to suffer all manner of hardships and servitude，but I will not suffer the sight of thy son.' However，Allah inclined the hearts of the slave-girls to her and they used to do her service in the kitchen.Such was the case with Jessamine； but as regards Ala al-Din they carried him，together with the stolen goods，to the Divan where the Caliph still sat upon his throne.And behold，the King looked upon his effects and said，'Where did ye find them？'