第30章

They replied，'In the very middle of the house belonging to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat；' whereat the Caliph was filled with wrath and took the things，but found not the lanthorn among them and said，'O Ala al-Din，where is the lanthorn？' He answered 'I stole it not，I know naught of it； I never saw it； I can give no information about it！' Said the Caliph，'O traitor，how cometh it that I brought thee near unto me and thou hast cast me out afar，and I trusted in thee and thou betrayest me？' And he commanded to hang him.So the Chief of Police took him and went down with him into the city，whilst the crier preceded them proclaiming aloud and saying，'This is the reward and the least of the reward he shall receive who doth treason against the Caliphs of True Belief！' And the folk flocked to the place where the gallows stood.Thus far concerning him； but as regards Ahmad al-Danaf，Ala al-Din's adopted father，he was sitting making merry with his followers in a garden，and carousing and pleasuring when lo！ in came one of the water-carriers of the Divan and，kissing the hand of Ahmad al-Danaf，said to him，'O Captain Ahmad，O Danaf！ thou sittest at thine ease with water flowing at thy feet，[100] and thou knowest not what hath happened.' Asked Ahmad，'What is it？'

and the other answered，'They have gone down to the gallows with thy son Ala al-Din，adopted by a covenant before Allah！' Quoth Ahmad，'What is the remedy here，O Hasan Shuuman，and what sayst thou of this？' He replied，'Assuredly Ala al-Din is innocent and this blame hath come to him from some one enemy.'[101] Quoth Ahmad，'What counsellest thou？' and Hasan said，'We must rescue him，Inshallah！' Then he went to the jail and said to the gaolor，'Give us some one who deserveth death.' So he gave him one that was likest of men to Ala al-Din Abu al-Shamat； and they covered his head and carried him to the place of execution between Ahmad al-Danaf and Ali al-Zaybak of Cairo.[102] Now they had brought Ala al-Din to the gibbet，to hang him，but Ahmad al-Danaf came forward and set his foot on that of the hangman，who said，'Give me room to do my duty.' He replied，'O accursed，take this man and hang him in Ala al-Din's stead； for he is innocent and we will ransom him with this fellow，even as Abraham ransomed Ishmael with the ram.'[103] So the hangman seized the man and hanged him in lieu of Ala al-Din； whereupon Ahmad and Ali took Ala al-Din and carried him to Ahmad's quarters and，when there，Ala al-Din turned to him and said，'O my sire and chief，Allah requite thee with the best of good！' Quoth he，'O Ala al-Din'--And Shahrazed perceived the dawn of day and ceased saying her permitted say.

When it was the Two Hundred and Sixty-fifth Night，She said，It hath reached me，O auspicious King，that Calamity Ahmad cried，'O Ala al-Din，what is this deed thou hast done？ The mercy of Allah be on him who said，'Whoso trusteth thee betray him not，e'en if thou be a traitor.' Now the Caliph set thee in high place about him and styled thee 'Trusty' and 'Faithful'； how then couldst thou deal thus with him and steal his goods？' 'By the Most Great Name，O my father and chief，' replied Ala al-Din，'I had no hand in this，nor did I such deed，nor know I who did it.' Quoth Ahmad，'Of a surety none did this but a manifest enemy and whoso doth aught shall be requited for his deed； but，O Ala al-Din，thou canst sojourn no longer in Baghdad，for Kings，O my son，may not pass from one thing to another，and when they go in quest of a man，ah！ longsome is his travail.' 'Whither shall I go，O my chief？' asked Ala al-Din； and he answered，'O my son，I will bring thee to Alexandria，for it is a blessed place； its threshold is green and its sojourn is agreeable.' And Ala al-Din rejoined，'I hear and I obey，O my chief.' So Ahmad said to Hasan Shuuman，'Be mindful and，when the Caliph asketh for me，say，'He is gone touring about the provinces'.' Then，taking Ala al-Din，he went forth of Baghdad and stayed not going till they came to the outlying vineyards and gardens，where they met two Jews of the Caliph's tax-gatherers，riding on mules.Quoth Ahmad Al-Danaf to these，'Give me the black-mail.'[104] and quoth they，'Why should we pay thee black mail？' whereto he replied，'Because I am the watchman of this valley.' So they gave him each an hundred gold pieces，after which he slew them and took their mules，one of which he mounted，whilst Ala al-Din bestrode the other.Then they rode on till they came to the city of Ayas[105] and put up their beasts for the night at the Khan.And when morning dawned，Ala al-Din sold his own mule and committed that of Ahmad to the charge of the door-keeper of the caravanserai，after which they took ship from Ayas port and sailed to Alexandria.Here they landed and walked up to the bazar and behold，there was a broker crying a shop and a chamber behind it for nine hundred and fifty dinars.Upon this Ala al-Din bid a thousand which the broker accepted，for the premises belonged to the Treasury； and the seller handed over to him the keys and the buyer opened the shop and found the inner parlour furnished with carpets and cushions.

Moreover，he found there a store-room full of sails and masts，cordage and seamen's chests，bags of beads and cowrie[106]