Tales of the Caliph Part 14

The Caliph stood entranced at the sight. At length he exclaimed--

"From what country does that lovely creature come? Is she really a woman, or is she not rather a fairy whom some enchantment has brought among us?"

"If," said the slave merchant, "you bid me ten thousand pieces of gold for the slave in the other room, how much will you offer for this?"

"I will give you," said the Caliph, "forty thousand dinars, and not think her dear at that price."

"As.m.u.t," said the merchant to his companion, "did I not tell you that my slave girl was better than yours? And behold this honest merchant offers four times as much for her as for your Indian."

"It is easy enough," retorted the other, "for some fellow you pick up in the bazaar, and who has not probably a thousand dinars in the world, to talk of ten thousand for this slave, and forty thousand for that.

It will be time to defer to his opinion, I think, when we see the thousands he talks of so glibly."

"Without doubt," said the first speaker, "this honourable merchant would not offer a price, however large, for the slaves, unless he were able to find the money. If he has not so much he can probably borrow a part of it. Therefore, let both of these merchants lodge here with us to-night, and to-morrow they may either fetch or send for the gold, and the bargain may be concluded."

But the Caliph exclaimed with his usual impetuosity--

"By Allah, there shall be no to-morrow in the matter. I will send for the money at once, and the slaves shall be mine."

To this As.m.u.t replied, "By your leave, not so fast. We desired, indeed, that you should set a price on each of the slaves that we might decide our dispute as to which of them is the better. But I by no means intended or bound myself to accept any sum you might mention for the slaves, whom I am in no hurry to dispose of."

"Very well," said the Caliph, who was quite unused to the chaffering of merchants, although he had a.s.sumed the garb of one, "if the price I have named does not content you, name your own price, for, in short, the slaves I will have."

As.m.u.t, after a few moments' consideration as to the highest sum he could ask without going beyond what it seemed possible to obtain from this very frank and eager buyer, said--

"The prices you have named, although no doubt large, are, in my opinion, so much below the real value of two beauties of such surpa.s.sing excellence, that I must insist on twice as much as you have offered, namely, twenty thousand dinars for the one and eighty thousand for the other."

The Caliph laughed and said, "Verily you are not a merchant for naught, and you do not underestimate the worth of your own wares.

Nevertheless, I will give you your price."

The slave merchants could make no objection to this prompt agreement to their terms; on the contrary, it suited their plans very well. Yet, in order to appear indifferent and little anxious to conclude the business with any undue haste and precipitancy, As.m.u.t said--

"To-morrow, however, will be early enough to produce the money. It is now dark and grows late, and besides, whom can you send?"

"I have a man whom I can send," said the Caliph, "for my servant will have followed us here, and I will despatch him at once for the money."

And in fact Giafer, going to the gate, beckoned to Mesrur, who had followed them as usual, and who was waiting for them outside, and not far from the house he had seen them enter.

The Caliph, taking out his tablets, wrote a few words to his treasurer, bidding him send at once by Mesrur, and in the hands of two slaves, the sum of one hundred thousand dinars. This note he delivered to Mesrur, who saluted his master and immediately departed on his errand.

The Caliph and Giafer then seated themselves on the divan in the large apartment into which they had been shown on first entering the house, and, together with the slave merchants, pa.s.sed the time in conversing and discussing again the unique beauty of the two ladies whom the Caliph was to purchase.

When Mesrur returned, bringing with him two slaves carrying the hundred thousand dinars in fifty bags, there being two thousand dinars in a bag, they were shown at once into the large room where the merchants and the Caliph were sitting.

As the slaves deposited the bags on the floor the slave merchants, as also the Caliph and Giafer, rose and stood by them, As.m.u.t so placing the lamp as that they could all see him count the money as they stood together.

He proposed to count the money in one of the bags, and that he should then proceed to weigh the other bags against that which had been counted. While all were watching him as he poured out and counted the money with much noise and many loud exclamations from both merchants as to the lightness of some of the coins, neither the Caliph, Giafer, Mesrur, nor either of the slaves, perceived that behind them, barefoot and noiseless as camels, a number of huge and powerful black slaves had entered the room.

Suddenly As.m.u.t, seizing the empty bag and dashing it on the floor, exclaimed, "I will count no more!"

This being the signal, no sooner had he uttered the words than the slaves seized the Caliph and his companions, threw them down, and before they could either struggle or cry out had securely bound and gagged them.

"A good haul for one night's fishing," said As.m.u.t, coolly; "a hundred thousand dinars and five men, who will doubtless sell very well after taking a voyage, that is not so bad."

Then ordering some of the slaves to be ready to take the prisoners down to the river as soon as the dawn should appear, As.m.u.t and his partner personally superintended the removal from the room of the bags of gold.

Very early in the morning, as soon as it began to be light, a party of the black slaves who had bound the Caliph and his followers came to them, and unbinding their legs escorted them down to the river, where a ship belonging to the slave merchants lay ready to receive them.

Their prospects of escape out of the clutches of the slave merchants who had robbed and kidnapped them seemed slight indeed. Giafer and the faithful Mesrur being included in the capture, seriously diminished the chance of any effectual measures for their relief being promptly undertaken, and a fatal period of delay was rendered all the more probable in consequence of the Caliph's well-known fondness for seeking adventures in disguise. When the morning should come, and it was perceived that they had not returned to the palace, it was only too likely to be a.s.sumed that they were still engaged in the prosecution of some adventure in which the Caliph would not desire to be interrupted.

Filled with these painful reflections, the Caliph, together with Giafer, Mesrur, and the two slaves, accompanied the black slaves who formed their guard, and proceeded towards the river.

They had nearly reached the bank of the stream, and their case seemed altogether hopeless, when suddenly they met advancing towards them from the river a man habited as a merchant, and in personal appearance curiously resembling the Caliph himself. He was accompanied by two companions, and seeing several men bound and gagged being marched along under charge of the black slaves, he stopped and demanded in a firm and authoritative tone who they were and whence they were going.

At the sight of this man the blacks appeared to be seized with a sudden panic; the Caliph heard them say to each other hurriedly and with terrified looks, "It is the son of a Slave[1] himself." And immediately they turned about and fled at their utmost speed.

The stranger and his two companions at once released the prisoners, and inquired how it came to pa.s.s that they found them thus bound and gagged.

The Caliph answered him: "Sir, we have suffered this indignity and violence at the hands of two rascally and deceitful slave merchants. I will presently relate to you all the details of our adventure, but permit me first to despatch my servant on a piece of very urgent business."

Then turning to Mesrur he took him aside, and said, "Go instantly, seize the two slave merchants and execute them at once; send the slaves and plunder you find in their house to the palace, and raze their house to the ground."

Mesrur departed at once to the nearest guardhouse to procure help to carry out the orders of the Commander of the Faithful. And it need scarcely be said that he had never received a command from his Majesty which he executed with so much alacrity and good-will.

After having despatched Mesrur on this errand, the Caliph turned to the merchant and his companions, and said--

"It is now time, gentlemen, that I should thank you for your intervention on our behalf, and that I should explain to you how it came to pa.s.s that we found ourselves in the plight from which you released us."

Beginning, then, by saying that he and his friend had entered a certain caravanserai to rest themselves, and had there met the slave merchants, he related all that had befallen them, but said nothing to indicate his true rank as Caliph and Commander of the Faithful.

After Haroun had thus explained to the merchant, who both in dress and features so much resembled himself, the history of his own position, he asked him whether he could in any way account for the sudden panic which had seized upon the slaves directly he had appeared and addressed them.

The merchant, who resembled Haroun Alraschid, not only in personal appearance, but in a certain frank and bold bearing, laughed and said--

"My name is Sidi ibn Thalabi, and I am, as my dress bespeaks me, a merchant. But having the good fortune to be both in stature and features not only like yourself, which strange to say I certainly am, but also, which is more to the point, like our Caliph, G.o.d be his shield, I have been tempted in one thing to imitate his ill.u.s.trious example. The Prince of the Faithful is in the habit, as I dare say you may have heard, of seeking adventures and seeing life in the disguise of a merchant. People, who would feel constrained in the presence of their sovereign, speak and act naturally in the presence of a simple merchant, the equal of themselves. This pleases the Caliph, and affords him the gratification and amus.e.m.e.nt of observing men as they are. As Prince of the Faithful he sees them only as they pretend to be. Well, I have the same fancy, only in the contrary direction. I know how men act when they accept me as their equal, I play at being their Prince and then watch their behaviour. Taking advantage of the Caliph's well-known fondness for masquerading as a merchant and of my personal likeness to him, it is very easy to allow the impression to get about that I am he. This accounts for the precipitate flight of the slaves. Having seen me no doubt on sundry occasions in my barge upon the Tigris, and having been told by some of those busy-bodies who affect to know every one and everything that I was the Caliph in disguise, they no sooner saw me just now and heard me demand who you were than they ran away, dreading the punishment they so richly deserve."

"It appears to me," said Haroun, "that the amus.e.m.e.nt in which you indulge is a somewhat dangerous one. The Caliph is, I am told, of a fierce and rather hasty temper; should he learn by chance of your pranks, it might cost you your head. However, that is your affair.

For myself, I am indebted to your temerity for my liberty and probably for my life, therefore I have certainly no cause to quarrel with it. I shall be delighted to form one of your company in any further adventures you may undertake, and meanwhile should hear with pleasure an account of any that may have already befallen you."

To this Sidi ibn Thalabi replied, "I shall gladly conduct you to my boat on the Tigris, whither I was going when I had the good fortune to meet with you. And when we are seated there at our ease and have partaken of some food, of which you must stand greatly in need after your night's lodging with the slave merchants, I will tell you how it happened that I obtained the reputation of being the Prince of the Faithful, and some incidents that have occurred in consequence. But first," he continued, "let me introduce my friend and companion, who is indeed no other than my brother-in-law Abraha, but whom the people who take me to be the Caliph insist upon regarding as the Grand Vizier."

"Yussuf," said Haroun, addressing Giafer by that name in order to further their disguise and continue what gave promise of proving a very entertaining misunderstanding, "I am sure you will salute with due respect the person of this Grand Vizier, who is, I doubt not, as good a man or even a better than Giafer himself."

"Friend Hamad," replied Giafer, speaking to Haroun in the style and by the name they had previously agreed upon, "I salute with pleasure both our new acquaintances, and am ready to believe that Abraha is no less worthy to be really Grand Vizier than Sidi ibn Thalabi is to be really Caliph."

Haroun perceived both from the manner and the answer of Giafer that the sham Grand Vizier was a joke not quite to his liking. This amused Haroun not a little, and he employed the time as they walked towards the river in further light and playful discourse upon the topic.

Addressing Abraha, he said, "You must be pleased, sir, to excuse any roughness or want of good manners and politeness on the part of my friend Yussuf; he is perhaps a little bit jealous of the good fortune of one who has been regarded as the Grand Vizier."

Abraha, who was a rather dull and stolid personage, accepted these mock apologies with such imperturbable gravity and sincerity that Haroun was delighted with him.