Zoulmekan and his companions into the hands of the infidels, she
mounted a swift horse, saying to the Christians, "I mean to
rejoin the Muslim army before Constantinople and contrive for
their destruction; for I will tell them that their chiefs are
dead, and when they hear this, their alliance will be dissolved
and their confederation broken up and their host dispersed. Then
will I go to King Afridoun and my son King Herdoub, and they will
sally forth on them with their troops and destroy them, nor leave
one of them alive." So she mounted and fared on across country
all that night, and at daybreak, she sighted the army of Behram
and Rustem advancing towards her. So she turned aside into a
wayside copse and alighting there, hid her horse among the trees,
saying to herself, "Belike they are returning, routed, from the
assault of Constantinople." However, as she drew near, she saw
that their standards were not reversed and knew that they were
not retreating because of defeat, but that they feared for their
king and their chiefs. When she was assured of this, she hastened
up to them, running at the top of her speed, like a stubborn
Satan as she was, and cried out, "Hasten, O soldiers of the
Merciful One, hasten to the holy war against the hosts of Satan!"
When Behram saw her, he dismounted and kissing the earth before
her, said, "What is behind thee, O friend of God?"[FN#111] "Do
not ask of evil case and sore disasters," answered she. "Know
that, when our comrades had taken the treasure from the hermitage
and were on their way back to Constantinople, there came out on
them a great host and a fierce of unbelievers." And she repeated
to them the story, in such wise as to fill them with trouble and
terror, and added, "The most of them are dead, and there are but
five-and-twenty left." "O holy man," said Behram, "when didst
thou leave them?" "But last night," replied she. "Glory be to
God," exclaimed he, "Who hath rolled up the distance for thee
like a carpet, so that thou hast sped thus, walking upon thy feet
and leant upon a palm-tree staff! But thou art one of the friends
of God, that fly like birds, when possessed by the stress of His
commandment!" Then he mounted his horse, perplexed and confounded
for that which he had heard from the lying old beldam and saying,
"There is no power and no virtue but in God the Most High! Verily
our labour is lost and our hearts are heavy within us, for our
king is a prisoner and those who are with him!" Then they fared
on in haste and stayed not the whole of that day and night, till
at daybreak they reached the head of the pass and heard Zoulmekan
and Sherkan shouting, "There is no god but God! God is most
great!" Whereupon they drove at the unbelievers and overwhelmed
them, as the torrent overwhelms the plains, shouting out their
war-cries, till the stoutest champions were affrighted and the
mountains were cloven by the noise. On the morrow, they
foregathered with Zoulmekan, and each recognised the other as has
been before set out. Then they kissed the earth before the King
and his brother Sherkan, and the latter told them all that had
befallen him and his men in the grotto, whereat they marvelled
and said, "Hasten back with us to Constantinople, for we left our
companions there, and our hearts are with them." So they made
haste to depart, commending themselves to the Subtle, the
All-wise; and Zoulmekan exhorted the Muslims to steadfastness,
reciting the following verses:
To thee be the praise, O Thou that meritest thanks and praise!
And mayest Thou never cease to succour me all my days!
I grew up in exile, but Thou, my God, wast ever my friend. 'Twas
Thou didst decree me success and broughtest me forth of the
maze.
Thou hast given me lordship and wealth and fortune and girded my
midst With the falchion of valour and wreathed my forehead
with victory's bays.
Thou hast shadowed me under Thy wings and made me to prosper
amain And hast graced me with favours untold, of Thy
bounties abounding always:
Thou hast saved me from all that I feared, by the counsel of him
whom I trust, The Vizier and chief of the chiefs, the hero
and pride of our days.
By Thy favour we fell on the Greeks and smote them with sword and
with spear; But again to the fight they returned, in
garments blood-red for affrays.
So I feigned to be routed and flee and give back from the fight;
then I turned On the toe, as the fierce lion turns on the
hunters, that find him at gaze.
I left them laid low on the plain, as 'twere they were drunken
with wine, Not the wine that is pressed from the grape, but
that of death's cup of amaze;
Whilst their ships all fell under our hand and ours was the
empery grown: From the East to the West, sea and shore, we
were lords of the lands and the ways.
Then there came to our camp the recluse, the saint, whose
miraculous power Is blazoned in desert and town, wherever
the sun sheds its rays.
He joined us, his vengeance to wreak on all that believe not in
God. Indeed, it is known to the folk what came of our strife
and our frays.
They slew of us some, but they woke on the morrow in Paradise,
Each lodged in a palace on high, whereunder a river strays.
When Zoulmekan had made an end of reciting these verses, his
brother Sherkan gave him joy of his safety and praise for that he
had done; after which they set out by forced marches to rejoin
their army.
Meanwhile, Dhat ed Dewahi, after she had spoken with Rustem and
Behram, returned to the coppice, where she took her horse and
mounting, sped on, till she drew near the host of the Muslims
that lay leaguer before Constantinople, when she lighted down
from her steed and led it to the Chamberlain's pavilion. When he
saw her, he signed to her with his hand and said, "Welcome, O
pious recluse!" Then he questioned her of what had befallen, and
she repeated to him her disquieting and deluding report, saying,
"Indeed I fear for the Amirs Rustem and Behram, for that I met
them on the way and sent them and their following to the King and
his companions. They are but twenty thousand horse, and the
unbelievers are more in number than they; so I would now have
thee send of the rest of thy troops in haste to their succour,
lest they be slain to the last man." And she said to them
"Hasten! Hasten!" When the Chamberlain and the Muslims heard
these her words, their hearts sank within them and they wept; but
she said to them, "Ask aid of God and be patient under this
affliction, taking example by those that have been before you of
the people of Islam, for God hath prepared Paradise, with its
palaces, for those who die martyrs; and needs must all die, but
death is most praiseworthy, when it comes in fighting for the
Faith." When the Chamberlain heard this speech of the accursed
old woman, he called for the Amir Behram's brother, a cavalier
named Terkash, and choosing out for him ten thousand intrepid
veterans, bade him set out at once. So he departed forthright and
marched all that day and the next night, till he neared the
Muslims. When the day dawned, Sherkan saw the dust of them and
feared for his companions, saying, "If these troops that are
nearing us be Muslims, our victory is assured; but if they be
Christians, there is no gainsaying the decrees of Fate." Then he
turned to his brother Zoulmekan and said to him, "Fear not, for I
will ransom thee with my life from destruction. If these be
Muslim troops then were it an increase of God's favours; but if
they be our foes, there is nothing for it but to fight them. Yet
do I long to see the holy man once again before I die, so he may
pray for me that I may not die except a martyr." Whilst he was
thus speaking, behold, there appeared the banners with the words,
"There is no god but God and Mohammed is His Apostle" inscribed
on them, and he cried out to the new-comers, saying, "How is it
with the Muslims?" "They are in weal and safety," replied they;
"and we come not hither but out of concern for you." Then the
chief of the succours dismounted and kissing the earth before
Sherkan, said, "O my lord, the Sultan and the Vizier Dendan and
Rustem and my brother Behram, are they all in safety?" "They are
all well," answered the prince; "but who brought thee tidings of
us?" "It was the holy man," said Terkash. "He told us that he had
met my brother Behram and Rustem and had sent them to you and
also that the infidels had encompassed you and were more in
number than you; yet meseems the case is the contrary of this and
that you are victorious." "And how did the holy man reach you?"
asked Sherkan. "Walking on his feet," replied the Amir; "and he
had compassed, in the space of a single day and night, ten days'
journey for a diligent horseman." "Verily, he is a friend of
God," said Sherkan; "but where is he now?" Quoth Terkash, "We
left him with our troops, the people of Faith, encouraging them
to do battle with the infidels and rebels." Therewith Sherkan was
glad and thanked God for their own deliverance and that of the
holy man and commended the dead to the mercy of God saying, "This
was written in the Book of Fate." Then they set out for
Constantinople by forced marches, and whilst they were on the
road thither, behold, a cloud of dust arose before them and
spread till the prospect was hidden and the day darkened by it.
Sherkan looked at it and said, "Verily, I fear lest this be the
infidels who have routed the army of Islam, for that this dust
covers the country and blots out the two horizons." Presently
there appeared midmost the dust a pillar of darkness and came
towards them, blacker than the blackness of (evil) fortune and
more dreadful than the terrors of the Day of Judgment.
Horse and foot hastened up to look at it and know its meaning,
when, behold, they saw it to be the recluse aforesaid; so they
crowded round him to kiss his hands, and he cried out, "O people
of the best of men[FN#112], the lamp of the darkness, the
infidels have overcome the Muslims by craft, for they fell upon
them in their tents, whilst they deemed themselves in safety, and
made a sore slaughter of them; so hasten to the aid of the
believers in the unity of God and deliver them from those that
deny Him!" When Sherkan heard this, his heart was sore troubled
and he alighted from his horse, in amazement, and kissed the
recluse's hands and feet. In like wise did his brother Zoulmekan
and the rest of the troops, except the Vizier Dendan, who
dismounted not, but said, "By Allah, my heart revolts from this
devotee, for I never knew aught but evil come of these that make
a show of devotion to religion. Leave him and hasten to rejoin
your comrades for this fellow is of those that are outcast from
the gate of mercy of the Lord of the Two Worlds! How often have I
come out to war with King Omar ben Ennuman and trodden the earth
of these lands!" "Put away from thee this foul thought," said
Sherkan. "Hast thou not seen this holy man excite the faithful to
battle, recking nought of spears and swords? Wherefore, slander
him not, for slander is blameworthy and the flesh of pious folk
is poisoned. Look how he encourages us to battle, and did not God
love him, He had not rolled up the distance for him (like a
carpet), after He had aforetime cast him into grievous torment?"
Then Sherkan let bring a Nubian mule for her riding and said to
her, "Mount, pious man, God-fearing and holy!" But she refused,
feigning self-denial, that she might attain her end: and they
knew not that the pretended devotee was such an one as he of whom
the poet says:
He prayeth and fasteth amain for an end that he hath in view.
When once he has gained his end, fasting and prayer, adieu!