And Boolp, the old miser, debated, and began prating,
'O lady! the soul of thy slave is abashed by a double beam, this the
jewel of jewels, thou truly of thy sex; and saving thee there's no jewel
of worth like this one, and together ye be--wullahy! never felt I aught
like this since my espousal of Soolka that 's gone, and 'twas nothing
like it then! Now, O my Princess, confess it freely--this is but a
pretext, this valuation of the Jewel, and Ukleet our go-between; and
leave the rewarding of him to me. Wullahy! I can be generous, and my days
of favour with fair ladies be not yet over. Blessed be Allah for this
day! And thinkest thou those eyes fell on me with discriminating
observation ere my sense of perception was struck by thee? Not so, for I
had noted thee, O moon of hearts, from my window yonder.'
In this fashion Boolp the broker went on prating, and bowing, and
screwing the corners of his little acid eyes to wink the wink of common
accord between himself and Bhanavar. Meantime she had spoken aside to one
of her women, and a second black slave entered the chamber, bearing in
his hand a twisted scourge, and that slave laid it on the back of Boolp
the broker, and by this means he was brought quickly to the valuation of
the Jewel. Then he named a sum that was a great sum, but not the value of
the Jewel to the fiftieth part, nay nor the five-hundredth part, of its
value; and Ukleet remonstrated with him, but he was resolute, saying,
'Even that sum leaves me a beggar.'
So Bhanavar said, 'My desire is for immediate payment of the money, and
the Jewel is thine for that sum.'
Now the broker went to fetch the money, and returned with it in bags of
gold one-half the amount, and bags of silver one-third, and the remainder
in writing made due at a certain period for payment. And he groaned and
handed her the money, and took the Jewel in his hands; ejaculating, 'In
the name of Allah!'
That evening, when it was dark and the lamps lit in the chamber, and the
wine set and the nosegay, Almeryl asked of Bhanavar to see her under the
light of the Jewel. She warded him with an excuse, but he was earnest
with her. So she feigned that he teased her, saying, ''Tis that thou art
no longer content with me as I am, O my husband!' Then she said, 'Wert
thou successful in thy dealings this day?'
His arm slackened round her, and he answered nothing. So she cried, 'Fie
on thee, thou foolish one! and what is thy need of running over this
city? Know I not thy case and thine occasion, O my beloved? Surely I am
Queen of Serpents, a mistress of enchantments, a diviner of things
hidden, and I know thee. Here, then, is what thou requirest, and conceal
not from me thy necessity another time, my husband!'
Upon that she pointed his eye to the money-bags of gold and of silver.
Almeryl was amazed, and asked her, 'How came these? for I was at the last
extremity, without coin of any kind.'