ten mules laden with crates. At this they were greatly surprised, and
began to search with suspicion amongst the surrounding crannies and
undergrowth. Finding no one there, they drew their swords and advanced
cautiously toward the cave, where, upon the captain's pronouncement of
the magic word, the door immediately fell open. Cassim, who from within
had heard the trampling of horses, had now no doubt that the robbers
were arrived and that his hour was come. Resolved however to make one
last effort at escape, he stood ready by the door; and no sooner had
the opening word been uttered than he sprang forth with such violence
that he threw the captain to the ground. But his attempt was vain;
before he could break through he was mercilessly hacked down by the
swords of the robber band.
With their fears thus verified, the robbers anxiously entered the
cave to view the traces of its late visitant. There they saw piled
by the door the treasure which Cassim had sought to carry away; but
while restoring this to its place they failed altogether to detect
the earlier loss which Ali Baba had caused them. Reckoning, however,
that as one had discovered the secret of entry others also might know
of it, they determined to leave an example for any who might venture
thither on a similar errand; and having quartered the body of Cassim
they disposed it at the entrance in a manner most calculated to strike
horror into the heart of the beholder. Then, closing the door of the
cave, they rode away in the search of fresh exploits and plunder.
Meanwhile Cassim's wife had grown very uneasy at her husband's
prolonged absence; and at nightfall, unable to endure further
suspense, she ran to Ali Baba, and telling him of his brother's secret
expedition, entreated him to go out instantly in search of him.
Ali Baba had too kind a heart to refuse or delay comfort to her
affliction. Taking with him his three asses he set out immediately for
the forest, and as the road was familiar to him he had soon found his
way to the door of the cave. When he saw there the traces of blood
he became filled with misgiving, but no sooner had he entered than
his worst fears were realized. Nevertheless brotherly piety gave him
courage. Gathering together the severed remains and wrapping them
about with all possible decency, he laid them upon one of the asses;
then bethinking him that he deserved some payment for his pains, he
loaded the two remaining asses with sacks of gold, and covering them
with wood as on the first occasion, made his way back to the town
while it was yet early. Leaving his wife to dispose of the treasure
borne by the two asses, he led the third to his sister-in-law's house,
and knocking quietly so that none of the neighbours might hear, was
presently admitted by Morgiana, a female slave whose intelligence and
discretion had long been known to him. "Morgiana," said he, "there's
trouble on the back of that ass. Can you keep a secret?" And Morgiana's
nod satisfied him better than any oath. "Well," said he, "your master's
body lies there waiting to be pieced, and our business now is to bury
him honourably as though he had died a natural death. Go and tell your
mistress that I want to speak to her."
Morgiana went in to her mistress, and returning presently bade Ali
Baba enter. Then, leaving him to break to his sister-in-law the news
and the sad circumstances of his brother's death, she, with her
plan already formed, hastened forth and knocked at the door of the
nearest apothecary. As soon as he opened to her she required of him
in trembling agitation certain pillules efficacious against grave
disorders, declaring in answer to his questions that her master had
been taken suddenly ill. With these she returned home, and her plan
of concealment having been explained and agreed upon much to the
satisfaction of Ali Baba, she went forth the next morning to the same
apothecary, and with tears in her eyes besought him to supply her in
haste with a certain drug that is given to sick people only in the last
extremity. Meanwhile the rumour of Cassim's sickness had got abroad;
Ali Baba and his wife had been seen coming and going, while Morgiana by
her ceaseless activity had made the two days' pretended illness seem
like a fortnight: so when a sound of wailing arose within the house all
the neighbours concluded without further question that Cassim had died
a natural and honourable death.
But Morgiana had now a still more difficult task to perform, it being
necessary for the obsequies that the body should be made in some way
presentable. So at a very early hour the next morning she went to the
shop of a certain merry old cobbler, Baba Mustapha by name, who lived
on the other side of the town. Showing him a piece of gold she inquired
whether he were ready to earn it by exercising his craft in implicit
obedience to her instructions. And when Baba Mustapha sought to know
the terms, "First," said she, "you must come with your eyes bandaged;
secondly, you must sew what I put before you without asking questions;
and thirdly, when you return you must tell nobody."
[Illustration: Mustapha doubted much of his ability to refrain from
question.]
Mustapha, who had a lively curiosity into other folk's affairs,
boggled for a time at the bandaging, and doubted much of his ability
to refrain from question; but having on these considerations secured
the doubling of his fee, he promised secrecy readily enough, and taking
his cobbler's tackle in hand submitted himself to Morgiana's guidance
and set forth. This way and that she led him blindfold, till she had
brought him to the house of her deceased master. Then uncovering his
eyes in the presence of the dismembered corpse, she bade him get out
thread and wax and join the pieces together.
[Illustration: This way and that she led him blindfold.]
Baba Mustapha plied his task according to the compact, asking no
question. When he had done, Morgiana again bandaged his eyes and led
him home, and giving him a third piece of gold the more to satisfy him,
she bade him good-day and departed.
So in seemliness and without scandal of any kind were the obsequies
of the murdered Cassim performed. And when all was ended, seeing that
his widow was desolate and his house in need of a protector, Ali Baba
with brotherly piety took both the one and the other into his care,
marrying his sister-in-law according to Moslem rule, and removing with
all his goods and newly acquired treasure to the house which had been
his brother's. And having also acquired the shop where Cassim had
done business, he put into it his own son, who had already served an
apprenticeship to the trade. So, with his fortune well established, let
us now leave Ali Baba and return to the robbers'cave.
Thither, at the appointed time, came the forty robbers, bearing in
hand fresh booty; and great was their consternation to discover that
not only had the body of Cassim been removed, but a good many sacks
of gold as well. It was no wonder that this should trouble them, for
so long as any one could command secret access, the cave was useless
as a depository for their wealth. The question was, What could they
do to put an end to their present insecurity? After long debate it
was agreed that one of their number should go into the town disguised
as a traveller, and there, mixing with the common people, learn from
their report whether there had been recently any case in their midst of
sudden prosperity or sudden death. If such a thing could be discovered,
then they made sure of tracking the evil to its source and imposing a
remedy.
Although the penalty for failure was death, one of the robbers at once
boldly offered himself for the venture, and having transformed himself
by disguise and received the wise counsels and commendations of his
fellows, he set out for the town.
[Illustration: Having transformed himself by disguise.]
Arriving at dawn he began to walk up and down the streets and watch the
early stirring of the inhabitants. So, before long, he drew up at the
door of Baba Mustapha, who, though old, was already seated at work upon
his cobbler's bench. The robber accosted him. "I wonder," said he, "to
see a man of your age at work so early. Does not so dull a light strain
your eyes?" "Not so much as you might think," answered Baba Mustapha.
"Why, it was but the other day that at this same hour I saw well enough
to stitch up a dead body in a place where it was certainly no lighter."
"Stitch up a dead body!" cried the robber, in pretended amazement,
concealing his joy at this sudden intelligence. "Surely you mean in its
winding sheet, for how else can a dead body be stitched?" "No, no,"
said Mustapha; "what I say I mean; but as it is a secret, I can tell
you no more." The robber drew out a piece of gold. "Come," said he,
"tell me nothing you do not care to; only show me the house where lay
the body that you stitched." Baba Mustapha eyed the gold longingly.
"Would that I could," he replied; "but alas! I went to it blindfold."
"Well," said the robber, "I have heard that a blind man remembers his
road; perhaps, though seeing you might lose it, blindfold you might
find it again." Tempted by the offer of a second piece of gold, Baba
Mustapha was soon persuaded to make the attempt. "It was here that I
started," said he, showing the spot, "and I turned as you see me now."
The robber then put a bandage over his eyes, and walked beside him
through the streets, partly guiding and partly being led, till of his
own accord Baba Mustapha stopped. "It was here," said he. "The door by
which I went in should now lie to the right." And he had in fact come
exactly opposite to the house which had once been Cassim's, where Ali
Baba now dwelt.
The robber, having marked the door with a piece of chalk which he had
provided for the purpose, removed the bandage from Mustapha's eyes, and
leaving him to his own devices returned with all possible speed to the
cave where his comrades were awaiting him.
Soon after the robber and cobbler had parted, Morgiana happened to go
out upon an errand, and as she returned she noticed the mark upon the
door. "This," she thought, "is not as it should be; either some trick
is intended, or there is evil brewing for my masters house." Taking a
piece of chalk she put a similar mark upon the five or six doors lying
to right and left; and having done this she went home with her mind
satisfied, saying nothing.
In the meantime the robbers had learned from their companion the
success of his venture. Greatly elated at the thought of the vengeance
so soon to be theirs, they formed a plan for entering the city in a
manner that should arouse no suspicion among the inhabitants. Passing
in by twos and threes, and by different routes, they came together to
the market-place at an appointed time, while the captain and the robber
who had acted as spy made their way alone to the street in which the
marked door was to be found. Presently, just as they had expected, they
perceived a door with the mark on it. "That is it!" said the robber;
but as they continued walking so as to avoid suspicion, they came upon
another and another, till, before they were done, they had passed six
in succession. So alike were the marks that the spy, though he swore he
had made but one, could not tell which it was. Seeing that the design
had failed, the captain returned to the market-place, and having passed
the word for his troop to go back in the same way as they had come, he
himself set the example of retreat.
When they were all reassembled in the forest, the captain explained
how the matter had fallen, and the spy, acquiescing in his own
condemnation, kneeled down and received the stroke of the executioner.
But as it was still necessary for the safety of all that so great a
trespass and theft should not pass unavenged, another of the band,
undeterred by the fate of his comrade, volunteered upon the same
conditions to prosecute the quest wherein the other had failed. Coming
by the same means to the house of Ali Baba, he set upon the door, at a
spot not likely to be noticed, a mark in red chalk to distinguish it
clearly from those which were already marked in white. But even this
precaution failed of its end. Morgiana, whose eye nothing could escape,
noticed the red mark at the first time of passing, and dealt with it
just as she had done with the previous one. So when the robbers came,
hoping this time to light upon the door without fail, they found not
one but six all similarly marked with red.
When the second spy had received the due reward of his blunder, the
captain considered how by trusting to others he had come to lose two of
his bravest followers, so the third attempt he determined to conduct
in person. Having found his way to Ali Baba's door, as the two others
had done by the aid of Baba Mustapha, he did not set any mark upon it,
but examined it so carefully that he could not in future mistake it.
He then returned to the forest and communicated to his band the plan
which he had formed. This was to go into the town in the disguise of an
oil-merchant, bearing with him upon nineteen mules thirty-eight large
leather jars, one of which, as a sample, was to be full of oil, but
all the others empty. In these he purposed to conceal the thirty-seven
robbers to which his band was now reduced, and so to convey his full
force to the scene of action in such a manner as to arouse no suspicion
till the signal for vengeance should be given.
Within a couple of days he had secured all the mules and jars that
were requisite, and having disposed of his troop according to the
pre-arranged plan, he drove his train of well-laden mules to the gates
of the city, through which he passed just before sunset. Proceeding
thence to Ali Baba's house, and arriving as it fell dark, he was about
to knock and crave a lodging for the night, when he perceived Ali
Baba at the door enjoying the fresh air after supper. Addressing him
in tones of respect, "Sir," said he, "I have brought my oil a great
distance to sell to-morrow in the market; and at this late hour,
being a stranger, I know not where to seek for a shelter. If it is
not troubling you too much, allow me to stable my beasts here for the
night."
[Illustration: "Sir," said he, "I have brought my oil a great distance
to sell to-morrow."]
The captain's voice was now so changed from its accustomed tone
of command, that Ali Baba, though he had heard it before, did not
recognize it. Not only did he grant the stranger's request for bare
accommodation, but as soon as the unlading and stabling of the mules
had been accomplished, he invited him to stay no longer in the outer
court but enter the house as his guest. The captain, whose plans this
proposal somewhat disarranged, endeavoured to excuse himself from a
pretended reluctance to give trouble; but since Ali Baba would take no
refusal he was forced at last to yield, and to submit with apparent
complaisance to an entertainment which the hospitality of his host
extended to a late hour.
When they were about to retire for the night, Ali Baba went into the
kitchen to speak to Morgiana; and the captain of the robbers, on the
pretext of going to look after his mules, slipped out into the yard
where the oil jars were standing in line. Passing from jar to jar he
whispered into each, "When you hear a handful of pebbles fall from the
window of the chamber where I am lodged, then cut your way out of the
jar and make ready, for the time will have come." He then returned to
the house, where Morgiana came with a light and conducted him to his
chamber.
Now Ali Baba, before going to bed, had said to Morgiana, "To-morrow
at dawn I am going to the baths; let my bathing-linen be put ready,
and see that the cook has some good broth prepared for me against my
return." Having therefore led the guest up to his chamber, Morgiana
returned to the kitchen and ordered Abdallah the cook to put on the pot
for the broth. Suddenly while she was skimming it, the lamp went out,
and, on searching, she found there was no more oil in the house. At so
late an hour no shop would be open, yet somehow the broth had to be
made, and that could not be done without a light. "As for that," said
Abdallah, seeing her perplexity, "why trouble yourself? There is plenty
of oil out in the yard." "Why, to be sure!" said Morgiana, and sending
Abdallah to bed so that he might be up in time to wake his master on
the morrow, she took the oil-can herself and went out into the court.
As she approached the jar which stood nearest, she heard a voice within
say, "Is it time?"
To one of Morgiana's intelligence an oil-jar that spoke was an object
of even more suspicion than a chalk-mark on a door, and in an instant
she apprehended what danger for her master and his family might lie
concealed around her. Understanding well enough that an oil-jar which
asked a question required an answer, she replied quick as thought and
without the least sign of perturbation, "Not yet, but presently." And
thus she passed from jar to jar, thirty-seven in all, giving the same
answer, till she came to the one which contained the oil.
The situation was now clear to her. Aware of the source from which her
master had acquired his wealth, she guessed at once that, in extending
shelter to the oil-merchant, Ali Baba had in fact admitted to his house
the robber captain and his band. On the instant her resolution was
formed. Having filled the oil-can she returned to the kitchen; there
she lighted the lamp, and then, taking a large kettle, went back once
more to the jar which contained the oil. Filling the kettle she carried
it back to the kitchen, and putting under it a great fire of wood had
soon brought it to the boil. Then taking it in hand once more, she
went out into the yard and poured into each jar in turn a sufficient
quantity of the boiling oil to scald its occupant to death.
She then returned to the kitchen, and having made Ali Baba's broth, put
out the fire, blew out the lamp, and sat down by the window to watch.
[Illustration: She poured into each jar in turn a sufficient quantity
of the boiling oil to scald its occupant to death.]
Before long the captain of the robbers awoke from the short sleep
which he had allowed himself, and finding that all was silent in the
house, he rose softly and opened the window. Below stood the oil-jars;
gently into their midst he threw the handful of pebbles agreed on as
a signal; but from the oil-jars came no answer. He threw a second and
a third time; yet though he could hear the pebbles falling among the
jars, there followed only the silence of the dead. Wondering whether
his band had fled leaving him in the lurch, or whether they were all
asleep, he grew uneasy, and descending in haste, made his way into the
court. As he approached the first jar a smell of burning and hot oil
assailed his nostrils, and looking within he beheld in rigid contortion
the dead body of his comrade. In every jar the same sight presented
itself till he came to the one which had contained the oil. There, in
what was missing, the means and manner of his companions' death were
made clear to him. Aghast at the discovery and awake to the danger
that now threatened him, he did not delay an instant, but forcing the
garden-gate, and thence climbing from wall to wall, he made his escape
out of the city.
When Morgiana, who had remained all this time on the watch, was assured
of his final departure, she put her master's bath-linen ready, and went
to bed well satisfied with her day's work.
The next morning Ali Baba, awakened by his slave, went to the baths
before daybreak. On his return he was greatly surprised to find that
the merchant was gone, leaving his mules and oil-jars behind him. He
inquired of Morgiana the reason. "You will find the reason," said
she, "if you look into the first jar you come to." Ali Baba did so,
and, seeing a man, started back with a cry. "Do not be afraid," said
Morgiana, "he is dead and harmless; and so are all the others whom you
will find if you look further."
[Illustration: When Morgiana who had remained all this time on the
watch.]
As Ali Baba went from one jar to another, finding always the same sight
of horror within, his knees trembled under him; and when he came at
last to the one empty oil-jar, he stood for a time motionless, turning
upon Morgiana eyes of wonder and inquiry. "And what," he said then,
"has become of the merchant?" "To tell you that," said Morgiana, "will
be to tell you the whole story; you will be better able to hear it if
you have your broth first."
But the curiosity of Ali Baba was far too great: he would not be kept
waiting. So without further delay she gave him the whole history, so
far as she knew it, from beginning to end; and by her intelligent
putting of one thing against another, she left him at last in no
possible doubt as to the source and nature of the conspiracy which her
quick wits had so happily defeated. "And now, dear master," she said
in conclusion, "continue to be on your guard, for though all these are
dead, one remains alive; and he, if I mistake not, is the captain of
the band, and for that reason the more formidable and the more likely
to cherish the hope of vengeance."
When Morgiana had done speaking Ali Baba clearly perceived that he owed
to her not merely the protection of his property but life itself. His
heart was full of gratitude. "Do not doubt," he said, "that before I
die I will reward you as you deserve; and as an immediate proof from
this moment I give you your liberty."
This token of his approval filled Morgiana's heart with delight, but
she had no intention of leaving so kind a master, even had she been
sure that all danger was now over. The immediate question which next
presented itself was how to dispose of the bodies. Luckily at the far
end of the garden stood a thick grove of trees, and under these Ali
Baba was able to dig a large trench without attracting the notice of
his neighbours. Here the remains of the thirty-seven robbers were laid
side by side, the trench was filled again, and the ground made level.
As for the mules, since Ali Baba had no use for them, he sent them, one
or two at a time, to the market to be sold.
Meanwhile the robber captain had fled back to the forest. Entering the
cave he was overcome by its gloom and loneliness. "Alas!" he cried, "my
comrades, partners in my adventures, sharers of my fortune, how shall I
endure to live without you? Why did I lead you to a fate where valour
was of no avail, and where death turned you into objects of ridicule?
Surely had you died sword in hand my sorrow had been less bitter! And
now what remains for me but to take vengeance for your death and to
prove, by achieving it without aid, that I was worthy to be the captain
of such a band!"
Thus resolved, at an early hour the next day, he assumed a disguise
suitable to his purpose, and going to the town took lodging in a khan.
Entering into conversation with his host he inquired whether anything
of interest had happened recently in the town; but the other, though
full of gossip, had nothing to tell him concerning the matter in which
he was most interested, for Ali Baba, having to conceal from all the
source of his wealth, had also to be silent as to the dangers in which
it involved him.
The captain then inquired where there was a shop for hire; and hearing
of one that suited him, he came to terms with the owner, and before
long had furnished it with all kinds of rich stuffs and carpets and
jewelry which he brought by degrees with great secrecy from the cave.
Now this shop happened to be opposite to that which had belonged to
Cassim and was now occupied by the son of Ali Baba; so before long the
son and the new-comer, who had assumed the name of Cogia Houssain,
became acquainted; and as the youth had good looks, kind manners, and
a sociable disposition, it was not long before the acquaintance became
intimate.
Cogia Houssain did all he could to seal the pretended friendship, the
more so as it had not taken him long to discover how the young man and
Ali Baba were related; so, plying him constantly with small presents
and acts of hospitality, he forced on him the obligation of making some
return.