To continue. As soon as Dhat ed Dewahi had departed， her son went in to Afridoun and said to him， "O King， we have no need of the Chief Patriarch nor of his prayers， but will act according to my mother"s counsel and await what she will do of her craft without end with the Muslim host， for they are on the march hither with all their strength and will quickly be with us." When King Afridoun heard this， terror took hold upon his heart and he wrote letters forthright to all the countries of the Christians，saying， "It behoves none of the followers of the Messiah or soldiers of the Cross to hold back， especially the folk of the citadels and strong places： but let them all come to us foot and horse and women and children， for the Muslim hosts already tread our soil. So hasten， hasten， ere what we fear come to pass."
Now Dhat ed Dewahi had clad her companions in the habit of Muslim merchants and had provided herself with a hundred mules laden with stuffs of Antioch， such as gold woven satin and royal brocade and so forth， and with a letter from King Afridoun to the following effect： "These are merchants from the land of Syria，who have been with us： so it behoves none to do them let or hindrance nor take tithe of them， till they reach their own country and the place of their security， for by merchants a country flourishes and grows rich， and these are no men of war nor evil-doers." So， as soon as she came without the city， she said to them， "O folk， I wish to work out a plot for the destruction of the Muslims." "O princess，" replied they， "command us what thou wilt； we are at thy disposal， and may the Messiah prosper thy dealing！" Then she donned a gown of fine white wool and rubbing her forehead， till she made a great mark （as of a scar）， anointed it with an ointment of her own fashion， so that it shone greatly. Now she was lean-bodied and hollow-eyed， and she bound her legs tightly round with cords just above her feet，till she drew near the Muslim camp， when she unwound them，leaving the marks of the cords deeply embedded in the flesh. Then she anointed the weals with dragon"s blood and bade her companions beat her severely and lay her in a chest. "How can we beat thee，" replied they， "who art our sovereign lady and mother of the supreme King？" Quoth she， "We blame not nor reproach him who goeth to the jakes， and in time of necessity， forbidden things become lawful. When ye have laid me in the chest， set it on the back of one of the mules and pass on with it and the other goods through the Muslim camp， crying aloud the profession of the Faith of Unity.[FN#101] If any hinder you， give up the mules and their lading and betake yourself to their king Zoulmekan and cast yourselves on his protection， saying， "We were in the country of the infidels and they took nothing from us， but wrote us a passport， that none should hinder us： so why do ye seize upon our goods？ See， here is the letter of the King of the Greeks，commanding that none shall do us let or hindrance." If he say to you， "What profit had ye of your commerce in the land of the Greeks？" answer him， "We profited in that it was given us to accomplish the deliverance of a pious man， who had lain nigh fifteen years in a dungeon under the earth， crying out for help，yet none helped him. On the contrary， the infidels tortured him night and day. We knew not of this： but after we had sojourned awhile in Constantinople， having sold our goods and bought others in their stead， we made ready to set out and return to our native land. We spent the night before our departure， conversing about our journey， and when the day broke， we saw a figure painted upon the wall； and behold， as we drew nigh it， it moved and said， "O Muslims， is there amongst you one who is minded to gain the favour of the Lord of the two worlds？" "How so？" asked we.
"Know，" replied the figure， "that God hath made me speak to you，to the intent that your belief may be fortified and that your faith may inspire you and that you may go forth of the country of the infidels and repair to the camp of the Muslims. where ye shall find the Sword of the Compassionate One， the Champion of the Age，King Sherkan， him by whom He shall conquer Constantinople and destroy the followers of the Christian heresy. On the third day of your journey， you will come to [a town， in which stands] a hermitage known as the hermitage of Metronhena. Make for it with a pure intent and do your utmost endeavour to come into the hermitage， for therein is a true believer from Jerusalem， by name Abdallah， one of the holiest of men， whom God hath blessed with supernatural powers， such as dispel doubts and obscurity. Him certain of the monks seized by fraud and shut in an underground dungeon， where he has lain many a year. So， if ye desire to gain the favour of the Lord of the Faithful， ye cannot accomplish a more acceptable work than the deliverance of this holy man." When we heard what the figure said， we knew that this holy man was indeed of the chiefest of the devotees and heart-whole servants of God； so we set out and after three days" journey， came in sight of the town，and making for it， passed the day in buying and selling， as is the wont of merchants. As soon as the day had departed and the night was come with the darkness， we repaired to the hermitage， wherein was the dungeon， and presently heard the holy man chant some verses of the Koran and repeat the following lines：
I strive with my heart， for anguish that"s well-nigh cleft in twain， And there ebbs and flows in my bosom a flooding sea of pain.
Indeed， there is no deliverance， and death is near at hand； Yet death than long affliction were kinder and more fain.
O lightning， if thou visit my native land and folk， If for the fair ones" lustre thine own red brilliance wane Carry my salutation to those I love and say， I lie in a far Greek dungeon and cry for help in vain.
How can I win to join them， since that the ways with wars Are blocked and the gate of succour is barred with many a chain？"
