第59章 (14)

and every month or two， came Decianus to the hermitage， with his daughter Temathil， who is now grown up， for when I first saw her，she was nine years old， and I abode fifteen years in the dungeon，so that she must be now four-and twenty years of age. There is not in our land nor in the land of the Greeks a fairer than she，and her father feared lest the King （of Constantinople） should take her from him； for she had vowed herself to the service of the Messiah and rode with Decianus in the habit of a cavalier， so that none who saw her knew her for a woman. In this hermitage her father had laid up his treasures， for all who had aught of price were wont to deposit it there， and I saw there all manner of gold and silver and jewels and precious vessels and rarities， none may keep count of them save God the Most High. Ye are more worthy of these riches than the infidels； so do ye lay hands on that which is in the hermitage and divide it among the Muslims， and especially among those who wage the holy war. When these merchants came to Constantinople and sold their merchandise， the image on the wall spoke to them， by God"s special grace to me； so they made for the hermitage and tortured Metrouhena， after the most grievous fashion， and dragged him by the beard， till he showed them where I was， when they took me and fled for fear of death. To-morrow， Temathil will visit the hermitage as of wont，and her father and his squires will come after her， to protect her： so， an ye would be witness of these things， take me with you and I will deliver to you the treasure and the riches of the knight Decianus， that are stored up in that mountain； for I saw them bring out vessels of gold and silver to drink in and heard a damsel of their company sing to them in Arabic. Alas， that so sweet a voice should not be busied in reciting the Koran！ So， an ye will， I will bring you to the hermitage and ye shall hide there， against the coming of Decianus and his daughter. Then take her， for she is only fit for the king of the age， Sherkan， or for King Zoulmekan." When they heard her words， they all rejoiced，with the exception of the Vizier Dendan， who put no faith in her story， for her words took no hold on his reason and he was confounded at her discourse and signs of doubt and disbelief appeared in his face； but he feared to speak with her， for awe of the King. Then she said， "I fear lest Decianus come and seeing the troops encamped here， be afraid to enter the hermitage." So Zoulmekan resolved to despatch the army towards Constantinople and said， "I mean to take a hundred horse and many mules and make for the mountain， where we will load the mules with the treasure." Then he sent for the Chamberlain and for the captains of the Turks and Medes and said to them， "As soon as it is day，do ye strike camp and set out for Constantinople. Thou， O Chamberlain， shall fill my place in council and command， and thou， O Rustem， shalt be my brother"s deputy in battle. Let none know that we are not with you， and after three days we will rejoin you." Then he chose out a hundred of the stoutest cavaliers， and he and Sherkan and Dendan set out for the hermitage， with mules and chests for the transport of the treasure. As soon as it was morning， the Chamberlain gave the signal for departure， and the troops set out， thinking that the two Kings and the Vizier were with them. Now the Syrians that were with Dhat ed Dewahi had taken their departure privily， after they had gone in to her and kissed her hands and feet and gotten her leave and taken her orders. Then she waited till it was dark night and going in to Zoulmekan and his companions， said to them，"Come， let us set out for the mountain， and take with you a few men." They obeyed her and left five horsemen at the foot of the mountain， whilst the rest rode on before Dhat ed Dewahi， to whom new strength seemed given for excess of joy， so that Zoulmekan said to his companions， "Glory be to God who sustains this holy man， whose like we never saw！" Now she had written a letter to the King of Constantinople and despatched it by a carrier-pigeon，acquainting him with what had passed and adding， "Do thou send me ten thousand horsemen of the stoutest of the Greeks and let them come stealthily along the foot of the mountains， lest the Muslim host get sight of them， to the hermitage and hide themselves there， till I come to them with the Muslim King and his brother，for I have inveigled them and will bring them thither， together with the Vizier Dendan and a hundred horse， no more， that I may deliver to them the crosses that are in the hermitage. I am resolved to slay the monk Metrouhena， since my scheme cannot be carried out but at the cost of his life. If my plot work well，not one of the Muslims shall return to his own country， no， not a living soul nor a blower of the fire； and Metrouhena shall be a sacrifice for the followers of the Christian faith and the servants of the Cross， and praise be to the Messiah， first and last！" When this letter reached Constantinople， the keeper of the pigeons carried it to King Afridoun， who read it and forthwith equipped ten thousand cavaliers with horses and dromedaries and mules and victual and bade them repair to the hermitage and hide there； and they did as he commanded them. Meanwhile. when Zoulmekan and his companions reached the hermitage， they entered and met the monk Metrouhena， who came out to see who they were；