Then they sallied out against the Christians， who cried out to them from afar as soon as they saw them， saying， "O Muslims， we have taken your Sultan and your Vizier that has the ordering of your affairs； and except ye leave fighting us， we will slay you to the last man， but if ye yield to us， we will take you to our king， who will make peace with you， on condition that you leave our country and return to your own land and do us no harm， and we will do you no harm. If you accept， it will be well for you； but if you refuse， you have nothing to hope for but death. So now we have told you， and this is our last word to you." When Sherkan heard this and was certified of the captivity of his brother and the Vizier Dendan， he was greatly troubled and wept； his strength failed him and he made sure of death， saying inwardly， "I wonder what was the cause of their capture？ Did they fail of respect to the holy man or disobey him， or what？" Then they rushed upon the unbelievers and slew great plenty of them. The valiant， that day，was known from the faint-hearted， and the swords and spears were dyed with blood； for the infidels flocked on them from all sides，as flies flock to wine； but Sherkan and his men ceased not to wage the fight of those who fear not death nor let it hinder them from the pursuit of victory， till the valley ran with blood and the earth was full of the slain. So fought they on till nightfall， when the two parties separated， each to his own place，and the Muslims returned to the grotto， where both victory and loss were manifest to them， and there was no dependence for them but on God and the sword. That day there had been slain of them five-and-thirty men of the chief amirs， and they had put to the sword thousands of the infidels， both horse and foot. When Sherkan saw this， the case was grievous to him， and he said to his comrades， "What shall we do？" "That which God wills，" replied they. On the morning of the second day， Sherkan said to the remnant of his troop， "If ye go forth to fight， not one of you will remain alive and we have but little food and water left； so meseems ye would do better to draw your swords and stand at the door of the cavern， to hinder any from entering. Peradventure the holy man may have traversed the Christian host， without being seen of the unbelievers， and may win to Constantinople and return with ten thousand horse， to succour us against the infidels."
"This is the better course，" replied they， "and there is no doubt of its expediency." So they went out and held the opening of the grotto， standing in its sides； and every one of the infidels who sought to come in， they slew. Thus did they fend off the enemy from the door of the cavern and make head against all their assaults， till the day departed and the night came with the shadows， by which time King Sherkan had but five-and-twenty men left. Then said the Christians to each other， "When shall these battles have an end？ We are weary of fighting the Muslims." And one of them said， "Up and let us fall on them， for there be but five-and-twenty and of them left. If we cannot prevail on them to fight， let us light a fire upon them； and if they submit and yield themselves up， we will take them prisoners： else we will leave them to serve as fuel to the fire， so that they shall become a warning to men of understanding. May the Messiah not have mercy on their fathers and may the sojourn of the Christians be no abiding-place for them！" So they repaired to the cavern and heaping up faggots in the door-way， set fire to them. Thereupon，Sherkan and his companions made sure of death and yielded themselves up. The unbelievers thought to kill them， but the knight their captain said to those who counselled this， "It is for none but King Afridoun to kill them， that he may quench thereby his thirst for vengeance； wherefore it behoves us to keep them prisoners till the morrow， when we will journey with them to Constantinople and deliver them to King Afridoun， who shall deal with them as he pleases." "This is the right course，" replied they； and he commanded to pinion the prisoners and set guards over them. Then， as soon as it was dark， the infidels gave themselves up to feasting and merry-making and called for wine and drank， till they all fell backward. Presently， Sherkan turned to his brother Zoulmekan and said to him "My brother， how shall we get free？" "By Allah，" replied Zoulmekan， "I know not； for we are here like birds in a cage." At this Sherkan was angry and sighed for excess of wrath and stretched himself， till his bonds broke； whereupon he went up to the captain of the guard and taking from his bosom the keys of the fetters， freed Zoulmekan and Dendan and the rest of the prisoners. Then said he， "Let us slay three of these infidels and don their clothes， we three； so shall we be disguised as Greeks and pass through them without their knowing us， and win out to our army." "This is no safe counsel，" replied Zoulmekan"for if we kill them， I fear some of their comrades may hear their groans and the enemy he roused upon us and kill us. It were better to make our way out of the pass."
So they agreed upon this and set out. When they had left the head of the defile a little way behind， they saw horses picketed and their riders sleeping by them： and Sherkan said to his brother，"Let us each take one of these steeds." So they took five-and-twenty horses， one for each man， and mounted and rode on till they were out of reach， whilst God sent sleep upon the infidels for a secret purpose of His own. Meanwhile， Sherkan gathered as many swords and spears as he could from the sleepers and faring on after his comrades， found them awaiting him， on coals of fire on his account， and said to them， "Have no fear，since God protects us. I have that to propose， which meseems will advantage us." "What is it？" asked they， and he said， "It is that we all climb to the mountain-top and cry out with one voice， "God is most great！ The army of Islam is upon you！ God is most great！"
