The Arabian Nights II (16 page)

Obeying 'Ali Baba, Marjana said, “Sir, last night, when you retired to go to bed, I prepared your bath linens, as you had ordered me, and gave them to 'Abd Allah. Then I put the pot on the fire for the broth, and as I was skimming the broth, the lamp, running out of oil, suddenly went out. As there was not a drop left in the oil pitcher, I looked for some bits of candles and found none. So 'Abd Allah, who saw me perplexed, reminded me of the jars in the courtyard, which he as well as I and you yourself thought to be full of oil. I took the pitcher and ran to the nearest jar, but as I came near, a voice came out, asking, 'Is it time?' I was not startled, but immediately realized the malice of the false merchant and replied, without hesitation, 'Not yet, but soon.' Then I went to the next jar, and another voice asked me the same question, to which I gave the same answer. I went to the other jars, one after another, hearing the same question and giving the same answer, and it was not until I came to the last jar that I found oil, with which I filled my pitcher. When I considered that there were
thirty-seven thieves in the middle of your courtyard, waiting for a signal or an order from their captain, whom you had taken for a merchant and to whom you had given such a fine reception, poised to tear the house down, I lost no time. I brought back the pitcher and lighted the lamp, and after I took the largest boiling pan in the kitchen, I went and filled it with oil. I then put it on the fire, and when the oil began to boil, I went and poured it into every jar in which the thieves were hiding, as I had to, to prevent them from carrying out the wicked plan that had brought them here. When the thing was done, as I had planned, I returned to the kitchen, put out the lamp, and, before going to sleep, watched quietly from the window, to see what the fake oil merchant was going to do. A short time later, I heard him signaling by throwing from his window some small stones, which fell on the jars. He threw some more, a second and a third time, but as he did not detect or hear any movement, he went down, and I saw him go from jar to jar, until I lost sight of him in the darkness. I kept watching for some time, and when I saw that he did not return, I was sure that he must have escaped through the garden, in his despair after his great failure. Thus, convinced that the house was safe, I went to sleep.”

In finishing, Marjana added, “This is the story you asked me to tell you, and I am convinced that it is the sequel of something I observed two or three days ago and which I did not think I should tell you about, namely, that when I returned from the city, one early morning, I noticed that the main door bore a white mark, and the following day, I noticed that it bore a red mark beside the white one, and each time, without knowing for what purpose it could have been marked, I made the same mark in the same spot on two or three doors of our neighbors, up and down the street. If you add that to what has happened, you will realize that all this had been engineered by the thieves from the forest. Of these forty thieves, two were left out for a reason I don't understand, but whatever it may be, there are now three left. This shows that they have sworn to destroy you and that it is better for you to be on guard, as long as it is certain that there is even one left in the world. For my part, I will do everything to remain vigilant for your preservation, as my duty requires.”

When Marjana finished, 'Ali Baba, realizing his great indebtedness to her, said, “I will not die before rewarding you as you deserve. I owe you my life, and, to begin, I give you a token of my gratitude by granting you your freedom, from this moment, in anticipation of rewarding you fully, later on, in the manner I intend. I am convinced like you that the forty thieves planned this ambush for me and that God has delivered me at your hands. I hope that He will continue to protect me from their wickedness and that, in warding them off me, He will save the world from their persecution and their evil breed. What we
have to do now is to bury forthwith the bodies of these infernal specimens, with great secrecy, so that no one will have any suspicion of their fate, and this is what I will work on with 'Abd Allah.”

As 'Ali Baba's garden was very long, ending with large trees, he, without hesitation, went with his slave and dug a hole under these trees, long and wide enough for the bodies he had for burial. Since the ground was soft and loose, it did not take them long to finish the work. They then pulled the bodies out of the jars and, putting aside the arms with which the thieves had been supplied, they transported the bodies to the far end of the garden and arranged them in the hole. Then they covered them with some of the earth they had dug up and scattered the rest about, in such a way that the ground seemed the same as before. 'Ali Baba then hid the oil jars and the arms carefully. As for the mules, he sent them in several installments to the market, where they were sold by his slave.

While 'Ali Baba took every measure to hide from the public the means by which he had become rich in such a short time, the captain of the forty thieves was back in the forest, in a state of unimaginable humiliation, and, in his agitation, or rather confusion, after an outcome so unfortunate and so contrary to his expectation, he returned to the cavern, without having reached any resolution on the way, as to what he should or should not do to 'Ali Baba. The solitude in which he found himself in this gloomy place was very disagreeable. He cried out, “O companions of my vigils, my journeys, and my labors, where are you? What will I do without you? Have I chosen you and assembled you, only to see you destroyed at once by a fate so deadly and so unworthy of your courage? I would have grieved less, had you died with your swords in your hands, as valiant men. When will I put together another group of capable men like you? And if I wish, can I do it, without exposing so much gold, so much silver, and so much wealth to the mercy of the man who has already enriched himself with one part of it. I cannot, and I must not think of it, before I take his life. What I was not able to do with such a mighty assistance, I will do by myself alone, and when I will see to it in that way that the treasure will no longer be subject to plunder, I will see to it that it will stay neither without successors nor without a captain after me, in order to preserve it and to increase it for all posterity.” Having reached this resolution, he was not worried about finding a means of carrying it out, and so, full of hope and peace of mind, he went to sleep and spent the night peacefully.

The next day, the captain woke up early, as he had intended, put on clothing appropriate for his plan, and went to the city, where he took lodgings at an inn. As he thought that what took place at 'Ali Baba's house might have made a commotion, he asked the
doorkeeper, while chatting with him, whether there was anything new in the city. The doorkeeper responded by telling him about all kinds of things, except that which mattered to him most. From this, the captain concluded that the reason 'Ali Baba guarded such a great secret was that he did not wish to reveal his knowledge of the treasure or the means of getting to it, knowing that it was for that reason that an attempt had been made on his life. This prodded the captain to do all he could to get rid of 'Ali Baba with the same secrecy.

He got a horse and used it to bring to his lodging several kinds of rich fabrics and fine canvas, by making several trips to the forest, with the necessary precautions to keep secret the hiding place where he went to take them from. When he had amassed what he considered to be an appropriate amount to sell as merchandise, he looked for a shop and, finding one, rented it from the owner, stocked it, and settled there. As it turned out, the shop opposite his used to belong to Qasim and had been recently occupied by 'Ali Baba's son.

The captain, who had taken the name of Khawaja Husain, did not fail to pay his neighbors the customary courtesies expected of new arrivals. But since 'Ali Baba's son was young, handsome, and not lacking in intelligence, and since he had more opportunity to speak to him and converse with him than with the others, they soon became friends. He even undertook to cultivate him more attentively and assiduously, when, three or four days after opening the shop, he recognized 'Ali Baba, who came to see his son and speak with him, as he used to from time to time, and when the captain learned from the son, after 'Ali Baba left, that he was his father. So the captain increased his overtures toward him, flattering him, giving him little presents, entertaining him, and inviting him several times to eat with him.

'Ali Baba's son did not wish to owe many obligations to Khawaja Husain without reciprocating his favors, but his place was limited, and he did not have the wherewithal to entertain him in the same manner as he wished. He spoke of his desire to his father, 'Ali Baba, saying that it would not be proper for him to defer much longer repaying the courtesies of Khawaja Husain. 'Ali Baba was pleased to undertake the task of entertaining him, saying, “Son, tomorrow is Friday, and since it is a day on which the prominent merchants, like Khawaja Husain and you, keep their shops closed, make an appointment with him to go for an after-dinner walk, and arrange it in such a way as to make him pass by my house and to bring him in. It will be better to do it in this way than if you were to invite him formally. I will order Marjana to prepare supper and to keep it ready.”

On Friday, 'Ali Baba's son and Khawaja Husain met, after dinner, at the appointed place, and went on their walk. On their return, as 'Ali Baba's son had arranged to pass with Khawaja Husain through
the street where his father's house was located, stopped before the house, and knocked at the door, saying to him, “This house belongs to my father, who, when he heard from me of the friendship with which you have honored me, asked me to procure him the honor of making your acquaintance. I beg you to add this favor to all the others to which I am indebted to you.”

Although Khawaja Husain was about to get what he wanted, to enter 'Ali Baba's house and take his life without risking his own by making any commotion, he excused himself and seemed about to take his leave, when 'Ali Baba's slave opened the door, and the son, taking him obligingly by the hand and going in before him, pulled him and somewhat forced him to go in, as if in spite of himself.

'Ali Baba received Khawaja Husain with a cheerful mien and with all the welcome he could wish for. He thanked him for the favors he had done for his son, adding, “The debt he and I owe you is all the more great, since he is a young man who has not yet learned the ways of the world and since you do not find it beneath you to contribute to his education.” Khawaja Husain paid 'Ali Baba compliment for compliment, assuring him that if his son had not yet acquired the experience of certain old men, he had the intelligence to serve him in place of the experience of an infinite number of other men.

After a short conversation on indifferent subjects, Khawaja Husain wished to take his leave, but 'Ali Baba stopped him, saying, “Sir, where do you wish to go? I beg you to do me the honor of having supper with me. The meal I will offer you is very much below what you deserve, but, such as it is, I hope that you will accept it from me, as willingly as I offer it to you.” Khawaja Husain replied, “Sir, I am convinced of your kindness, and, if I ask you the favor not to find it amiss that I leave without accepting your obliging offer, I beg you to believe that I do it neither out of disrespect nor discourtesy, but due to a reason you would approve of, if you knew it.” 'Ali Baba asked, “Sir, may I ask you what that reason is?” Khawaja Husain replied, “Yes, I can tell you. It is because I eat neither meat nor stew cooked with salt. Judge for yourself my abstinence at your table.” 'Ali Baba insisted, saying, “If this is your only reason, it should not deprive me of the honor of prevailing on you to have supper with me, unless you do not wish it for some other reason. First, there is no salt in the bread we eat here; as for the meat and stews, I promise you that there will be no salt in those that will be served before you. I will give the order. Therefore, do me the favor and stay, and I will return in a moment.”

'Ali Baba went to the kitchen and ordered Marjana not to put any salt on the meat to be served and to prepare without salt two or three other kinds of stew, in addition to those he had ordered. Marjana, who was ready to serve the meal, could not prevent herself from showing
her displeasure at this new order and said to 'Ali Baba, “Who is this difficult man who does not eat salt? Your supper will be spoiled, if I serve it later.” 'Ali Baba replied, “Don't be angry, Marjana. He is a decent man. Do what I tell you.”

Marjana obeyed, but against her will. She was curious to see this man who did not eat any salt. So when she finished, and 'Abd Allah set the table, she helped him in carrying the dishes, and when she looked at Khawaja Husain, she recognized him at once as the captain of the thieves, in spite of his disguise, and when she examined him carefully, she saw that he had a dagger hidden under his clothes. She said to herself, “I am no longer surprised that the villain does not wish to eat salt with my master, his implacable enemy, whom he wants to assassinate, but I will prevent him.”

Marjana finished serving and let 'Abd Allah serve, and while they were still having supper, she took the time to make the necessary preparations for a most daring strike, finishing by the time 'Abd Allah came to tell her that it was time to serve the fruits. She carried the fruits, and as soon as 'Abd Allah cleared the table, she served them and then placed near 'Ali Baba a little table on which she put the wine and three cups. She left, taking 'Abd Allah with her, as if they were going to have supper together and giving 'Ali Baba, according to custom, the liberty to enjoy drinking and having a pleasant conversation with his guest.

At that moment, Khawaja Husain, or rather the captain of the forty thieves, thought that the favorable opportunity for killing 'Ali Baba had come, and said to himself, “I will make them drunk, both the father and the son, so that the latter, whose life I am very willing to spare, may not prevent me from plunging the dagger into his father's heart, and I will escape through the garden, as I did earlier, before the cook and the slave finish eating or go to sleep in the kitchen.”