"'O light of my eyes!' said he, 'have I any money to buy filelly hayks, or fine clothes? I have none.'
"'False!' said she, 'are there not fifty pieces of gold that my lord ordered me to sew into his horse's nose-bag?'
"Then he smote her on the mouth with his slipper, and said, 'Peace, O unlucky! lest some of the slaves hear thee. Is that money mine? is it not to pay for merchandise which I owe?'
"Well, as I had heard all I wanted to know, I left them to make up their quarrel, and that is how the woman was the slave of the ring. Abdallah the Moor, enraged by the loss of his money, complained to the Governor; and a stricter watch than ever was kept to take me, and even a reward of one hundred dirhems was proclaimed by the public crier, to any one who would bring me bound before the Kaïd. Well, I laughed at all this, till one unlucky morning I was going into the town, disguised as a Berebber peasant, driving a donkey laden with firewood; and as other cattle were going in and coming out, there was a crush, and I got enraged, and cursed, forgetting to change my voice; and, behold, when I looked up, Abdallah the Moor, sitting on his horse, waiting to go forth, and his eyes were fixed on me like two coals in white rings. I had on a tattered cloak, with a hood. I saw that he knew me, though he said nothing, and I passed on, and went to my friend the cook's shop. Whilst I was debating about leaving the town, my friend came to me with evil tidings: 'Knowest thou, Sheik Ayoub,' said he, 'that thou hast been recognised by some one, and search is made everywhere to take thee. The gates of the town are closed, and guards set on the walls to prevent thy escape.'
"'God is great,' said I; 'was a panther or a bird ever kept in a cage without a roof? May the Kaïd's beard be defiled! probably to-morrow, or the day after, they will open the gates.'
"'This time,' said he, 'you are in danger. What had you to do to meddle with the Kaïd or his relations? he is furious and vows vengeance against any one that hides you; but we have eaten bread and salt together.'
"'God be praised!' said I, 'and we have eaten the money of the Sultan's subjects together; and, moreover, is it not known that the man who should betray Sheik Ayoub Sebaïe, he and his family would be made into kebabs, and roasted in the flames of his own house?'