The days dragged on to the appointed Sunday, and that evening the four met secretly, and entered the forest. They had not far to go before they reached the peepul tree, into which they climbed as the rajah had planned. At midnight the tree began to sway, and presently it moved through the air.
'See, sire,' whispered Déna, 'the tree is flying!'
'Yes, yes,' said the rajah, 'you have told the truth. Now sit quiet, and we shall see what happens.'
Away and away flew the tree with the four men clinging tightly to its branches, until at last it was set down by the waste sea-shore where a great wide sea came tumbling in on a desert beach. Presently, as before, they began to see little points of light that glistened like fires all around them. Then Déna thought to himself:
'Think! last time I only took four that came close to me, and I got rid of all my debt in return. This time I will take all I can get and be rich!'
'If I got ten thousand rupees for four stones,' thought Léna, 'I will gather forty now for myself, and become so wealthy that they will probably make me a wazir at least!'
'For four stones I received ten villages,' Musli was silently thinking; 'now I will get stones enough to purchase a kingdom, become a rajah, and employ wazirs of my own!'
[Illustration: SUDDENLY THE TREE ROSE UP AGAIN AND FLEW AWAY]
And Kahré thought: 'What is the good of only getting eight stones? Why, here are enough to make twenty necklaces; and wealth means power!'
Full of avarice and desire, each scrambled down from the tree, spread his cloth, and darted hither and thither picking up the precious jewels, looking the while over his shoulder to see whether his neighbour fared better than he. So engrossed were they in the business of gathering wealth that the dawn came upon them unawares; and suddenly the tree rose up again and flew away, leaving them upon the sea-shore staring after it, each with his cloth heavy with priceless jewels.
Morning broke in the city, and great was the consternation in the palace when the chamberlains declared that the rajah had gone out the evening before and had not returned.
'Ah!' said one, 'it is all right! Musli wazir will know where he is, for it was he who was the king's companion.'