"O King," replied they,
"we will not tell thee, except in private; for if this thing be
noised among the folk, it may come to the ears of the King of
Constantinople, and this will be the cause of our ruin and of the
ruin of all Muslims that resort to the land of the Greeks." (Now
they had hidden the chest wherein was Dhat ed Dewahi.) So
Zoulmekan and his brother brought them to a private place, where
they repeated to him the story of the devotee, even as the old
woman had lessoned them, and wept till they made the two kings
weep. There withal Sherkan's heart yearned to the devotee and he
was moved to pity for him and zeal for the service of God the
Most High. So he said to the Syrians, "Did ye rescue the holy man
or is he still in the hermitage?" Quoth they, "We delivered him
and slew the hermit, fearing for ourselves; after which we made
haste to fly, for fear of death; but a trusty man told us that in
this hermitage are quintals of gold and silver and jewels." Then
they fetched the chest and brought out the accursed old woman, as
she were a cassia[FN#103] pod, for excess of blackness and
leanness, and laden with fetters and shackles. When Zoulmekan and
the bystanders saw her, they took her for a man of the dower of
God's servants and the most excellent of devotees, more by token
of the shining of her forehead for the ointment with which she
had anointed it.
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