Leave him and hasten to rejoin
your comrades for this fellow is of those that are outcast from
the gate of mercy of the Lord of the Two Worlds! How often have I
come out to war with King Omar ben Ennuman and trodden the earth
of these lands!" "Put away from thee this foul thought," said
Sherkan. "Hast thou not seen this holy man excite the faithful to
battle, recking nought of spears and swords? Wherefore, slander
him not, for slander is blameworthy and the flesh of pious folk
is poisoned. Look how he encourages us to battle, and did not God
love him, He had not rolled up the distance for him (like a
carpet), after He had aforetime cast him into grievous torment?"
Then Sherkan let bring a Nubian mule for her riding and said to
her, "Mount, pious man, God-fearing and holy!" But she refused,
feigning self-denial, that she might attain her end: and they
knew not that the pretended devotee was such an one as he of whom
the poet says:
He prayeth and fasteth amain for an end that he hath in view.
When once he has gained his end, fasting and prayer, adieu!
So she walked among the horsemen and the footmen, like a crafty
fox meditating an assault, and began to uplift her voice,
chanting the Koran aloud and celebrating the praises of the
Compassionate One. Then they pressed forward till they reached
the Mohammedan camp, where Sherkan found the Muslims in a state
of confusion and the Chamberlain upon the brink of retreat,
whilst the sword wrought havoc among the faithful, good and bad.
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