Then
said the Muslims to him, "What is thy news?" He answered, "I am
an ambassador from King Afridoun, whom I counselled to avert the
destruction of all these manly bodies and images of the
Compassionate; and it seemed good to him to stop the shedding of
blood and limit the strife to the encounter of two horsemen in
battle; so he agreed to this and says to you, 'Verily, I will
ransom my troops with my life; so let the Muslim king do likewise
and ransom his army with his life. If he kill me, there will be
no stability left in the army of the Greeks, and if I kill him,
it will be the like with the Muslims.'" When Sherkan heard this,
he said, "O monk, we agree to this, for it is just; and behold I
will joust: with him, for I am champion of the Muslims, even as
he of the Christians; and if he slay me, he will have gained the
victory and there will remain for the Muslim army nothing but
flight. So return to him, O monk, and tell him that the combat
shall be for to-morrow, seeing that to-day we are weary with our
journey; but after rest there shall be neither reproach nor
blame." So the monk returned, rejoicing, to King Afridoun and
King Herdoub and told them what Sherkan had said, whereat
Afridoun was exceeding glad and lightened of anxiety and trouble
and said in himself, "No doubt but this Sherkan is the hardest
hitter of them with the sword and the dourest at push of pike;
and when I have slain him, their hearts will fail them and their
strength will be broken.
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