第48章 KEMEREZZEMAN AND BUDOUR.(10)

So the eunuch came up to him，and the prince seized him by the collar and threw him to the ground.He let fly a crack of wind，and Kemerezzeman，kneeling upon him，kicked him and throttled him，till he fainted away.Then he tied him to the well-rope，and lowering him into the well，plunged him into the water，then drew him up and plunged him in again.Now it was hard winter weather，and Kemerezzeman ceased not to lower the eunuch into the water and pull him up again，whilst he screamed and called for help.Quoth the prince，By Allah，O accursed one，I will not draw thee up out of the well，till thou tell me the story of the young lady and who it was took her away，whilst I slept.'O my lord，'answered the eunuch，seeing death staring him in the face，let me go and I will tell thee the truth.'So Kemerezzeman pulled him up out of the well，all but dead for cold and wet and torture and beating and fear of drowning.His teeth chattered and he shook like the reed in the hurricane and his clothes were drenched and his body befouled and torn by the rough slimy sides of the well.When Kemerezzeman saw him in this sorry plight，he relented towards him；and as soon as the eunuch found himself on dry land，he said to him，O my lord，let me go and put off my clothes and wring them out and spread them in the sun to dry and don others；after which I will return to thee forthwith and tell thee the truth of the matter.'O wretched slave，'answered the prince，hadst thou not seen death face to face，thou hadst never confessed；but go now and do thy will，and after return speedily and tell me the truth.'So the eunuch went out，hardly crediting his escape，and gave not over running and stumbling，in his haste，till he came in to King Shehriman，whom he found sitting talking with his Vizier of Kemerezzemans case and saying，I slept not last night，for anxiety concerning my son Kemerezzeman，and indeed I fear lest some harm befall him in that old tower.

What good was there in imprisoning him？Have no care for him，answered the Vizier.'By Allah，no hurt will befall him！Leave him in prison for a month，till his humour yield and his spirit be broken and he return to his senses.'As he spoke，in came the eunuch，in the aforesaid plight，and said to the King，who was troubled at sight of him，O our lord the Sultan，thy sons wits are fled and he has gone mad；he has dealt with me thus and thus，so that I am become as thou seest，and says，'A young lady lay with me this night and stole away whilst I slept.Where is she？'

And insists on my telling him where she is and who took her away.

But I have seen neither girl nor boy；the door was locked all night，for I slept before it，with the key under my head，and opened to him in the morning with my own hand.'When the King heard this，he cried out，saying，Alas，my son！'And he was sore enraged against the Vizier，who had been the cause of all this，and said to him，Go，bring me news of my son and see what hath befallen his wit.'So the Vizier rose and hastened with the slave to the tower，tumbling over his skirts，in his fear of the Kings anger.The sun had now risen and when he came in to Kemerezzeman，he found him sitting on the couch，reading the Koran；so he saluted him and sitting down by his side，said to him，O my lord，this wretched slave brought us news that disquieted and alarmed us and incensed the King.'And what，asked Kemerezzeman，hath he told you of me，to trouble my father？In good sooth，he hath troubled none but me.'He came to us in a sorry plight，'answered the Vizier，and told us of thee a thing which God forfend and a lie which it befits not to repeat，may God preserve thy youth and sound wit and eloquent tongue and forbid aught of foul to come from thee！'O Vizier，said the prince，what did this pestilent slave say of me？He told us，'replied the Vizier，thou hadst taken leave of thy wits and would have it that a young lady lay with thee last night and wast instant with him to tell thee whither she had gone and didst torture him to that end.'When Kemerezzeman heard this，he was sore enraged and said to the Vizier，It is manifest to me that you taught the eunuch to do as he did and forbade him to tell me what became of the young lady.But thou，O Vizier，art more reasonable than the eunuch；so do thou tell me forthright whither went the young lady that lay in my bosom last night；for it was you who sent her and bade her sleep in my arms，and we lay together till day；but when I awoke，I found her not.So where is she now？O my lord Kemerezzeman，'said the Vizier，the name of God encompass thee！By Allah，we sent none to thee last night，but thou layest alone，with the door locked on thee and the eunuch sleeping before it，nor did there come to thee a young lady or any other.Stablish thy reason，O my lord，and return to thy senses and occupy thy mind no longer [with vain imaginations].'O Vizier，'rejoined Kemerezzeman，incensed at his words，the young lady in question is my beloved，the fair one with the black eyes and red cheeks，whom I held in my arms all last night.'The Vizier wondered at his words and said to him，Didst thou see this damsel with thine eyes and on wake，or in sleep？O wretched old man，'answered Kemerezzeman，thinkest thou I saw her with my ears？Indeed，I saw her with my very eyes and on wake and touched her with my hand and watched by her half the night，gazing my fill on her beauty and grace and elegance and lovely looks.But thou hadst schooled her and charged her to speak no word to me；so she feigned sleep and I lay by her side till morning，when I awoke and found her gone.'