第27章

Then he hailed the speaker and cried out to him，saying，'O thou who farest in sombrest night，draw near to me and tell me thy tale haply thou shalt find me one who will succour thee in thy sufferings.'And when the owner of the voice heard these words，he cried out，'O thou that respondest to my complaint and wouldest hear my history，who art thou amongst the knights？Art thou human or Jinni？Answer me speedily ere thy death draw near for I have wandered in this desert some twenty days and have seen no one nor heard any voice but thy voice.'At these words Kanmakan said to himself，'This one's case is like my case，for I，even I，have wandered twenty days，nor during my wayfare have I seen man or heard voice：'and he added，'I will make him no answer till day arise.'So he was silent，and the voice again called out to him，saying，'O thou that callest，if thou be of the Jinn fare in peace and，if thou be man，stay awhile till the day break stark and the night flee with the dark.'The speaker abode in his place and Kanmakan did likewise and the twain in reciting verses never failed，and wept tears that railed till the light of day began loom and the night departed with its gloom.

Then Kanmakan looked at the other and found him to be of the Badawi Arabs，a youth in the flower of his age；clad in worn clothes and bearing in baldrick a rusty sword which he kept sheathed，and the signs of love longing were apparent on him.He went up to him and accosted him and saluted him，and the Badawi returned the salute and greeted him with courteous wishes for his long life，but somewhat despised him，seeing his tender years and his condition，which was that of a pauper.So he said to him，'O youth，of what tribe art thou and to whom art thou kin among the Arabs；and what is thy history that thou goest by night，after the fashion of knights？Indeed thou spakest to me in the dark words such as are spoken of none but doughty cavaliers and lion like warriors；and now I hold thy life in hand.But I have compassion on thee by reason of thy green years；so I will make thee my companion and thou shalt go with me，to do me service.'

When Kanmakan heard him speak these unseemly words，after showing him such skill in verse，he knew that he despised him and would presume with him；therefore he answered him with soft and well chosen speech，saying，'O Chief of the Arabs，leave my tenderness of age and tell me why thou wanderest by night in the desert reciting verses.Thou talkest，I see，of my serving thee；who then art thou and what moved thee to talk this wise？'Answered he，'Hark ye，boy！ I am Sabbah，son of Rammah bin Humam.[80]

My people are of the Arabs of Syria and I have a cousin，Najmah highs，who to all that look on her brings delight.And when my father died I was brought up in the house of his brother，the father of Najmah；but as soon I grew up and my uncle's daughter became a woman，they secluded her from me and me from her，seeing that I was poor and without money in pouch.Then the Chiefs of the Arabs and the heads of the tribes rebuked her sire，and he was abashed before them and consented to give me my cousin，but upon condition that I should bring him as her dower fifty head of horses and fifty dromedaries which travel ten days[81] without a halt and fifty camels laden with wheat and a like number laden with barley，together with ten black slaves and ten handmaids.

Thus the weight he set upon me was beyond my power to bear；for he exacted more than the marriage settlement as by law established.So here am I，travelling from Syria to Irak，and I have passed twenty days with out seeing other than thyself；yet I

mean to go to Baghdad that I may ascertain what merchant men of wealth and importance start thence.Then will I fare forth in their track and loot their goods，and I will slay their escort and drive off their camels with their loads.But what manner of man art thou？'Replied Kanmakan，'Thy case is like unto my case，save that my evil is more grievous than thine ill；for my cousin is a King's daughter and the dowry of which thou hast spoken would not content her people，nor would they be satisfied with the like of that from me.'Quoth Sabbah，'Surely thou art a fool or thy wits for excess of passion are gathering wool！ How can thy cousin be a King's daughter？Thou hast no sign of royal rank on thee，for thou art but a mendicant.'Re joined Kanmakan，'O

Chief of the Arabs，let not this my case seem strange to thee；for what happened，happened；[82] and if thou desire proof of me，I am Kanmakan，son of King Zau alMakan，son of King Omar bin alNu'uman Lord of Baghdad and the realm Khorasan；and Fortune banned me with her tyrant ban，for my father died and my Sultanate was taken by King Sasan.So I fled forth from Baghdad secretly，lest I be seen of any man，and have wandered twenty days without any but thyself to scan.So now I have discovered to thee my case，and my story is as thy story and my need as thy need.'When Sabbab heard this，he cried out，'O my joy，I have attained my desire！ I will have no loot this day but thy self；for since thou art of the seed of Kings and hast come out in beggar's garb，there is no help but thy people will seek thee；and，if they find thee in any one's power，they will ransom thee with monies galore.So show me thy back，O my lad，and walk before me.'Answered Kanmakan，'O brother of the Arabs，act not on this wise，for my people will not buy me with silver nor with gold，not even with a copper dirham；and I am a poor man，having with me neither much nor little，so cease then to be upon this track and take me to thy comrade.Fare we forth for the land of Irak and wander over the world，so haply we may win dower and marriage portion，and we may seek and enjoy our cousins' kisses and embraces when we come back.'Hearing this，Sabbah waxed angry；his arrogance and fury redoubled and he said，'Woe to thee！ Dost thou bandy words with me，O vilest of dogs that be？

Turn thee thy back，or I will come down on thee with clack！'