第32章

Answered Kanmakan，'The hunter returneth not but with quarry after the measure of his intention.A little after thy departure，fortune came to me： so now say，wilt thou go with me and work thine intent in my company and journey with me in this desert？'Replied Sabbah，'By the Lord of the Ka'abah，from this time forth I will call thee naught but 'my lord'！'Then he ran on before the horse，with his sword hanging from his neck and his budget between his shoulder blades，and Kanmakan rode a little behind him； and they plunged into the desert，for a space of four days，eating of the gazelles and drinking water of the springs.

On the fifth day they drew near a high hill，at whose foot was a springencampment[96] and a deep running stream； and the knolls and hollows were filled with camels and cattle and sheep and horses，and little children played about the pens and folds.

When Kanmakan saw this，he rejoiced at the sight and his breast was filled with delight； so he addressed himself to fight，that he might take the camels and the cattle，and said to Sabbah，'Come，fall with us upon this loot，whose owners have left it unguarded here，and do we battle for it with near and far，so haply may fall to our lot of goods some share.'Replied Sabbah，'O my lord，verily they to whom these herds belong be many in number； and among them are doughty horsemen and fighting footmen；and if we venture lives in this derring do we shall fall into danger great and neither of us will return safe from this bate；

but we shall both be cut off by fate and leave our cousins desolate.'Then Kanmakan laughed and knew that he was a coward；

so he left him and rode down the rise，intent on rapine，with loud cries and chanting these couplets，'Oh a valiant race are the sons of Nu'uman，Braves whose blades shred heads of the foemanclan！[97]

A tribe who，when tried in the tussle of war，

Taketh prowess stand in the battlevan：

In their tents safe close gaberlunzie's eyne，

Nor his poverty's ugly features scan：

And I for their aidance sue of Him

Who is King of Kings and made soul of man.'

Then he rushed upon the shecamels like a hecamel in rut and drove all before him，sheep and cattle，horses and dromedaries.

Therewith the slaves ran at him with their blades so bright and their lances so long； and at their head rode a Turkish horseman who was indeed a stout champion，doughty in fray and in battle chance and skilled to wield the nutbrown lance and the blade with bright glance.He drove at Kanmakan，saying，'Woe to thee！

Knewest thou to whom these herds belong thou hadst not done this deed.Know that they are the goods of the band Grecian，the champions of the ocean and the troop Circassian； and this troop containeth none but valiant wights numbering an hundred knights，who have cast off the allegiance of every Sultan.But there hath been stolen from them a noble stallion，and they have vowed not to return hence without him.'Now when Kanmakan heard these words，he cried out，saying，'O villain，this I bestride is the steed whereof ye speak and after which ye seek，and ye would do battle with me for his sake' So come out against me，all of you at once，and do you dourest for the nonce！'Then he shouted between the ears of AlKatul who ran at them like a Ghul；whereupon Kanmakan let drive at the Turk[98] and ran him through the body and threw him from his horse and let out his life； after which he turned upon a second and a third and a fourth，and also of life bereft them.When the slaves saw this，they were afraid of him，and he cried out and said to them，'Ho，sons of whores，drive out the cattle and the stud or I will dye my spear in your blood.'So they untethered the beasts and began to drive them out； and Sabbah came down to Kanmakan with loud voicing and hugely rejoicing； when lo！ there arose a cloud of dust and grew till it walled the view，and there appeared under of it riders an hundred，like lions anhungered.Upon this Sabbah took flight，and fled to the hill's topmost height，leaving the assailable site，and enjoyed sight of the fight，saying，'I am no warrior； but in sport and jest I

delight.'[99] Then the hundred cavaliers made towards Kanmakan and surrounded him on all sides，and one of them accosted him，saying，'Whither goest thou with this loot？'Quoth he，'I have made it my prize and am carrying it away； and I forbid you from it，or come on to the combat，for know ye that he who is before you is a terrible lion and an honourable champion，and a sword that cutteth wherever it turneth！'When the horseman heard these words，he looked at Kanmakan and saw that he was a knight like a maneclad lion in might，whilst his face was as the full moon rising on its fourteenth night，and velour shone from between his eyes.Now that horseman was the captain of the hundred horse，and his name was Kahrdash； and when he saw in Kanmakan the perfection of cavalarice with surpassing gifts of comeliness，his beauty reminded him of a beautiful mistress of his whose name was Fatin.[100] Now she was one of the fairest of women in face，for Allah had given her charms and grace and noble qualities of all kinds，such as tongue faileth to explain and which ravish the hearts of men.Moreover，the cavaliers of the tribe feared her prowess and all the champions of that land stood in awe of her high spirit； and she had sworn that she would not marry nor let any possess her，except he should conquer her in combat （Kahrdash being one of her suitors）； and she said to her father，'None shall approach me，save he be able to deal me over throw in the field and stead of war thrust and blow.Now when this news reached Kahrdash，he scorned to fight with a girl，fearing reproach； and one of his intimates said to him，'Thou art complete in all conditions of beauty and goodliness； so if thou contend with her，even though she be stronger than thou，thou must needs overcome her； for when she seeth thy beauty and grace，she will be discomfited before thee and yield thee the victory；for verily women have a need of men e'en as thou heedest full plain.'