assured the captain, with an oath, that he had marked but
one, and could not tell who had chalked the rest, so that he could not
distinguish the house which the cobbler had stopped at.

The captain, finding that their design had proved abortive, went
directly to the place of meeting, and told his troop that they had lost
their labour, and must return to their cave. He himself set them the
example, and they all returned as they had come.

When the troop was all got together, the captain told them the reason of
their returning; and presently the conductor was declared by all worthy
of death. He condemned himself, acknowledging that he ought to have
taken better precaution, and prepared to receive the stroke from him who
was appointed to cut off his head.

But as the safety of the troop required the discovery of the second
intruder into the cave, another of the gang, who promised himself that
he should succeed better, presented himself, and his offer being
accepted, he went and corrupted Baba Mustapha, as the other had done;
and being shown the house, marked it in a place more remote from sight,
with red chalk.

Not long after, Morgiana, whose eyes nothing could escape, went out, and
seeing the red chalk, and arguing with herself as she had done before,
marked the other neighbours' houses in the same place and manner.

The robber, at his return to his company, valued himself much on the
precaution he had taken, which he looked upon as an infallible way of
distinguishing Ali Baba's house from the others; and the captain and all
of them thought it must succeed. They conveyed themselves into the town
with the same precaution as before; but when the robber and his captain
came to the street, they found the same difficulty; at which the captain
was enraged, and the robber in as great confusion as his predecessor.

Thus the captain and his troop were forced to retire a second time, and
much more dissatisfied; while the robber who had been the author of the
mistake underwent the same punishment, to which he willingly submitted.

The captain, having lost two brave fellows of his troop, was afraid of
diminishing it too much by pursuing this plan to get information of the
residence of their plunderer. He found by their example that their heads
were not so good as their hands on such occasions; and therefore
resolved to take upon himself the important commission.

Accordingly, he went and addressed himself to Baba Mustapha, w