with the word "treachery," walked back to the mouth of the
cave.

Unluckily, his men, with the exception of two guards stationed at the
entrance, had left the spot to visit some near-by friends. Senix,
perceiving that his own life was in danger, and that this was his only
opportunity for safety, fell with his followers on the guards, one of whom
was killed and the other put to flight. Then an attack was made on
Aben-Aboo. The latter defended himself desperately, but the odds were too
great, and the dastardly El Senix ended the struggle by felling him with
the butt-end of his musket, when he was quickly despatched.

Thus died the last of the Omeyades, the famous dynasty of Arabian caliphs
founded in 660, and established in Spain in 756. Aben-Aboo, the last of
this royal race, was given in death a triumphal entrance to Granada, as if
he were one whom the Spaniards delighted to honor. The corpse was set
astride on a mule, being supported by a wooden frame, which lay hidden
beneath flowing robes. On one side rode Barredo; on the other the murderer
El Senix bore the scimitar and arquebuse of the dead prince. The kinsmen
and friends of the Morisco chief rode in his train, and after them came a
regiment of infantry and a troop of horse.

As the procession moved along the street of Zacatin salvos of musketry
saluted it, peals of artillery roared from the towers of the Alhambra, and
the multitude thronged to gaze with silent curiosity on the ghastly face.
Thus the cavalcade proceeded until the great square of Vivarambla was
reached. Here were assembled the principal cavaliers and magistrates of
the city, and here El Senix dismounted and delivered to Deza, the
president of the tribunal before which were tried the insurgent captives,
the arms of the murdered prince.

And now this semblance of respect to a brave enemy was followed by a scene
of barbarity worthy of the Spain of that day. The ceremony of a public
execution was gone through with, the head of the corpse being struck off,
after which the body was given to the boys of Granada, who dragged it
through the streets and exposed it to every indignity, finally committing
it to the flames. The head, enclosed in a cage, was set over the gate that
faced towards the Alpujarras. There it remained for a year, seeming to
gaze towards the hills which the Morisco chief had loved so well, and
which had witnessed his brief and disastrous reign.

Such was the fate of Aben-Aboo, the las