ief, the door
of the salon opened, and Prince Omar rushed in, followed by his guards,
from whom he had escaped by the exercise of all his strength. He threw
himself breathless before the throne with the words:

"Here will I die! Let me be killed, inhuman father, for I can no longer
endure this disgrace."

Everyone was amazed at this speech; they crowded about the unfortunate
youth, and the guards, from whom he had escaped, were about to lay hold
of him and bind him again, when the sultana, who had looked on all this
in speechless surprise, sprang up from the throne.

"Stay, there!" cried she; "this and no other is the real prince; this
is he whom my eyes have never beheld, and yet my heart has known!"

The guard had involuntarily released Omar, but the sultan, burning with
anger, called to them to bind the crazy fellow. "It is my business to
decide here," said he, in a commanding tone, "and here one does not
judge by the dreams of old women, but by certain reliable signs. This
youth (pointing to Labakan) is my son, for he brought me the dagger,
the true token of my friend Elsi."

"He stole the dagger!" exclaimed Omar. "He abused my unsuspecting
confidence with treachery!" But the sultan, accustomed to have his own
way in every thing, would not listen to the voice of his son, and had
the unhappy Omar forcibly dragged from the room. Then, accompanied by
Labakan, he went to his own room, very angry with the sultana, with
whom he had lived in peace for twenty-five years.

The sultana was very unhappy over these events. She was perfectly well
satisfied that an impostor had taken possession of the sultan's heart,
as the unfortunate youth who had been dragged away, had often appeared
in her dreams as her son.

When she had in a measure quieted her sorrow, she tried to hit upon
some method of convincing the sultan of his error. This was no easy
task, as he who had usurped their son's place, had brought the token of
recognition, the dagger, and had also, as she discovered, learned so
much about Omar's early life from the prince himself, that he played
his _role_ without betraying himself.

She summoned the men who had accompanied the sultan to the pillar of El
Serujah, in order to learn all the particulars, and then held a
consultation with her most trustworthy slave-women. They chose and then
rejected this and that expedient. At last Melechsalah, a wise old
woman, said: "If I have heard rightly, honored mistress, the o