orsemen was so great that the caravan could not have
resisted them very long.

With lighter hearts the merchants laid down to rest; and when the sun
began to set, and the evening breeze blew over the plains of sand, they
broke camp, and resumed their journey.

The next day they camped within a day's march of the end of the desert.
When the travelers had gathered once more in the large tent, Lezah the
merchant began to speak:

"I told you yesterday that the dreaded Orbasan was a magnanimous man;
permit me to prove it to you to-day, by the recital of my brother's
fate. My father was Cadi at Acara. He had three children, of whom I was
the eldest. My brother and sister were considerably younger. When I was
twenty years old, my father's brother sent for me. He made me heir to
his property, with the condition that I should remain with him while he
lived. But he reached a good old age, so that I could not return home
until two years ago, having learned nothing in the meantime of the dark
cloud that had overshadowed our family, and how graciously Allah had
dispersed it."

THE RESCUE OF FATIMA.

My brother Mustapha and my sister Fatima were of nearly the same age.
He was at the most, but two years older. They were devotedly attached
to one another, and together strove, by every means in their power, to
lighten the burden of our sick father's years.

On Fatima's sixteenth birthday, my brother arranged a celebration in
her honor. He invited all her companions; served them with choice
viands in the garden; and towards evening invited them to a ride on the
sea, in a barge which he had hired, and decorated especially for the
occasion. Fatima and her companions joyfully accepted the invitation,
as the evening was fine, and the city viewed from the sea, especially
by night, presented a magnificent appearance.

So highly did the young girls enjoy their ride, that they kept urging
my brother to take them still further out to sea. Mustapha consented
very unwillingly, as some days before a corsair had been seen standing
off the coast. Not far from the city a point of land extended out into
the sea. The young girls now expressed a desire to go there, that they
might see the sun set in the sea. As they rounded the cape, they saw,
at a little distance, a barge filled with armed men. With many
misgivings, my brother ordered the oarsmen to turn the boat around and
pull for shore. And in truth his fears d