sures were concealed in an iron chest, fastened by a
chain to the bottom of the ship.

Then they freed him from the torturing hide; in a state of collapse,
with foaming lips, a bleeding body and dislocated limbs, he flopped
down upon the cold marble.

"Thou seest now, my dear," observed Ali, gently, "what trouble thou
mightest have saved thyself and me also." Then he beckoned to the
eunuchs to remove the merchant.

So this was the way in which Ali made gold! A very simple sort of
alchemy, certainly!

And now it was the turn of the second man. And a haughty,
broad-shouldered fellow he was, who had regarded the torments of his
comrade without moving a muscle of his face.

"Then thou wilt not tell me thy name, valorous warrior?" inquired Ali.

"I will tell thee thine--Devil, Belial, Satan!"

"I thank thee! Thou dost me too much honor. But it is thy name I
should like to know. I suppose thou art some wealthy Venetian noble,
whose whereabouts his kinsmen are rather anxious to discover, and who
would not be ungrateful if any one sent thee back to them. For I
value thee very highly."

"Know, then, that I _am_ a rich noble, and that at home I have a
palace and treasures, but not a para of my property shalt thou ever
see, for I have taken poison. Dost thou not see the blue spots upon my
hand? Presently thou wilt see them on my face. In five minutes' time I
shall be dead."

And so indeed it fell out. The haughty noble died, while Ali, furious
with passion, cursed the Prophet.

And Eminah, from her hiding-place, looked intently upon Ali's face.
What must have been her thoughts at that moment?

The eunuchs removed the dead body, and Ali beckoned once more to them,
whereupon they brought in through the opposite doors a wondrously
beautiful damsel and a handsome youth. When the youth and the damsel
beheld each other the tears gushed from their eyes. They were lovers,
and lovers meet for each other.

Eminah now perceived with amazement that there were other kinds of men
besides those who wore gray beards. The captive youth, with his frank
and comely countenance and long black locks, so rejoiced her eyes that
she could not take them off him. She had never seen anything of the
sort before.

Ali approached the pair and smiled upon them both, and each of them
said to him, "I curse thee!"

He said to the youth, "Renounce thy bride and thou shalt live!" and
the youth replied, "I curse thee!"

He said to the damsel, "Lov