and woe betide us then. And Asad-el-Din grows old. True,
he does not go forth to fight. He clings to life and may last long. But
if he should not, and if Sakr-el-Bahr should still walk the earth when
thy father's destiny is fulfilled, I dare not think what then will be
thy fate and mine."

"May his grave be defiled!" growled Matzak.

"His grave?" said she. "The difficulty is to dig it for him without hurt
to ourselves. Shaitan protects the dog."

"May he make his bed in hell!" said Marzak.

"To curse him will not help us. Up, Marzak, and consider how the thing
is to be done."

Marzak came to his feet, nimble and supple as a greyhound. "Listen now,"
he said. "Since I must go this voyage with him, perchance upon the seas
on some dark night opportunity may serve me."

"Wait! Let me consider it. Allah guide me to find some way!" She beat
her hands together and bade the slave girl who answered her to summon
her wazeer Ayoub, and bid a litter be prepared for her. "We'll to the
sok, O Marzak, and see these slaves of his. Who knows but that something
may be done by means of them! Guile will serve us better than mere
strength against that misbegotten son of shame."

"May his house be destroyed!" said Marzak.

CHAPTER IX. COMPETITORS

The open space before the gates of the sok-el-Abeed was thronged with a
motley, jostling, noisy crowd that at every moment was being swelled by
the human streams pouring to mingle in it from the debauching labyrinth
of narrow, unpaved streets.

There were brown-skinned Berbers in black goat-hair cloaks that were
made in one piece with a cowl and decorated by a lozenge of red or
orange colour on the back, their shaven heads encased in skull-caps or
simply bound in a cord of plaited camel-hair; there were black Saharowi
who went almost naked, and stately Arabs who seemed overmuffled in
their flowing robes of white with the cowls overshadowing their swarthy,
finely featured faces; there were dignified and prosperous-looking Moors
in brightly coloured selhams astride of sleek mules that were richly
caparisoned; and there were Tagareenes, the banished Moors of Andalusia,
most of whom followed the trade of slave-dealers; there were native Jews
in sombre black djellabas, and Christian-Jews--so-called because bred
in Christian countries, whose garments they still wore; there were
Levantine Turks, splendid of dress and arrogant of demeanour, and there
were humble Cololies, Kabyles and Bi