oon
confirmed by Siroco himself, who came into the garden with the Bassa and
his two sons, and was speedily joined by the ladies of the family. Only
Hassan was absent. It was the hour in which he was condemned to bewail
his ebony hand.

To the surprise of all a noise was at this moment heard in a corner of
the terrace, and Hassan himself appeared surrounded by slaves, clapping
his hands and shouting with joy. 'I was weeping as usual,' cried he,
'when all at once the tears refused to come to my eyes, and on looking
down at my hand I saw that its blackness had vanished. And now, lovely
Zelida, nothing prevents me any longer from offering you the hand, when
the heart has been yours always.'

But though Hassan never thought of asking or caring what had caused his
cure, the others were by no means so indifferent. It was quite clear
that the little black pig must be dead--but how, and when? To this the
slaves answered that they had seen that morning a man pursued by three
others, and that he had taken refuge in the cavern which they had been
left to guard. Then, in obedience to orders, they had rolled a stone
over the entrance.

Piercing shrieks interrupted their story, and a man, whom the
Circassians saw to be the old dervish, rushed round the corner of the
terrace with the three Jews behind him. When the fugitive beheld so many
people collected together, he turned down another path, but the slaves
captured all four and brought them before their master.

What was the surprise of the Bassa when he beheld in the old dervish the
man who had given the chaplet, the copper plaque, and the bracelet to
his three sons. 'Fear nothing, holy father,' he said, 'you are safe with
me. But tell us, how came you here?'

'My lord,' explained the dervish, 'when my beard was cut off during my
sleep by the two Circassians, I was ashamed to appear before the eyes
of men, and fled, bearing with me the pink silk bag. In the night these
three men fell in with me, and we passed some time in conversation, but
at dawn, when it was light enough to see each other's faces, one of them
exclaimed that I was the dervish travelling with the two Circassians who
had stolen the talismans from the Jews. I jumped up and tried to fly
to my cave, but they were too quick for me, and just as we reached your
garden they snatched the bag which contained the little black pig and
flung it into the sea. By this act, which delivers your son, I would
pray you to forgiv