added the other; and they continued
raising the terms of the wager, until the number of camels staked was
one hundred. The contract of the bet was deposited in the hands of a man
named Sabic, son of Wahhab, and in the presence of a crowd of youths and
old men. "What shall be the length of the race?" asked Hadifah of Cais.
"One hundred bow-shots," replied Cais, "and we have an archer here,
Ayas, the son of Mansour, who will measure the ground." Ayas was in fact
the strongest and most accomplished archer then living among the Arabs.
King Cais, by choosing Ayas, wished the course to be made long, knowing
the endurance of his horse, and the longer distance Dahir had to travel,
the more he gained speed, from the increased excitement of his spirit.
"Well now, we had better fix the day for the race," said Cais to
Hadifah. "Forty days will be required," replied Hadifah, "to bring the
horses into condition." "You are right," said Cais, and they agreed that
the horses should be trained for forty days, that the race should take
place by the lake Zatalirsad, and that the horse that first reached the
goal should be declared winner. All these preliminaries having been
arranged, Cais returned to his tents.

Meanwhile one of the horsemen of the tribe of Fazarah said to his
neighbors: "Kinsmen, you may rest assured that there is going to be a
breach between the tribe of Abs and that of Fazarah, as a result of this
race between Dahir and Ghabra. The two tribes, you must know, will be
mutually estranged, for King Cais has been there in person; now he is a
prince and the son of a prince. He has made every effort to cancel the
bet, but Hadifah would by no means consent. All this is the beginning of
a broil, which may be followed by a war, possibly lasting fifty years,
and many a one will fall in the struggle."

Hadifah hearing this prediction, said: "I don't trouble myself much
about the matter, and your suggestion seems to me absurd." "O Hadifah,"
exclaimed Ayas, "I am going to tell you what will be the result of all
your obstinacy towards Cais." Then he recited some verses, with the
following meaning: "In thee, O Hadifah, there is no beauty; and in the
purity of Cais there is not a single blot. How sincere and honest was
his counsels, although they were lacking in prudence and dignity. Make a
wager with a man who does not possess even an ass, and whose father has
never been rich enough to buy a horse. Let Cais alone; he has wealth,
lands