书城公版Volume Four
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第131章 THE HAUNTED HOUSE IN BAGHDAD.(4)

Quoth Ali'I adjure thee by the Most High God to tell me the history of this gold.'This is a treasure that was enchanted to thee of old time,'replied the voice;'and to every onewho entered the housewe used to come and say to him'O AliO son of Hassanshall we send down the gold?'Whereat he would be affrighted and cry outand we would come down to him and break his neck and go away. Butwhen thou camest and we accosted thee by thy name and that of thy fathersaying,'Shall we send thee down the gold?'and thou madest answer,saying'Send away,'we knew thee for the owner of it and sent it down. Moreoverthere is yet another treasure for thee in the land of Yemenwhither thou wouldst do well to journey and fetch it. And now I would have thee set me freethat I may go my way.'By Allah,'said Ali'I will not set thee freetill thou bring me hither the treasure from Yemen!'Quoth the voice,'If I bring it theewilt thou release me and the servant of the other treasure also?'Yes,'replied Ali;and the genie said'Swear to me.'So he swore to himand he was about to go awaywhen Ali said to him'I have one other service to ask of thee.'What is that?'asked the genie. Quoth Ali'I have a wife and children at Cairoin such a place;thou must fetch them to meat their ease and without hurt.'I will bring them to thee in state,'answered the genie'in a litterwith a train of slaves and servantstogether with the treasure from Yemenif it be the will of God the Most High.'Then he took of him leave of absence for three daysat the end of which time all this should be with himand departed.

When it was morningAli went round about the saloonseeking a place wherein to lay the goldand saw in the wall of the dais a marble panelwith a knob in it. So he pressed the knob and the panel slid back and discovered a doorwhich he opened and enteringfound a great closetfull of linen bags. So he took out the bags and fell to filling them with gold and replacing them in the closettill he had transported thither the whole treasurewhereupon he shut the door and pressing the knobthe panel returned to its place. Then he went down and seated himself on the bench behind the door. Presentlythere came a knock at the door;so he opened it and found the merchant's slavewhoseeing himreturned in haste to his master with the good tidingssaying'O my lordthe merchantwho is lodged in the haunted houseis alive and well and sits on the bench behind the door.'When the merchant heard thishe rose joyfully and went to the housetaking breakfast with him;and when he saw Alihe embraced him and kissed him between the eyessaying'How hath God dealt with thee?'Right well,'answered Ali. 'I slept upstairs in the marble saloon.'Quoth the merchant'Did aught come to thee or didst thou see aught?'

'No,'replied Ali;'I recited some little of the Koran and slept till morningwhen I arose and after making the ablution and prayingcame down and seated myself on the bench behind the door.'Praised be God for safety!'exclaimed the merchant,then left him and presently sent him slaves and servantsblack and white and male and femalewith furniture. They swept the house from top to bottom and furnished it magnificentlyafter which three black slaves and the like number of white and four slave-girls abode with himto serve himand the rest returned to their master's house. When the merchants heard of himthey sent him presents of all manner of things of priceeven to meat and drink and clothesand took him with them in the marketsaying'When will thy baggage arrive?'And he answered,'After three days it will come.'

Accordinglywhen the three days had elapsedthe servant of the first treasure came to him and said'Go forth and meet thy haremtogether with the treasure I have brought thee from Yemenpart of which is by way of costly merchandise;but the slavesblack and whiteand the horses and camels and mules are all of the Jinn.(Now the geniewhen he betook himself to Cairofound Ali's wife and children in sore straits for nakedness and hunger;so he carried them forth of the town in a travelling-litter and clad them in sumptuous raiment of that which was in the treasure of Yemen.)When Ali heard thishe rose and repairing to the merchantssaid to them'Comego forth the city with meto meet the caravanwith my merchandise,and honour me with the presence of your haremsto meet my harem.'We hear and obey,'answered they and sending for their haremswent forth all together and alighted in one of the gardens without the city. As they sat talkingbeholda cloud of dust arose out of the heart of the desertand they came out to see what it was. Presentlyit lifted and discovered mules and muleteers and tent-pitchers and linkmenwho came on,singing and dancingtill they reached the gardenwhen the chief of the muleteers came up to Ali and kissing his hand,said to him'O my lordwe have been long on the wayfor we thought to enter some days ago;but we were in fear of the highway-robbersso abode in our station four daystill God the Most High rid us of them.'