spot the moment darkness closed, determined to
stand there and wait patiently for the time when his love should
appear. But alas! his sorrow had cost him many slumberless nights, and
now that he thought himself secure of his happiness again, long-absent
sleep came, and overpowered him suddenly where he stood on the street.

It happened that just about this time a thief was passing down the
same street. Perceiving that Alischar was fast asleep, this fellow
eased him of his turban, and setting that on his head, was about to
proceed on his way. Smaragdine, at this moment standing in the window,
saw the gleam of her lover's turban, and never doubting that it was
worn by Alischar himself, opened the lattice, and said to the thief in
an audible whisper,

"Come, come, love, I am ready to come down."

"Here is a fine adventure," quoth the thief to himself; "let us make
the best of it."

With this he placed himself below Smaragdine's window, received her on
his shoulders, and darted off with her like lightning.

"Oh," says she to him, "you are so strong, you trot as nimbly as if
you were a horse under me; and the good old woman had persuaded me
that grief had weakened you so that you could scarcely drag your own
limbs along."

The gentleman, on his part, made no answer to these observations, and
Smaragdine at last began to feel his face, which being very rough and
half covered with hair, her error was apparent, and she began to cry
out with all her might,

"Who art thou? who art thou?"

"Silence!" answered the thief: "I am Hirvan the Kurd, and I belong to
the band of Ahmed-ed-deyf. We are forty of us, all jolly brothers of
the trade, and a happy life shall you lead with us."

Smaragdine perceived into what horrors her error had plunged her: she
committed her soul to God and her body to the Prophet, and allowed
Hirvan to proceed with her in silence.

He conveyed her straight to a cavern without the city, which was the
hiding-place of the band. At that moment there was no one in it but
the mother of the captain, who had been left to arrange the plunder of
the preceding night, and in particular the wardrobe of a young
cavalier whom they had murdered, and whose horse and portmanteau were
observed just within the entrance of the cavern. The young robber
handed over Smaragdine to the old lady's protection, and went out
again in quest of more adventures; and no sooner were they alone than
the old one began to praise Smara