with greater magnificence in his
own country, has deferred it till his return. He is now on his way
home with a small part of his army, the rest having been dismissed;
and he is staying at present near this forest to enjoy the pleasures
of the chase. The princess is not with her intended husband, but under
the care of Manapala, one of her father's officers, who is said to be
very indignant at the surrender of the lady; you may see his camp at
no great distance from the other."

While thanking the poor man for his information, a thought came into
my mind--here is a very poor and deserving man, I will give him the
jewel which I have found; and I did so.

He received the gift with profuse thanks, and set out immediately to
try to dispose of it; while I lay down there to sleep.

After a time I was awakened by a great clamour, and saw the brahman
coming towards me with his hands tied behind him, driven along, with
blows of a whip and much abuse, by a party of soldiers.

On seeing me, he called out, "There is the thief; that is the man who
gave me the jewel."

Upon this the soldiers let him go, and, seizing me, refused to listen
to my remonstrances, or to my account of the manner in which I had
found the ruby. They dragged me along with them, and having put
fetters on my feet, thrust me into a dungeon, saying, "There are your
companions," pointing at the same time to some other prisoners
confined in that place.

When I recovered my senses--for I was half stunned by the violence
with which I had been pushed in--I said to my fellow-prisoners, "Who
are you, and what did the soldiers mean by calling you my companions?
for you are quite strangers to me."

Those prisoners then told me the story of the King of Lata, which I
had already heard from the brahman, and further said, "We were sent by
Manapala to assassinate that king, and broke into the place where we
supposed him to be. Not finding him, we were unwilling to come away
empty-handed; we therefore carried off everything of value within our
reach and made our escape to the forest. The next morning there was an
active pursuit, our hiding-place was discovered, we were all captured,
and the stolen property taken from us, with the exception of one ruby
of great value, which had disappeared. The king is exceedingly angry
that this cannot be found; our assertion that we have lost it is
disbelieved, and we are threatened with torture to-morrow, unless we
say where it is hidd