ng the dead. Henda and her companions
savagely assisted in the gruesome task; and, coming upon Hamza, the
fierce woman mutilated his dead body.

By him she found the handsome youth, whom she believed to be Manasseh,
so torn and covered with blood as to conceal his Moslem adornments. To
Manasseh she had taken a strange fancy, and she now ordered the youth to
be conveyed in safety to the camp, with the army which was forming in
line of march.

The band of Jews who had come with the forces of Abu Sofian, mainly for
the purpose of delivering those of their afflicted brethren who had
refused to join Mohammed, and of whom many were imprisoned in Medina,
now joined with a band of the Koreish, who desired the freedom of some
of their tribe, and, while the excitement of battle was still fresh, the
party entered the city by stealth, then, dashing furiously down the
street to the guard-house, overpowered the guards and battered open the
doors, setting many of the prisoners free. Among these were Amzi, Asru,
and Yusuf.

It was Manasseh himself who broke in the door of the apartment in which
Yusuf was confined.

An exclamation of pleasure burst from him on recognizing the priest, and
he threw his arms about his neck.

"Yusuf! My dear Yusuf!" he cried.

"My boy!" exclaimed the priest, in astonishment. "What means this?"

"It means that you are free," said the youth as he knocked off the
chains. "Haste! We must on to the camp ere the Moslems return. Anything
more than this I will tell you on the way."

Once again Yusuf stepped out into the pure air, along with many others
who bore part of their chains in the broken links that still clanked
upon their wrists and ankles.

In passing through the court-yard, the priest noticed some one crouched
in a pitiable heap in a corner of the yard. Manasseh hauled him out. It
was the peddler, with ashen face and eyes rolling with fear.

"Come along, my man!" laughed Manasseh. "Like the worm in a pomegranate,
you are apt to do harm if left to yourself."

Abraham writhed and begged for mercy.

"Come along!" said Manasseh, impatiently. "I shall not hurt you; I shall
merely look after you for awhile."

Thus consoled, the peddler hopped on with alacrity. A hasty mount was
made and the party set out for the camp of Abu Sofian.

Yusuf then had a chance to ask the question burning at his heart. "How
comes it, Manasseh, that you again fight against the prophet? When last
I saw you, you wore