, and that yours is the spoil of the mare. My master,
after consulting with the nobles and the chief men of Bagdad, has
determined to take the offer of the Wahabi into consideration; and since
it is become a business of government, has sent me to request you to
deliver her up into my hands. This is my errand, and I have said it."

'"_Wallah! billah!_ By the pasha's salt which I have eat, by your soul,
by the mother who bore you, by the stars and the heavens, I swear that
all the Wahabi say is false. Where is the mare they pretend to have
lost, and where the miserable jade that fell to my lot? I got a mare,
'tis true, but so lean, so wretched, that I sold her to an Arab the day
after the battle. You may have the bridle and saddle, if you please; but
as for the beast, I have her not."

'"_Allah, Allah!_" exclaimed the mirakhor, "this is a business of much
consequence. Okous Aga, you are an upright man, and so am I. Do not
laugh at our beards, and send us away without caps on our heads. If we
do not bring back the mare, our faces will be black to all eternity, and
the doors of friendship between you and the pasha will be shut. By my
soul, tell me; where is the beast?"

'"Friend," answered my father, "what shall I say? what can I do? The
mare is not here--the Wahabi are liars--and I speak the truth." Then
with a softened tone, he approached the mirakhor, and spoke to him for
a long time in a whisper, with much animation and apparent persuasion;
for, at the end of their conversation, they appeared to be well agreed.

'The mirakhor then said aloud, "Well, if such is the case, and the beast
is not in your possession, _Allah kerim,_ God is merciful, and there is
no combating against fate. We must return to Bagdad."

'My father then rose from his seat, and came into the women's tent,
leaving his guests to smoke their pipes and drink coffee, preparatory to
the meal which was making ready for them. He ordered his wife, who
was the depository of his money, to bring him a bag of gold, that was
carefully wrapped in many a piece of old cloth, and deposited in a
trunk, which, with his rich horse furniture, the parade pack-saddle, and
other things of value, were placed in a corner of the tent. He took
out twenty _Bajoglis_ (ducats), which he tied into the corner of a
handkerchief, and thrust them into his bosom; and then giving his orders
that the victuals should forthwith be served up, he returned to his
guests. Little was said unt