You will be acquitted by
restoring your friends the value of the things that are stolen;
and, blessed be God, you have enough left.
Waiting till day, the jeweller ordered the slave to mend the gate
of the house, which was broken up, as well as he could: after
which he returned to his ordinary house with his slave, making
sad reflections on what had befallen him. Ebn Thaher, said he to
himself, has been wiser than I; he foresaw the misfortune into
which I have blindly thrown myself: would to God I had never
meddled in this intrigue, which I fear will cost me my life!
It was scarcely day, when the report of the robbery had spread
through the city, and there came to the house a great many of the
jeweller's friends and neighbours, to testify their grief for
this misfortune, but were curious to know the particulars. He
thanked them for their affection, and was so much the better
satisfied, that he heard nobody speak of Schemselnihar or the
prince of Persia, which made him believe they were at their
houses. or in some secure place.
When the jeweller was alone, his servants brought him something
to eat, but he could not taste a bit. About noon one of his
slaves came to tell him that a man was at the gate, whom he knew
not, and desired to speak with him. The jeweller, not willing to
receive a stranger into his house, rose up, and went to speak
with him.
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