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Now the reason of this was that when Gherib put El Hemel and his men to the sword, the rest fled to their lord’s brother and told him what had happened, whereat his gorge rose and he gathered together his Amalekites and choosing out five hundred cavaliers, each fifty cubits high,[1] set out with them in quest of revenge for his brother. By the way he fell in with Merdas and his company and there happened between them what happened; after which he bade his men alight and rest, saying, ‘O folk, the idols have given us an easy revenge; so guard ye Merdas and his men, till I carry them away and put them to death on the foulest wise.’ When Merdas found himself a prisoner, he repented of what he had done and said, ‘This is the reward of tyranny.’ Then they lay down to sleep, and the enemy passed the night, rejoicing in their victory, whilst Merdas and his men despaired of life and made sure of death.
Meanwhile, Sehim el Leil, who had been wounded in the fight with El Hemel, went in to his sister Mehdiyeh and she rose to him and kissed his hands, saying, ‘May thy hand never wither nor thine enemies have occasion to rejoice! But for thee and Gherib, we had not escaped captivity. But know, O my brother,’ continued she, ‘that thy father hath ridden forth with a hundred and fifty horse, purposing to kill Gherib; and thou knowest it would be foul wrong to kill him, for that it was he who saved your honour and rescued your goods.’ When Sehim heard this, the light in his eyes became darkness and he donned his battle-harness and mounting, rode in quest of Gherib. He presently came up with him and found that he had taken great plenty of game; so he saluted him and said to him, ‘O my brother, why didst thou go forth, without
- ↑ This is a poetical exaggeration, not intended to be taken literally, and means merely tall strong men or “Amalekites,” which latter name is often given by the Arabs to a doughty and large-limbed man of war.
