Short Stories Old and New Part 5

The robbers stayed some time within, and Ali Baba, fearful of being caught, remained in the tree. At last the door opened again, and the captain came out first, and stood to see all the troop pa.s.s by him. Then Ali Baba heard him make the door close by saying: "Shut, Sesame." Every man at once bridled his horse, fastened his wallet, and mounted again.

When the captain saw them all ready, he put himself at their head, and they returned the way they had come.

Ali Baba watched them out of sight, and then waited some time before coming down. Wis.h.i.+ng to see whether the captain's words would have the same effect if he should speak them, he found the door hidden in the shrubs, stood before it, and said: "Open, Sesame." Instantly the door flew wide open.

Instead of a dark, dismal cavern, Ali Baba was surprised to see a large chamber, well lighted from the top, and in it all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, brocade and carpeting, gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags.

Ali Baba went boldly into the cave, and collected as much of the gold coin, which was in bags, as he thought his a.s.ses could carry. When he had loaded them with the bags, he laid wood over them so that they could not be seen, and, pa.s.sing out of the door for the last time, stood before it and said: "Shut, Sesame." The door closed of itself, and he made the best of his way to town.

When he reached home, he carefully closed the gate of his little yard, threw off the wood, and carried the bags into the house. They were emptied before his wife, and the great heap of gold dazzled her eyes.

Then he told her the whole adventure, and warned her, above all things, to keep it secret.

Ali Baba would not let her take the time to count it out as she wished, but said: "I will dig a hole and bury it."

"But let us know as nearly as may be," she said, "how much we have. I will borrow a small measure, and measure it, while you dig a hole."

Away she ran to the wife of Ca.s.sim, who lived near by, and asked for a measure. The sister-in-law, knowing Ali Baba's poverty, was curious to learn what sort of grain his wife wished to measure out, and artfully managed to put some suet in the bottom of the measure before she handed it over. Ali Baba's wife wanted to show how careful she was in small matters, and, after she had measured the gold, hurried back, even while her husband was burying it, with the borrowed measure, never noticing that a coin had stuck to its bottom.

"What," said Ca.s.sim's wife, as soon as her sister-in-law had left her, "has Ali Baba gold in such plenty that he measures it? Whence has he all this wealth?" And envy possessed her breast.

When Ca.s.sim came home, she said to him: "Ca.s.sim, you think yourself rich, but Ali Baba is much richer. He does not count his money; he measures it." Then she explained to him how she had found it out, and they looked together at the piece of money, which was so old that they could not tell in what prince's reign it was coined.

Ca.s.sim, since marrying the rich widow, had never treated Ali Baba as a brother, but neglected him. Now, instead of being pleased, he was filled with a base envy. Early in the morning, after a sleepless night, he went to him and said: "Ali Baba, you pretend to be wretchedly poor, and yet you measure gold. My wife found this at the bottom of the measure you borrowed yesterday."

Ali Baba saw that there was no use of trying to conceal his good fortune, and told the whole story, offering his brother part of the treasure to keep the secret.

"I expect as much," replied Ca.s.sim haughtily; "but I must know just where this treasure is and how to visit it myself when I choose.

Otherwise I will inform against you, and you will lose even what you have now."

Ali Baba told him all he wished to know, even to the words he must speak at the door of the cave.

Ca.s.sim rose before the sun the next morning, and set out for the forest with ten mules bearing great chests which he meant to fill. With little trouble he found the rock and the door, and, standing before it, spoke the words: "Open, Sesame." The door opened at once, and when he was within closed upon him. Here indeed were the riches of which his brother had told. He quickly brought as many bags of gold as he could carry to the door of the cavern; but his thoughts were so full of his new wealth, that he could not think of the word that should let him out. Instead of "Sesame," he said "Open, Barley," and was much amazed to find that the door remained fast shut. He named several sorts of grain, but still the door would not open.

Ca.s.sim had never expected such a disaster, and was so frightened that the more he tried to recall the word "Sesame," the more confused his mind became. It was as if he had never heard the word at all. He threw down the bags in his hands, and walked wildly up and down, without a thought of the riches lying round about him.

At noon the robbers visited their cave. From afar they saw Ca.s.sim's mules straggling about the rock, and galloped full speed to the cave.

Driving the mules out of sight, they went at once, with their naked sabres in their hands, to the door, which opened as soon as the captain had spoken the proper words before it.

Ca.s.sim had heard the noise of the horses' feet, and guessed that the robbers had come. He resolved to make one effort for his life. As soon as the door opened, he rushed out and threw the leader down, but could not pa.s.s the other robbers, who with their scimitars soon put him to death.

The first care of the robbers was to examine the cave. They found all the bags Ca.s.sim had brought to the door, but did not miss what Ali Baba had taken. As for Ca.s.sim himself, they guessed rightly that, once within, he could not get out again; but how he had managed to learn their secret words that let him in, they could not tell. One thing was certain,--there he was; and to warn all others who might know their secret and follow in Ca.s.sim's footsteps, they agreed to cut his body into four quarters--to hang two on one side and two on the other, within the door of the cave. This they did at once, and leaving the place of their h.o.a.rds well closed, mounted their horses and set out to attack the caravans they might meet.

II

THE MANNER OF Ca.s.sIM'S DEATH CONCEALED

When night came, and Ca.s.sim did not return, his wife became very uneasy.

She ran to Ali Baba for comfort, and he told her that Ca.s.sim would certainly think it unwise to enter the town till night was well advanced. By midnight Ca.s.sim's wife was still more alarmed, and wept till morning, cursing her desire to pry into the affairs of her brother and sister-in-law. In the early day she went again, in tears, to Ali Baba.

He did not wait for her to ask him to go and see what had happened to Ca.s.sim, but set out at once for the forest with his three a.s.ses. Finding some blood at the door of the cave, he took it for an ill omen; but when he had spoken the words, and the door had opened, he was struck with horror at the dismal sight of his brother's body. He could not leave it there, and hastened within to find something to wrap around it. Laying the body on one of his a.s.ses, he covered it with wood. The other two a.s.ses he loaded with bags of gold, covering them also with wood as before. Then bidding the door shut, he came away, but stopped some time at the edge of the forest, that he might not go into the town before night. When he reached home he left the two a.s.ses, laden with gold, in his little yard for his wife to unload, and led the other to his sister-in-law's house.

Ali Baba knocked at the door, which was opened by Morgiana, a clever slave, full of devices to conquer difficulties. When he came into the court and unloaded the a.s.s, he took Morgiana aside, and said to her:--

"You must observe a strict secrecy. Your master's body is contained in these two panniers. We must bury him as if he had died a natural death.

Go now and tell your mistress. I leave the matter to your wit and skillful devices."

They placed the body in Ca.s.sim's house, and, charging Morgiana to act well her part, Ali Baba returned home with his a.s.s.

Early the next morning, Morgiana went to a druggist, and asked for a sort of lozenge used in the most dangerous illness. When he asked her for whom she wanted it, she answered with a sigh: "My good master Ca.s.sim. He can neither eat nor speak." In the evening she went to the same druggist, and with tears in her eyes asked for an essence given to sick persons for whose life there is little hope. "Alas!" said she, "I am afraid even this will not save my good master."

All that day Ali Baba and his wife were seen going sadly between their house and Ca.s.sim's, and in the evening n.o.body was surprised to hear the shrieks and cries of Ca.s.sim's wife and Morgiana, who told everybody that her master was dead.

The next morning at daybreak she went to an old cobbler, who was always early at work, and, putting a piece of gold in his hand, said:--

"Baba Mustapha, you must bring your sewing-tackle and come with me; but I must tell you, I shall blindfold you when we reach a certain place."

"Oh! oh!" replied he, "you would have me do something against my conscience or my honor."

"G.o.d forbid!" said Morgiana, putting another piece of gold in his hand; "only come along with me, and fear nothing."

Baba Mustapha went with Morgiana, and at a certain place she bound his eyes with a handkerchief, which she never unloosed till they had entered the room of her master's house, where she had put the corpse together.

"Baba Mustapha," said she, "you must make haste, and sew the parts of this body together, and when you have done, I will give you another piece of gold."

After Baba Mustapha had finished his task, she blindfolded him again, gave him the third piece of gold she had promised, and, charging him with secrecy, took him back to the place where she had first bound his eyes. Taking off the bandage, she watched him till he was out of sight, lest he should return and dog her; then she went home.

At Ca.s.sim's house she made all things ready for the funeral, which was duly performed by the imaum[*] and other ministers of the mosque.

Morgiana, as a slave of the dead man, walked in the procession, weeping, beating her breast, and tearing her hair. Ca.s.sim's wife stayed at home, uttering doleful cries with the women of the neighborhood, who, according to custom, came to mourn with her. The whole quarter was filled with sounds of sorrow.

[* Imaum, a Mohammedan priest.]

Thus the manner of Ca.s.sim's death was hushed up, and, besides his widow, Ali Baba, and Morgiana, the slave, n.o.body in the city suspected the cause of it. Three or four days after the funeral, Ali Baba removed his few goods openly to his sister-in-law's house, in which he was to live in the future; but the money he had taken from the robbers was carried thither by night. As for Ca.s.sim's warehouse, Ali Baba put it entirely under the charge of his eldest son.

III

THE ROBBERS' PLOT FOILED BY MORGIANA

While all this was going on, the forty robbers again visited their cave in the forest. Great was their surprise to find Ca.s.sim's body taken away, with some of their bags of gold.

"We are certainly found out," said the captain; "the body and the money have been taken by some one else who knows our secret. For our own lives' sake, we must try and find him. What say you, my lads?"

The robbers all agreed that this must be done.