Four armed men rode beside Said and regarded him with angry looks, and he felt sure that the man he had killed must have been a person of importance, probably a prince or chieftain. He felt thankful that he had incurred their special wrath, for he quite expected they were taking him to their camp to kill him, and death was preferable to slavery, which was the only other alternative. The armed men watched his every movement and threatened him with their spears if he attempted to turn round. However, he managed to turn his head for a moment and was delighted to see that the old man who had been his companion, and whom he had believed to be dead, was accompanying his party. At length he saw trees and tents in the distance, and as they came nearer a number of women and children came to meet them, and scarcely had these exchanged a few words with the robbers than they broke into fearful weeping and screaming and, raising their arms towards Said, cursed him loudly. [Illustration: _Said made frantic efforts to free himself._ (P. 284.)] “This is he,” they shrieked, “who has killed the great and noble Almansor, the bravest of all men, this is he, and he shall die and we will give his flesh to the jackals to devour.” They pelted him with pieces of wood, clods of earth, and anything they could lay hands on, so fiercely, that one of Said’s guards was obliged to intervene. “Back, unruly ones,” he cried, “give place, you women; the man who slew the noble Almansor must die, it is true, but by the hand of a brave man, not by the hand of a woman.” When they reached an open space amongst the tents they stopped, the prisoners were fastened together in couples, and the booty carried into the tents. Said, however, was bound alone and was led into a large tent where an old man sat. He was magnificently clothed and his stately mien showed that he was the chief of the robber band. The men who led Said in approached him with sorrowful looks and bent heads. “The shrieks of the women have broken to me the news of what has occurred,” he said majestically, “and your attitudes confirm it; Almansor has fallen.” “Almansor has fallen, indeed,” answered the men, “but we bring here to you his murderer in order that you may determine what manner of death he shall die. Shall we shoot at him from a distance with our arrows, or shall we chase him down a pathway of spears, or shall we hang him, or have him torn to pieces by horses?” “Who are you?” asked Selim, the chief, glancing gloomily at the captive, who stood before him waiting courageously to meet his death. Said answered briefly and with truth. “Did you murder my son treacherously, attacking him with arrow or spear from the rear?” “Not so,” replied Said, “I killed him in fair fight, and because he had slain eight of my companions before my eyes.” “Is it as he says?” demanded Selim of Said’s guard. “Yes, it is true enough,” one of them made reply, “Almansor was killed in fair fight.”