and salt passed between us and thou hast discovered our secret and our case; but secrets with the noble are safe.” I replied, “As I am a lawfully-begotten child and a well-born, I will not name aught of this nor denounce you!” They assured themselves of me by an oath; then they brought me out and I went my way, very hardly crediting but that I was of the dead. I lay ill in my house a whole month; after which I went to the Hammam and coming out, opened my shop and sat selling and buying as was my wont, but saw no more of that man or that woman till, one day, there stopped before my shop a young Turkoman,[82] as he were the full moon; and he was a sheep-merchant and had with him a leathern bag, wherein was money, the price of sheep he had sold. He was followed by the woman, and when he stopped over against my shop, she stood by his side and cajoled him, and indeed he inclined to her with great inclination. As for me, I was dying of solicitude for him and began casting furtive glances at him and winked at him, till he chanced to look round and saw me signing to him; whereupon the woman gazed at me and made a signal with her hand and went away. The Turkoman followed her and I deemed him dead without a doubt; wherefore I feared with exceeding fear and shut my shop. Then I journeyed for a year’s space and returning, opened my shop; whereupon, behold, the woman as she walked by came up to me and said, “This is none other than a great absence.” I replied, “I have been on a journey;” and she asked, “Why didst thou wink at the Turkoman?” I answered, “Allah forfend! I did not wink at him.” Quoth she, “Beware lest thou thwart me;” and went away. Awhile after this a familiar of mine invited me to his house and when I came to him, we ate and drank and chatted. Then he asked me, “O my friend, hath there befallen thee aught of sore trouble in the length of thy life?” Answered I, “Tell me first, hath there befallen thee aught?” He rejoined:—Know that one day I espied a fair woman; so I followed her and sued her to come home with me. Quoth she, I will not enter any one’s house but my own; so come thou to my home, an thou wilt, and be it on such a day. Accordingly, on the appointed day, her messenger[83] came to me, proposing to carry me to her; and when he announced his purpose I arose and went with him, till we arrived at a goodly house and a great door. He opened the door and I entered, whereupon he bolted it behind me and would have gone in; but I feared with exceeding fear and foregoing him to the second door, whereby he would have had me enter, bolted it and cried out at him, saying, “By Allah, an thou open not to me, I will slay thee;[84] for I am none of those whom thou canst readily cozen?” “What deemest thou of cozening?” “Verily, I am startled by the loneliness of the house and the lack of any keeper at its door; for I see none appear.” “O my lord, this is a private door.” “Private or public, open