with the light and leave the door open; and do thou wend whithersoever thou willest.” Then I sang and the Captain cried, “’Tis good.” Replied I, “Nay, but thou ’rt loathsome.” He looked at me and rejoined, “By Allah, thou shalt never more scent the odour of the world!” But his comrades said to him, “Do it not,” and gentled him, till he added, “An it must be so, and there be no help for it, she shall tarry here a whole year and not fare forth.” My answer was, “I am content to submit to whatso pleaseth thee: if I have failed in respect to thee, thou art of the clement.” He shook his head and drank, then arose and went out to do his need, whilst his comrades were occupied with what they were about of merry-making and drunkenness and sport. So I winked to my friends and we all slipped out into the corridor. We found the door open and fled forth, unveiled[99] and unknowing whither we went; nor did we halt till we had fared afar from the house and happened on a Cook cooking, of whom I asked, “Hast thou a mind to quicken the dead?” He said, “Come up;” so we went up into the shop, and he whispered, “Lie down.” Accordingly, we lay down and he covered us with the Halfah grass,[100] wherewith he was used to kindle the fire under the food. Hardly had we settled ourselves in the place when we heard a noise of kicking at the door and people running right and left and questioning the Cook and asking, “Hath any one passed by thee?” Answered he, “None hath passed by me.” But they ceased not to go round about the shop till the day broke, when they turned back, disappointed. Then the Cook removed the reeds and said to us, “Rise, for ye are delivered from death.” So we arose, and we were uncovered, sans veil or mantilla; but the Cook carried us up into his house and we sent to our homes and fetched us veils; and we repented to Allah Almighty and renounced singing, for indeed this was a mighty narrow escape after stress.[101] Those present marvelled at this, and the tenth constable came forward and said, “As for me, there befel me that which was yet rarer than all ye have yet heard.” Quoth Al-Malik al-Zahir, “What was that?” And quoth he, “Deign give ear to me.” THE TENTH CONSTABLE’S HISTORY.