the company laid hold of it and set it up against the wall, and it reached the top as truly as if it had been built for it before that time. The Emir marvelled and said, “The blessing of Allah be upon you. It seems as though ye had taken the measure of the mure, so excellent is your work.” Then said he to his men, “Which of you will mount the ladder and walk along the wall and cast about for a way of descending into the city, so to see how the case stands and let us know how we may open the gate?” Whereupon quoth one of them, “I will go up, O Emir, and descend and open to you”; and Musa answered, saying, “Go and the blessing of Allah go with thee!” So the man mounted the ladder; but, when he came to the top of the wall, he stood up and gazed fixedly down into the city, then clapped his hands and crying out, at the top of his voice, “By Allah, thou art fair!” cast himself down into the place, and Musa cried, “By Allah, he is a dead man!” But another came up to him and said, “O Emir, this was a madman and doubtless his madness got the better of him and destroyed him. I will go up and open the gate to you, if it be the will of Allah the Most High.” “Go up,” replied Musa, “and Allah be with thee! But beware lest thou lose thy head, even as did thy comrade.” Then the man mounted the ladder, but no sooner had he reached the top of the wall than he laughed aloud, saying, “Well done! well done!”; and clapping palms cast himself down into the city and died forthright. When the Emir saw this, he said, “An such be the action of a reasonable man, what is that of the madman? If all our men do on this wise, we shall have none left and shall fail of our errand and that of the Commander of the Faithful. Get ye ready for the march: verily we have no concern with this city.” But a third one of the company said, “Haply another may be steadier than they.” So a third mounted the wall and a fourth and a fifth and all cried out and cast themselves down, even as did the first, nor did they leave to do thus, till a dozen had perished in like fashion. Then the Shaykh Abd al-Samad came forward and heartened himself and said, “This affair is reserved to none other than myself; for the experienced is not like the inexperienced.” Quoth the Emir, “Indeed thou shalt not do that nor will I have thee go up: an thou perish, we shall all be cut off to the last man since thou art our guide.” But he answered, saying, “Peradventure, that which we seek may be accomplished at my hands, by the grace of God Most High!” So the folk all agreed to let him mount the ladder, and he arose and heartening himself, said, “In the name of Allah, the Compassionating, the Compassionate!” and mounted the ladder, calling on the name of the Lord and reciting the Verses of Safety.[FN#134] When he reached the top of the wall, he clapped his hands and gazed fixedly down into the city; whereupon the folk below cried out to him with one accord, saying “O