next morning, Gharib mounted and rode to the hermit
to farewell him, after which he set out to return
to his camp when behold, on his way, there met him
a horseman cap-a-pie armed so that only his eyes appeared,
who made at him, saying, “Doff what is on thee,
O scum[FN#335] of the Arabs; or I will do thee die!”
Therewith Gharib crave at him and there befel between
them a battle such as would make a new-born child turn
grey and melt the flinty rock with its sore affray;
but presently the Badawi did off his face-veil, and
lo! it was Gharib’s half-brother Sahim al-Layl.
Now the cause of his coming thither was that when
Gharib set out in quest of the Mountain-Ghul, Sahim
was absent and on his return, not seeing his brother,
he went in to his mother, whom he found weeping.
He asked the reason of her tears and she told him
what had happened of his brother’s journey,
whereupon, without allowing himself aught of rest,
he donned his war-gear and mounting rode after Gharib,
till he overtook him and there befel between them
what befel. When, therefore. Sahim discovered
his face, Gharib knew him and saluted him, saying,
“What moved thee to do this?” Quoth Sahim,
“I had a mind to measure myself with thee in
the field and make trial of my lustihood in cut and
thrust.” Then they rode together and on
the way Gharib expounded Al-Islam to Sahim, who embraced
the Faith; nor did they cease riding till they were
hard upon the valley. Meanwhile, the Mountain-Ghul
espied the dust of their horses’ feet and said
to his sons, “O my sons, mount and fetch me
yonder loot.” So the five took horse and
made for the party. When Gharib saw the five
Amalekites approaching, he plied shovel-iron upon
his steed’s flank and cried out, saying, “Who
are ye, and what is your race and what do ye require?”
Whereupon Falhun bin Sa’adan, the eldest of
the five, came out and said, “Dismount ye and
bind one another[FN#336] and we will drive you to our
father, that he may roast various of you and boil
various, for it is long since he has tasted the flesh
of Adam-son.” When Gharib heard these words
he drove at Falhun, shaking his mace, so that the
rings rang like the roaring thunder and the giant was
confounded. Then he smote him a light blow with
the mace between the shoulders, and he fell to the
ground like a tall-trunked palm-tree; whereupon Sahim
and some of his men fell upon him and pinioned him;
then, putting a rope about his neck, they haled him
along like a cow. Now when his brothers saw him
a prisoner they charged home upon Gharib, who took
three[FN#337] of them captive and the fifth fled back
to his sire, who said to him, “What is behind
thee and where are the brothers of thee?” Quoth
he “Verily, a beardless youth, forty cubits
high, hath taken them prisoner.” Quoth
Sa’adan, “May the sun pour no blessing
on you!” and, going down from his hold, tore
up a huge tree, with which he went in quest of Gharib
and his folk; and he was on foot, for that no horse
might carry him, because of the bigness of his body.