to the kitchen, trimmed the lamp and lit the wicks;
then, bringing forth a large cauldron, she set it
upon the fire, and filling it with oil from out the
jar heaped wood upon the hearth and fanned it to a
fierce flame the readier to boil its contents.
When this was done she baled it out in potfuls and
poured it seething hot into the leathern vessels one
by one while the thieves unable to escape were scalded
to death and every jar contained a corpse.[FN#305]
Thus did this slave-girl by her subtle wit make a clean
end of all noiselessly and unknown even to the dwellers
in the house. Now when she had satisfied herself
that each and every of the men had been slain, she
went back to the kitchen and shutting to the door
sat brewing Ali Baba’s broth. Scarce had
an hour passed before the Captain woke from sleep;
and, opening wide his window, saw that all was dark
and silent; so he clapped his hands as a signal for
his men to come forth but not a sound was heard in
return. After awhile he clapped again and called
aloud but got no answer; and when he cried out a third
time without reply he was perplexed and went out to
the shed wherein stood the jars. He thought to
himself, “Perchance all are fallen asleep whenas
the time for action is now at hand, so I must e’en
awaken them without stay or delay.” Then
approaching the nearest jar he was startled by a smell
of oil and seething flesh; and touching it outside
he felt it reeking hot; then going to the others one
by one, he found all in like condition. Hereat
he knew for a surety the fate which had betided his
band and, fearing for his own safety, he clomb on
to the wall, and thence dropping into a garden made
his escape in high dudgeon and sore disappointment.
Morgiana awaited awhile to see the Captain return from
the shed but he came not; whereat she knew that he
had scaled the wall and had taken to flight, for that
the street-door was double locked; and the thieves
being all disposed of on this wise Morgiana laid her
down to sleep in perfect solace and ease of mind.
When two hours of darkness yet remained, Ali Baba
awoke and went to the Hammam knowing naught of the
night adventure, for the gallant slave-girl had not
aroused him, nor indeed had she deemed such action
expedient, because had she sought an opportunity of
reporting to him her plan, she might haply have lost
her chance and spoiled the project. The sun was
high over the horizon when Ali Baba walked back from
the Baths; and he marvelled exceedingly to see the
jars still standing under the shed and said, “How
cometh it that he, the oil-merchant my guest, hath
not carried to the market his mules and jars of oil?”—And
as the morn began to dawn Shahrazad held her peace
till
The end of the Six Hundred ante Thirty-fourth Night.