and the Eunuch."[FN#157] Hereupon the Sultan cried, “And ye, have ye slain them or not?” and the Chamberlains replied, “By Allah, O King of the Age, whenas the loyalty of thy Harem was made manifest to us we snared a gazelle and cut its throat and filled these four flasks with its blood; after which we broiled some of the flesh upon the embers and offered it to thy Harem and her children saying to them, ’We give thee in charge to Him who never disappointeth those committed to His care,’ and we added, ’Your truth shall save you.’  Lastly we left them in the midmost of the waste and we returned hither.”  When the Sultan heard these words he turned to the Wazir and exclaimed, “Thou hast estranged from me my wife and my children;” but the Minister uttered not a word nor made any address and trembled in every limb like one afflicted with an ague.  And when the King saw the truth of the Chamberlains and the treachery of the Minister he bade fuel be collected and set on fire and they did his bidding.  Then he commanded them to truss up the Wazir, hand tied to foot, and bind him perforce upon a catapult[FN#158] and cast him into the middle of the fiery pyre which made his bones melt before his flesh.  Lastly he ordered his palace to be pillaged, his good to be spoiled and the women of his Harem to be sold for slaves.  After this he said to the Chamberlains, “You must know the spot wherein you left the Queen and Princesses;” and said they, “O King of the Age, we know it well; but when we abandoned them and returned home they were in the midst of the wolds and the wilds nor can we say what befel them or whether they be now alive or dead.”  On this wise fared it with them; but as regards us three maidens and our mother, when we entered the city—­And Shahrazad perceived the dawn of day and fell silent and ceased saying her permitted say.  Then quoth her sister Dunyazad, “How sweet and tasteful is thy tale, O sister mine, and enjoyable and delectable?” Quoth she, “And where is this compared with that I would relate to you on the coming night an the Sovran suffer me to survive?” Now when it was the next night and that was

The Three Hundred and Sixty-ninth Night,

Dunyazad said to her, “Allah upon thee, O my sister, an thou be other than sleepy, finish for us thy tale that we may cut short the watching of this our latter night!” She replied, “With love and good will!” It hath reached me, O auspicious King, the director, the right-guiding, lord of the rede which is benefiting and of deeds fair-seeming and worthy celebrating, that the youngest sister continued her tale:—­So when we three maidens and our mother entered the city about sunset I the youngest said to them, “We be three Princesses and a Queen-mother:  so we cannot show ourselves in this our condition and needs must we lodge us in a Khan:  also ’tis my rede that we should do best by donning boys’ dress.”  All agreeing hereto we did accordingly and, entering a Caravanserai, hired us a retired chamber in one of