His arm slackened round her, and he answered nothing.  So she cried, ’Fie on thee, thou foolish one! and what is thy need of running over this city?  Know I not thy case and thine occasion, O my beloved?  Surely I am Queen of Serpents, a mistress of enchantments, a diviner of things hidden, and I know thee.  Here, then, is what thou requirest, and conceal not from me thy necessity another time, my husband!’

Upon that she pointed his eye to the money-bags of gold and of silver.  Almeryl was amazed, and asked her, ’How came these? for I was at the last extremity, without coin of any kind.’

She answered, ‘How, but by the Serpents!’

And he exclaimed, ’Would that I might work as that porter worketh, rather than this!’

Now, seeing he bewailed her use of the powers of the Jewel, Bhanavar fell between his arms, and related to him her discovery of his condition, and how she disposed of the Jewel to the broker, and of the scourging of Boolp; and he praised her, and clave to her, and they laughed and delighted their souls in plenteousness, and bliss was their portion; as the poet says,

          Bliss that is born of mutual esteem
          And tried companionship, I truly deem
          A well-based palace, wherein fountains rise
          From springs that have their sources in the skies.

So were they for awhile.  It happened that one day, that was the last day of the year since her wearing of the Jewel, Ukleet said to them, ’Be wary! the Vizier Aswarak hath his eye on you, and it is no cool one.  I say nothing:  the wise are discreet in their tellings of the great.  ’Tis certain the broker Boolp forgetteth not his treatment here.’

They smiled, turning to each other, and said, ’We live innocently, we harm no one, what should we fear?’

During the night of that day Bhanavar awoke and kissed the Prince; and lo! he shuddered in his sleep as with the grave-cold.  A second time she was awakened on the breast of Almeryl by a dream of the Serpents of the Lake Karatis—­the lake of the Jewel; and she stood up, and there was in the street a hum of voices, and she saw there before the house armed men with naked steel in their hands.  Scarce had she called Almeryl to her, when the outer door of their house was forced, and she shrieked to him, ’’Tis thou they come for:  fly, O my Prince, my husband! the way of the garden is clear.’

But he said sadly, ’Nay, what am I? it is thou they would win from me.  I’ll leave thee not in this life.’

So she cried, ’O my soul, then together!—­but I shall hinder thee, and be a burden to thy flight.’

And she called on the All-powerful for aid, and ran with him into the garden of the house, and lo! by the water side at the end of the garden a boat full of armed soldiers with scimitars.  So these fell upon them, and bound them, and haled them into the house again, where was the dark Vizier Aswarak, and certain officers of the night watch with a force.  The Vizier cried when he saw them, ’I accuse thee, Prince Almeryl, of being here in the city of our lord the King, to conspire against him and his authority.’