He ran at them and dealing one of them a buffet, overthrew him, whereupon the other three fell all upon him.  I seized the opportunity to escape, what while they were occupied with him, and espying a door by my side, slipped into it and found myself in an underground chamber, without window or other issue.  So I gave myself up for lost and said, ’There is no power and no virtue save in God the Most High, the Supreme!’ Then I looked to the top of the vault and saw in it a range of glazed lunettes; so I clambered up for dear life, till I reached the lunettes, and I distracted [for fear].  I made shift to break the glass and scrambling out through the frames, found a wall behind them.  So I bestrode the wall and saw folk walking in the road; whereupon I cast myself down to the ground and God the Most High preserved me, so that I reached the earth, unhurt.  The folk flocked round me and I acquainted them with my story.

As fate would have it, the chief of the police was passing through the market; so the people told him [what was to do] and he made for the door and burst it open.  We entered with a rush and found the thieves, as they had overthrown my friend and cut his throat; for they occupied not themselves with me, but said, ‘Whither shall yonder fellow go?  Indeed, he is in our grasp.’  So the prefect took them with the hand[FN#129] and questioned them, and they confessed against the woman and against their associates in Cairo.  Then he took them and went forth, after he had locked up the house and sealed it; and I accompanied him till he came without the [first] house.  He found the door locked from within; so he bade break it open and we entered and found another door.  This also he caused burst in, enjoining his men to silence till the doors should be opened, and we entered and found the band occupied with a new victim, whom the woman had just brought in and whose throat they were about to cut.

The prefect released the man and gave him back all that the thieves had taken from him; and he laid hands on the woman and the rest and took forth of the house treasures galore.  Amongst the rest, they found the money-bag of the Turcoman sheep-merchant.  The thieves they nailed up incontinent against the wall of the house, whilst, as for the woman, they wrapped her in one of her veils and nailing her [to a board, set her] upon a camel and went round about the town with her.  Thus God razed their dwelling-places and did away from me that which I feared.  All this befell, whilst I looked on, and I saw not my friend who had saved me from them the first time, whereat I marvelled to the utterest of marvel.  However, some days afterward, he came up to me, and indeed he had renounced[FN#130] [the world] and donned a fakir’s habit; and he saluted me and went away.