248 JOURNEY TO CENTRAL AFEICA.

donkeys and loaded them with all their spoils — great sacks of gold, -of rubies, diamonds and emeralds, which the beasts were scarcely strong enough to carry. On their way to the river below Baghdad, where the boat was waiting for them, two of them stopped to drink at a well, while the other went on with the asses. Said one of the twain to the other : " Let us kill our comrade, that we may have the greater treasure." He at once agreed, and they had no sooner overtaken the third rob- * ber, than the first, with one stroke of his sabre, made his head fly from his body. The two then proceeded together for a short distance, when the murderer said : ' I must have more than half of the treasure, because I killed our comrade.' 'If you begin by claiming more than half, you will ia the end claim the whole,' said the other robber, who refused to agree. They presently set upon each other- with their swords, and after fighting for some time, both of them received so many wounds that they fell dead in the road.

" The asses, finding that no one was driving them any longer, took, from habit, the road to the wood-cutter's house, where they arrived safely, with the treasure upon their backs Great was the amazement of their master, who, at Zubeydeh's command, carried the heavy sacks into the house. But when he had opened one of them, and the splendor of the jewels filled the whole room, Zubeydeh exclaimed : ' G-od is great ! Now, indeed, I see that my conduct is acceptable to Him, and that His hand hurries my design more swiftly to its completion.' But, as she knew not what had happened to the robbers, and supposed that the owner of the treasure would have his loss proclaimed in the bazaars, she determined to keep the sacks closed for the space of a moon, after which, according to