Pagina 869 di 1116

In this place he lay two full days, but Allah made the salt the

means of preserving his life by staunching the blood and staying

its flow Presently, feeling himself able to move, Al-Nashshar

rose and opened the trap door in fear and trembling and crept out

into the open; and Allah protected him, so that he went on in the

darkness and hid himself in the vestibule till dawn, when he saw

the accursed beldam sally forth in quest of other quarry. He

followed in her wake without her knowing it, and made for his own

lodging where he dressed his wounds and medicined himself till he

was whole. Meanwhile he used to watch the old woman, tracking her

at all times and seasons, and saw her accost one man after

another and carry them to the house. However he uttered not a

word; but, as soon as he waxed hale and hearty, he took a piece

of stuff and made it into a bag which he filled with broken glass

and bound about his middle.