The Beg, as if he had only by accident caught sight of the sprawling Muslim, turned towards him, tapped him on the shoulder with his lance, and while the latter, feigning ignorance and astonishment, gazed up at him, he drew nearer to him and said:
“What Zülfikar! dost thou not recognise me?”
The person so addressed bowed himself to the earth.
“Allah is gracious! By the soul of the Prophet, is it thou, gracious sir?” and with that he got up and began walking by the side of the horse of the Beg, who beckoned him to follow.
“I have lost a good deal of money and a good many horses over the dice-box at Stambul, Zülfikar,” said Feriz Beg, “so I have come into these parts to rehabilitate my purse a little. Where dost thou go a-robbing now, Zülfikar?”
“La illah, il Allah! God is gracious and Mohammed is His holy Prophet,” said Zülfikar, rolling his eyes heavenwards.
“A truce to this piety, Zülfikar; ye renegades, with unendurable shamelessness, are always glorifying the Prophet, born Turks don’t mention him half as much. What I ask thee is, where dost thou go a-plundering now of nights?”
“I thank thee, gracious sir,” answered Zülfikar, making a wooden picture of his face, “my wife is quite well, and there is nothing amiss with me either.”
“Zülfikar, I value in thee that peculiarity of thine which enables thee to become deaf whenever thou desirest it, but I possess a very good remedy for that evil, and if thou wilt I will cure thee of it.”
Zülfikar dodged the lance which was turned in his direction, and said with a Pharisaical air:
“What does your honour deign to inquire of me?”
“Didst thou hear what I said to thee just now?”
“Dost thou mean: where I went robbing? I swear by the beard of the Prophet that I go nowhither for such a purpose.”
“I know very well, thou cat, that thou goest nowhither where there is trouble, but thou dost ferret out where a fat booty lies hidden, and thou leadest our Spahis on the track of it, wherefore they give thee also a portion of it; so answer me at once whom thou art wont to visit at night, as otherwise I shall open a hole in thy head.”
“But, sir, betray me not; for the Spahis would tie me to a horse’s tail and the Pasha would impale me. Thou knowest that he does not allow robbery, but if it happens he looks through his fingers.”
“So far from betraying thee I would go with thee, I only know one mode of getting hold of booty. While the others storm a village, I stand a little distance off at the farther end of the village; whoever has anything to save always makes for the farther end of the village, and so falls into my hands.”
The renegade began to feel in his element.
“My good sir, at night the Spahis will go to Élesd. There dwell rich Wallachians away from the high road. They have never had blackmail levied on them and there’s lots of gold and silver there; if we get a good haul, do not betray me.”
“But may we not fall in with the soldiers of Ladislaus Székely?”
“Nay, sir,” said Zülfikar, winking his eyes, “they are far from here. Do not betray thy faithful servant.”
Feriz Beg put spurs to his horse and galloped off. Zülfikar sat down in the gate again, very sleepily blinking his eyes, and smiling mysteriously.
Towards evening four-and-twenty Spahis crept out of the fortress and made off in the direction of Élesd. Feriz Beg kept an eye upon them, and when they had disappeared in the woods he aroused his Albanian horsemen and quietly went after them.
It was past midnight when Feriz Beg and his company reached the hillside covering Élesd. The Spahis had already plundered the place as was evident from the distant uproar, the loud shrieks, the pealing of bells, and a couple of flaming haystacks which the mauraders had set on fire to assist their operations.
Feriz Beg posted his Albanian horsemen at the mouth of a narrow pass, divided them into four bands and ordered them all to remain as quiet as possible and wait patiently till the Spahis returned.
After some hours of plundering the distant tumult died away, and instead of it could be heard approaching a sound of loud wrangling. Presently, in the deep valley below, the Spahis became visible, staggering under the stolen goods, dispersed into twos and threes and quarrelling together over their booty.
Feriz Beg let them come into the narrow pass and when they were quite unsuspiciously at the height of their dispute, he suddenly blew his horn and then suddenly fell upon them from all sides with his Albanian horsemen, surrounded and attacked the marauders, and before they had had time to use their weapons began to cut them down. The tussle was a short one. Not one of the Albanians fell, not one of the Spahis escaped.
Feriz dried his sword and leaving the dead Spahis on the road, galloped back with his band to Grosswardein.
In the Pasha’s gate he again encountered Zülfikar and, shaking his fist at him, dismounted from his horse.
“Thou dog! thou hast betrayed us to Ladislaus Székely; the Spahis have all been cut down.”
Zülfikar turned yellow with fear. It is true that he usually did something like this: when the Spahis would only promise him a small portion of the booty, he would for a few ducats extra let the Hungarian generals know of their coming, when one or two of them would bite the dust and the rest return without the booty. Last night also he had told the captain of Klausenberg of this particular adventure, but the commandant had been unable to make any use of it, for it had been the Prince’s birthday, and he had been obliged to treat the soldiers.
Zülfikar felt a lump in his throat when he heard that all twenty-four of the Spahis had perished, and
