Page:The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night - Volume 5.djvu/139

prayed with the congregation and returned to his work.  He did the same upon the call to mid-afternoon prayer, and when I saw him fall to work again thereafterward, I said to him, ‘O my friend, verily the hours of labour are over; a workman’s day is but till the time of afternoon-prayer.’  But he replied, ‘Praise to the Lord, my service is till the night.’  And he ceased not to work till nightfall, when I gave him two dirhams; whereupon he asked ‘What is this!’; and I answered, ‘By Allah, this is but part of thy wage, because of thy diligence in my service.’  But he threw them back to me saying, ‘I will have no more than was agreed upon between us twain.’  I urged him to take them, but could not prevail upon him; so I gave him the dirham and the danik, and he went away.  And when morning dawned, I went to the station but found him not; so I enquired for him and was told, ‘He cometh thither only on Sabbaths.’  Accordingly, when Saturday came, I betook me to the market and finding him there, said to him, ‘Bismillah, do me the favour to come and work for me.’  Said he, ‘Upon the conditions thou wottest;’ and I answered ‘Yes!’  Then carrying him to my house I stood to watch him where he could not see me; and he took a handful of puddled clay and laid it on the wall, when, behold, the stones ranged themselves one upon other; and I said, ‘On this wise are Allah’s holy ones.’ he worked out his day and did even more than before; and when it was night, I gave him his hire, and he took it and walked away.  Now when the third Saturday came round, I went to the place of standing, but found him not; so I asked after him and they told me, ‘He is sick and lying in the shanty of such a woman.’  Now this was an old wife, renowned for piety, who had a hovel of reeds in the burial-ground.  So I fared thither and found him stretched on the floor which was bare, with a brick for a pillow and his face beaming like the new moon with light.  I saluted him and he returned my salam; and I sat down at his head weeping over his fair young years and absence from home and submission to the will of his Lord.  Then said I to him, ‘Hast thou any need?’  ‘Yes,’ answered he; and I said, ‘What is it?’  He replied, ‘Come hither to-morrow in the forenoon and thou wilt find me dead.  Wash me and dig my grave and tell none thereof: but shroud me in this my gown, after thou hast unsewn it and taken out what thou shalt find in the bosom-pocket, which keep with thee.  Then, when thou hast prayed over me and laid