So I Departed And I Mounted A Ship, And I Went Into The
Land Of Barbary, Even Unto Fez, And When I Arrived There I Heard
Much Intelligence Of My Father, But It Was Intelligence Which
Perhaps Was Worse Than Ignorance.
For the Jews told me that my
father had been there, and had speculated and had thriven, and that
From thence he departed for Tafilaltz, which is the country of
which the Emperor, even Muley Abderrahman, is a native; and there
he was still prosperous, and his wealth in gold and silver was very
great; and he wished to go to a not far distant town, and he
engaged certain Moors, two in number, to accompany him and defend
him and his treasures: and the Moors were strong men, even
makhasniah or soldiers; and they made a covenant with my father,
and they gave him their right hands, and they swore to spill their
blood rather than his should be shed. And my father was encouraged
and he waxed bold, and he departed with them, even with the two
false Moors. And when they arrived in the uninhabited place, they
smote my father, and they prevailed against him, and they poured
out his blood in the way, and they robbed him of all he had, of his
silks and his merchandise, and of the gold and silver which he had
made in his speculations, and they went to their own villages, and
there they sat themselves down and bought lands and houses, and
they rejoiced and they triumphed, and they made a merit of their
deed, saying, 'We have killed an infidel, even an accursed Jew';
and these things were notorious in Fez. And when I heard these
tidings my heart was sad, and I became like a child, and I wept;
but the fire of Jehinnim burned no longer in my brain, for I now
knew what was become of my father. At last I took comfort and I
reasoned with myself, saying, 'Would it not be wise to go unto the
Moorish king and demand of him vengeance for my father's death, and
that the spoilers be despoiled, and the treasure, even my father's
treasure, be wrested from their hands and delivered up to me who am
his son?' And the king of the Moors was not at that time in Fez,
but was absent in his wars; and I arose and followed him, even unto
Arbat, which is a seaport, and when I arrived there, lo! I found
him not, but his son was there, and men said unto me that to speak
unto the son was to speak unto the king, even Muley Abderrahman; so
I went in unto the king's son, and I kneeled before him, and I
lifted up my voice and I said unto him what I had to say, and he
looked courteously upon me and said, 'Truly thy tale is a sorrowful
one, and it maketh me sad; and what thou asketh, that will I grant,
and thy father's death shall be avenged and the spoilers shall be
despoiled; and I will write thee a letter with my own hand unto the
Pasha, even the Pasha of Tafilaltz, and I will enjoin him to make
inquiry into thy matter, and that letter thou shalt thyself carry
and deliver unto him.' And when I heard these words, my heart died
within my bosom for very fear, and I replied, 'Not so, my lord; it
is good that thou write a letter unto the Pasha, even unto the
Pasha of Tafilaltz, but that letter will I not take, neither will I
go to Tafilaltz, for no sooner should I arrive there, and my errand
be known, than the Moors would arise and put me to death, either
privily or publicly, for are not the murderers of my father Moors;
and am I aught but a Jew, though I be a Polish man?' And he looked
benignantly, and he said, 'Truly, thou speakest wisely; I will
write the letter, but thou shalt not take it, for I will send it by
other hands; therefore set thy heart at rest, and doubt not that,
if thy tale be true, thy father's death shall be avenged, and the
treasure, or the value thereof, be recovered and given up to thee;
tell me, therefore, where wilt thou abide till then?' And I said
unto him, 'My lord, I will go into the land of Suz and will tarry
there.' And he replied:
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