28 ALI BABA; OR, THE

her fire and her lamp, and crept softly to her chamber. The
captain of the robbers, finding everything quiet in the house,
and perceiving no light anywhere, arose and went down into
the yard to assemble his men. Coming to the first jar, he felt
the ‘steams of the boiled oil; he ran hastily to the rest, and
found every one of his troop put to death in the same manner.
Full of rage and despair at having failed in his design, he
forced the lock of a door that led into the garden, and made
his escape over the walls.

On the following morning, Morgiana related to her master,
Ali Baba, his wonderful deliverance from the pretended oil~
merchant and his gang of robbers. Ali Baba at first ‘could
scarcely credit her tale; but when he saw the robbers dead in
the jars, he could not sufficiently praise her courage and
sagacity : and without letting any one else into the secret, he
and Morgiana, the next night, buried the thirty-seven thieves
in a deep trench at the bottom of the garden. The jars and
mules, as he had no use for them, were sent from time to time
to the different markets and sold. While Ali Baba took these_
measures to prevent his and Cassim’s adventures in the forest
from being known, the captain returned to his cave, and for
some time abandoned himself to grief and despair. At length
however he determined to adopt a new scheme for the destruc-
tion of Ali Baba. He removed by degrees all the valuable
merchandise from the cave to the city, and took a shop exactly
opposite to Ali Baba’s house. He furnished this shop with
everything that was rare and costly, and went by the name of
the merchant Cogia Hassan. Many persons made acquaintance
with the stranger ; among others Ali Baba’s son went every
day to the shop. The pretended Cogia Hassan soon appeared
to be very fond of Ali Baba’s son, offered him many presents,
and often detained him to dinner, on which occasions he treated
him in the handsomest manner.