202 ; ALI BABA AND

escape from them. To this end he rushed to
the door, and no sooner heard the word Sesame,
which he had forgotten, and saw the door open,
than he ran out and threw the leader down,
but could not escape the other robbers, who
with their sabres soon deprived him of life.
The first care of the robbers after this was
to examine the cave. They found all the bags
which Cassim had brought to the door to be
ready to load his mules, and carried them again
to their places, without missing what Ali Baba
had taken away before. Then holding a coun-
cil, and deliberating upon this occurrence, they
guessed that Cassim, when he was in, could
not get out again; but could not imagine how
he had entered. It came into their heads that
he might have got down by the top of the
cave; but the aperture by which it received
light was so high, and the rock so inaccessible
without, besides that nothing showed that he
had done so, that they gave up this conjecture.
That he came in at the door they could not
believe, however, unless he had the secret of
making it open. In short, none of them could
imagine which way he had entered; for they
were all persuaded nobody knew their secret,
little imagining that Ali Baba had watched them.