shield, the collision of which produced a sound in unison with the deep
bass of Muloch's voice; nor did the reverberation that succeeded cease
to ring in the ears of Abad until several minutes after the spectre had
disappeared.

Abad rejoiced when the fearful visit was over, and, well pleased with
his success, was preparing to depart; but his joy was damped on finding
the hammer so heavy that he could not, without difficulty, remove it
from off the shield. He left it in the cave, and returned with the
shield only, comforting himself that however he might be at a loss for
a weapon, he had a shield that would render him invincible.

His next care was to discover the retreat of the robbers, otherwise he
was waging a war with shadows. After making every inquiry, and wandering
in vain for several months in quest of them, he was not able to obtain
a glimpse of the objects of his search. Still they seemed to possess
ubiquity. Their depredations continued, murders multiplied, and their
attacks became more open and formidable. Missions were sent daily to
the royal city from the emirs and governors of provinces residing at a
distance with the most lamentable accounts, and soldiers were dispatched
in large bodies to scour the country, but all was of no avail.

Abad had almost abandoned himself to despair, when, one lovely evening,
as he wandered along the banks of the Tigris, he observed a boat, laden
with armed men, sailing rapidly down the river. "These must be a party
of the ranger band. Oh, Mahomet!" said he, prostrating himself on the
earth, "be thou my guide!" At length the crew landed on the opposite
shore, which was a continued series of crags, and fastening a chain
attached to the boat to a staple driven into the rock, under the surface
of the water, they suffered the vessel to float with the stream beneath