acquaintances of Halil Patrona and the money-changer had gathered around
them, and they laid their heads together and discussed among themselves
for a long time the question which was the greater fool of the
two--Janaki, who had given five thousand piastres for three onions, or
Halil who did not want to accept the money.

Yet Halil it was who turned out to be the biggest fool, for he
immediately set out in search of the man who had given him this sum of
money. But search and search as he might he could find no trace of him.
If he had gone in search of someone who had stolen a like amount, he
would have been able to find him very much sooner.

In the course of his wanderings, he suddenly came upon the place where
three days previously he had had his tussle with Halil Pelivan. He
recognised the spot at once. A small dab of blood, the remains of what
had flowed from the giant's head, was still there in the middle of the
lane, and on the wall of the house opposite both their names were
written. In all probability the Janissary, when he picked himself up
again, had dipped his finger in his own blood, and then scrawled the
names upon the wall in order to perpetuate the memory of the incident.
He had also taken good care to put Halil Pelivan uppermost and Halil
Patrona undermost.

"Nay, but that is not right," said Halil to himself; "it was you who
were undermost," and snatching up the fragment of a red tile he wrote
his name above that of Halil Pelivan.

He hurried and scurried about till late in the evening without
discovering a single trace of Janaki, and by that time his head was so
confused by all manner of cogitations that when, towards nightfall, he