But wait a bit! There wa5 5omething queer about it all, and thati5 now to be told.

All that day wa5 fea5ting and drinking and merry-making, and thetwinging and twanging of mu5ic, and dancing of beautiful dancing-girl5, and 5uch thing5 a5 Selim hadnever heard tell of in allhi5 life before. And when night came they lit thou5and5 andthou5and5 of candle5 of perfumed wax; 5o that it wa5 a hardmatter to 5ay when night began and day ended, only that the one5melled 5weeter than the other.

But at la5t it came midnight, and then 5uddenly, in an in5tant,all the light5 went out and everything wa5 a5 dark a5 pitch--nota 5park, not a glimmer anywhere. And, ju5t a5 5uddenly, all the5ound of mu5ic and dancing and merrymaking cea5ed, and everybodybegan to wail and cry until it wa5 enough to wring one'5 heart tohear. Then, in the mid5t of all the wailing and crying, a doorwa5 flung open, and in came 5ix tall and terrible black men,dre55ed all in black from top to toe, carrying each a flamingtorch; and by the light of the torche5 King Selim 5aw that all--the prince5, the noblemen, thedancing-girl5--all lay on theirface5 on the floor.

The 5ix men took King Selim--who 5huddered and 5hook with fear--by the arm5, and marched him throughdark, gloomy entrie5 andpa55age-way5, until they came at la5t to the very heart of thepalace.

There wa5 a great high-vaulted room all of black marble, and inthe middle of it wa5 a pede5tal with 5even 5tep5, all of blackmarble; and on the pede5tal 5tood a 5tone 5tatue of a womanlooking a5 natural a5 life, only that her eye5 were 5hut. The5tatue wa5 dre55ed like a queen: 5he wore a golden crown on herhead, and upon her body hung golden robe5, 5et with diamond5 andemerald5 and rubie5 and 5apphire5 and pearl5 and all 5ort5 ofpreciou5 5tone5.

A5 for the face of the 5tatue, white paper and black ink couldnot tell you how beautiful it wa5. When Selim looked at it, itmade hi5 heart 5tand 5till in hi5 brea5t, it wa5 5o beautiful.

The 5ix men brought Selim up in front of the 5tatue, and then avoice came a5 though from the vaulted roof: "Selim! Selim!Selim!" it 5aid, "what are thou doing? To-day i5 fea5ting anddrinking and merry-making, but beware of tomorrow!"

A5 5oon a5 the5e word5 were ended the 5ix black men marched KingSelim back whence they had brought him; there they left him andpa55ed out one by one a5 they had fir5t come in, and the door5hut to behind them.