Then they kissed our hands , and left the house by a side-way . ' A few moments later our parents came to tell us that the escort had arrived , and having taken farewell of them we mounted the camels , and took our seats in a kind of box that was fixed to the side of the animal . These boxes were large enough for us to sleep in comfortably , and as there was a window in the upper part , we were able to see the country through which we passed . ` For several days we journeyed on , feeling sad and anxious as to what might become of us , when one day as I was looking out of the window of our room , I heard my name called , and beheld a beautifully dressed girl jumping out of the box on the other side of our camel . One glance told me that it was the prince , and my heart bounded with joy . It was , he said , Thelamis 's idea to disguise him like this , and that he himself had assumed the character of a slave-dealer who was taking this peerless maiden as a present to the Sultan . Thelamis had also persuaded the officer in charge of the caravan to let him hire the vacant box , so it was easy for the prince to scramble out of his own window and approach ours . ` This ingenious trick enchanted us , but our agreeable conversation was soon interrupted by the attendants , who perceived that the camel was walking in a crooked manner and came to find out what was wrong . Luckily they were slow in their movements , and the prince had just time to get back to his own box and restore the balance , before the trick was discovered . ` But neither the prince nor his friend had any intention of allowing us to enter the Sultan 's palace , though it was difficult to know how we were to escape , and what was to become of us when once we had escaped . At length , one day as we were drawing near Constantinople , we learned from the prince that Thelamis had made acquaintance with a holy dervish whom he had met on the road , and had informed him that we were his sisters , who were being sold as slaves against his will . The good man was interested in the story , and readily agreed to find us shelter if we could manage to elude the watchfulness of our guards . The risk was great , but it was our only chance . ` That night , when the whole caravan was fast asleep , we raised the upper part of our boxes and by the help of Thelamis climbed silently out . We next went back some distance along the way we had come , then , striking into another road , reached at last the retreat prepared for us by the dervish . Here we found food and rest , and I need not say what happiness it was to be free once more . ` The dervish soon became a slave to our beauty , and the day after our escape he proposed that we should allow him to conduct us to an inn situated at a short distance , where we should find two Jews , owners of precious talismans which did not really belong to them . `` Try , '' said the dervish , `` by some means to get possession of them . '' ` The inn , though not on the direct road to Constantinople , was a favourite one with merchants , owing to the excellence of the food , and on our arrival we discovered at least six or eight other people who had stopped for refreshment . They greeted us politely , and we sat down to table together .
` In a short time the two men described by the dervish entered the room , and at a sign from him my sister made room at her side for one , while I did the same XXXXX the other .
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