Morakanabad, more sick than the rest, remained in a piteous
condition; holding his nose with one hand, he persisted in his efforts
with the other to burst open the doors and obtain admission. A hundred
and forty of the strongest and most resolute at length accomplished their
purpose; having gained the staircase by their violent exertions, they
attained a great height in a quarter of an hour.
Carathis, alarmed at the signs of her mutes, advanced to the staircase,
went down a few steps, and heard several voices calling out from below:
"You shall in a moment have water!" Being rather alert, considering her
age, she presently regained the top of the tower, and bade her son
suspend the sacrifice for some minutes, adding: "We shall soon be enabled
to render it more grateful; certain dolts of your subjects, imagining no
doubt that we were on fire, have been rash enough to break through those
doors which had hitherto remained inviolate, for the sake of bringing up
water; they are very kind, you must allow, so soon to forget the wrongs
you have done them, but that is of little moment. Let us offer them to
the Giaour; let them come up; our mutes, who neither want strength nor
experience, will soon despatch them, exhausted as they are with fatigue.
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