He continued to fill his new office till,
one day, as he sat in the Divan, according to his wont, an Amir
came up with a sword and shield in his hand and said, 'O
Commander of the Faithful, mayst thou outlive the Chief of the
Sixty, for he is this day dead;' whereupon the Khalif ordered
Alaeddin a dress of honour and made him Chief of the Sixty, in
place of the dead man, who had neither wife nor child. So
Alaeddin laid hands on his estate, and the Khalif said to him,
'Bury him in the earth and take all he hath left of wealth and
slaves, male and female.' Then he shook the handkerchief and
dismissed the Divan, whereupon Alaeddin went forth, attended by
Ahmed ed Denef, captain of the right hand, and Hassan Shouman,
captain of the left hand troop of the Khalif's guard, riding at
his either stirrup, each with his forty men. Presently, he turned
to Hassan Shouman and his men and said to them, 'Plead ye for me
with Captain Ahmed ed Denef, that he accept me as his son before
God.' And Ahmed ed Denef assented, saying, 'I and my forty men
will go before thee to the Divan every day.'
After this, Alaeddin abode in the Khalif's service many days;
till one day it chanced that he left the Divan and returning
home, dismissed Ahmed ed Denef and his men and sat down with his
wife, who lighted the candles and went out of the room upon an
occasion.
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