' So saying, he strode away among the throng that
pressed forward to the throne.
"'What's to be done?' thought I, when thus left to myself; 'shall
I wait here until this infidel returns to whisk me off on his goblin
steed, the Lord knows where; or shall I make the most of my time and
beat a retreat from this hobgoblin community? A soldier's mind is soon
made up, as your excellency well knows. As to the horse, he belonged
to an avowed enemy of the faith and the realm, and was a fair prize
according to the rules of war. So hoisting myself from the crupper
into the saddle, I turned the reins, struck the Moorish stirrups
into the sides of the steed, and put him to make the best of his way
out of the passage by which he had entered. As we scoured by the halls
where the Moslem horsemen sat in motionless battalions, I thought I
heard the clang of armor and a hollow murmur of voices. I gave the
steed another taste of the stirrups and doubled my speed. There was
now a sound behind me like a rushing blast; I heard the clatter of a
thousand hoofs; a countless throng overtook me. I was borne along in
the press, and hurled forth from the mouth of the cavern, while
thousands of shadowy forms were swept off in every direction by the
four winds of heaven.
"In the whirl and confusion of the scene I was thrown senseless to
the earth. When I came to myself I was lying on the brow of a hill,
with the Arabian steed standing beside me; for in falling, my arm
had slipped within the bridle, which, I presume, prevented his
whisking off to Old Castile.
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