Then his eyes widened; his mouth opened to emit an appalling shriek. He jerked his hand out of the bag. A jade-green snake, alive and writhing, had thrown a loop around his wrist and had sunk its fangs into his hand.
Cries of horror and amazement arose. A watchman sprang back and fell over a table, smashing mugs and splashing liquors. Another stepped forward to catch the magistrate as he tottered and fell. A third dropped his bill and, screaming hysterically, broke for the door.
Panic seized the customers. Some jammed themselves into the door, struggling to get out. A couple started fighting with knives, while another thief, locked in combat with a watchman, rolled on the floor.
One of the candles was knocked over; then another, leaving the room but dimly lit by the little earthenware lamp over the counter.
In the gloom, Conan caught Semiramis' wrist and hauled her to her feet.
He beat the panic-stricken mob aside with the flat of his sword and forced his way through the throng to the door. Out in the night, the two ran, rounding several corners to throw off pursuit. Then they stopped to breathe. Conan said:
"This city will be too cursed hot for me after this. I'm on my way. Good-bye, Semiramis."
"Would you not care to spend a last night with me?"
"Not this time. I must try to catch that rascal Nestor. If the fool hadn't blabbed, the law would not have gotten on my trail so quickly. He has all the treasure a man can carry, while I ended up with naught. Maybe I can persuade him to give me half; if not—" He thumbed the edge of his sword.
Semiramis sighed. "There will always be a hideout for you in Shadizar, while I live. Give me a last kiss."
They embraced briefly. Then Conan was gone, like a shadow in the night.
On the Corinthian Road that leads west from Shadizar, three bowshots from the city walls, stands the fountain of Ninus. According to the story, Ninus was a rich merchant who suffered from a wasting disease. A god visited him in his dreams and promised him a cure if he would build a fountain on the road leading to Shadizar from the west, so that travelers could wash and quench their thirst before entering the city.
Ninus built the fountain, but the tale does not tell whether he recovered from his sickness.
Half an hour after his escape from Abuletes' tavern, Conan found Nestor, sitting on the curbing of Ninus' fountain.
"How did you make out with your seven matchless gems?" asked Nestor.
Conan told what had befallen his share of the loot "Now," he said, "since—thanks to your loose tongue—I must leave Shadizar, and since I have none of the treasure left, it would be only right for you to divide your remaining portion with me."
Nestor gave a barking, mirthless laugh. "My share? Boy, here is half of what I have left." From his girdle he brought out two pieces of gold and tossed one to Conan, who caught it. "I owe it to you for pulling me away from that falling wall."
"What happened to you?"
"When the watch cornered me in the dive, I managed to cast a table and bowl a few over. Then I picked up the bright stuff in my cloak, slung it over my back, and started for the door. One who tried to halt me I cut down; but another landed a slash on my cloak. The next thing I knew, the whole mass of gold and jewels spilled out on the floor, and everybody—watchmen, magistrate, and customers—joined in a mad scramble for them." He held up the cloak, showing a two-foot rent in the fabric.
"Thinking that the treasure would do me no good if my head were adorning a spike over the West Gate, I left while the leaving was good. When I got outside the city, I looked in my mantle, but all I found were those two coins, caught in a fold. You're welcome to one of them."
Conan stood scowling for a moment. Then his mouth twitched into a grin.
A low laugh rumbled in his throat; his head went back as he burst into a thunderous guffaw. "A fine pair of treasure-seekers we are! Crom, but the gods have had sport with us! What a joke!"
Nestor smiled wryly. "I am glad you see the amusing side of it. But after this I do not think Shadizar will be safe for either of us."
"Whither are you bound?" asked Conan.
"I'll head east, to seek a mercenary post in Turan. They say King Yildiz is hiring fighters to whip his raggle-taggle horde into a real army. Why not come with me, lad? You're cut out for a soldier."
Conan shook his head. "Not for me, marching back and forth on the drill ground all day while some fatheaded officer bawls: "Forward, march! Present, pikes!' I hear there are good pickings in the West; I'll try that for a while."
"Well, may your barbarous gods go with you," said Nestor. "If you change your mind, ask for me in the barracks at Aghrapur. Farewell!"
"Farewell," replied Conan. Without further words, he stepped out on the Corinthian Road and soon was lost to view in the night.