The two young men took a fancy to each other and rode on together . On the second day of their journey Labakan questioned Omar as to the orders he had to carry out , and to his surprise heard this tale . Elfi Bey , Pacha of Cairo , had brought up Omar from his earliest childhood , and the boy had never known his parents . On his deathbed Elfi Bey called Omar to him , and then told him that he was not his nephew , but the son of a great king , who , having been warned of coming dangers by his astrologers , had sent the young prince away and made a vow not to see him till his twenty-second birthday . Elfi Bey did not tell Omar his father 's name , but expressly desired him to be at a great pillar four days ' journey east of Alexandria on the fourth day of the coming month , on which day he would be twenty-two years old . Here he would meet some men , to whom he was to hand a dagger which Elfi Bey gave him , and to say ` Here am I for whom you seek . ' If they answered : ` Praised be the Prophet who has preserved you , ' he was to follow them , and they would take him to his father . Labakan was greatly surprised and interested by this story , but after hearing it he could not help looking on Prince Omar with envious eyes , angry that his friend should have the position he himself longed so much for . He began to make comparisons between the prince and himself , and was obliged to confess that he was a fine-looking young man with very good manners and a pleasant expression . At the same time , he felt sure that had he been in the prince 's place any royal father might have been glad to own him . These thoughts haunted him all day , and he dreamt them all night . He woke very early , and as he saw Omar sleeping quietly , with a happy smile on his face , a wish arose in his mind to take by force or by cunning the things which an unkind fate had denied him . The dagger which was to act as a passport was sticking in Omar 's girdle . Labakan drew it gently out , and hesitated for a moment whether or not to plunge it into the heart of the sleeping prince . However , he shrank from the idea of murder , so he contented himself with placing the dagger in his own belt , and , saddling Omar 's swift horse for himself , was many miles away before the prince woke up to realise his losses . For two days Labakan rode on steadily , fearing lest , after all , Omar might reach the meeting place before him . At the end of the second day he saw the great pillar at a distance . It stood on a little hill in the middle of a plain , and could be seen a very long way off . Labakan 's heart beat fast at the sight . Though he had had some time in which to think over the part he meant to play his conscience made him rather uneasy .
However , the thought that he must certainly have been born to be a king supported him , and he bravely rode XXXXX .
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