Abdullah sighed and fetched out his largest silver piece. That seemed to be the right amount. The landlord gave him very careful directions and took the silver piece, promising baths and supper shortly. The baths, when they came, were hot, and the supper was good. Abdullah was glad. While the soldier was bathing himself and Whippersnapper, Abdullah transferred his wealth from his jacket to his money belt, which made him feel much better. The soldier must have felt better, too. He sat after supper with his feet up on a table, smoking that long clay pipe of his. Cheerfully he untied the bootlace from the neck of the genie bottle and dangled it for Whippersnapper to play with.

“There’s no doubt about it,” he said. “Money talks in this town. Are you going to talk to the Royal Wizard this evening? The sooner, the better, to my mind.”

Abdullah agreed. “I wonder what his fee will be,” he said.

“Big,” said the soldier. “Unless you can work it that you’re doing him a favor by telling him what the djinn said. All the same,” he went on thoughtfully, whisking the bootlace out of Whippersnapper’s pouncing paws, “I reckon you shouldn’t tell him about the genie or the carpet if you can help it. These magical gentlemen love magical items the way this innkeeper loves gold. You don’t want him asking for those for his fee. Why don’t you leave them here when you go? I’ll look after them for you.”

Abdullah hesitated. It seemed sound sense. Yet he did not trust the soldier.

“By the way,” said the soldier, “I owe you a gold piece.”

“You do?” said Abdullah. “Then this is the most surprising news I have had since Flower-in-the-Night told me I was a woman!”

“That bet of ours,” said the soldier. “The carpet brought the djinn, and he’s even bigger trouble than the genie usually manages. You win. Here.” He tossed a gold piece across the room at Abdullah.

Abdullah caught it, pocketed it, and laughed. The soldier was honest, after his own fashion. Full of thoughts of being soon on the trail of Flower-in-the-Night, Abdullah went cheerfully downstairs, where the landlady caught him and told him all over again how to get to Wizard Suliman’s house. Abdullah was so cheerful that he parted with another silver piece almost without a pang.

The house was not far from the inn, but it was in the Old Quarter, which meant that the way was mostly through confusing small alleys and hidden courts. It was twilight now, with one or two large liquid stars already in the dark blue sky above the domes and towers, but Kingsbury was well lit by big silver globes of light, floating overhead like moons.