“Good!” said D’Artagnan aside; “I think I now know the real
engineer who is fortifying Belle-Isle.”
Two hours after, at high tide, Porthos and D’Artagnan set
out for Sarzeau.
CHAPTER 71
A Procession at Vannes
The passage from Belle-Isle to Sarzeau was made rapidly
enough, thanks to one of those little corsairs of which
D’Artagnan had been told during his voyage, and which,
shaped for fast sailing and destined for the chase, were
sheltered at that time in the roadstead of Loc-Maria, where
one of them, with a quarter of its war-crew, performed duty
between Belle-Isle and the continent. D’Artagnan had an
opportunity of convincing himself that Porthos, though
engineer and topographer, was not deeply versed in affairs
of state. His perfect ignorance, with any other, might have
passed for well-informed dissimulation. But D’Artagnan knew
too well all the folds and refolds of his Porthos, not to
Page 410
Dumas, Alexandre – Ten Years Later
find a secret if there were one there; like those regular,
minute old bachelors, who know how to find, with their eyes
shut, each book on the shelves of their library and each
piece of linen in their wardrobe. So if he had found
nothing, our cunning D’Artagnan, in rolling and unrolling
his Porthos, it was because, in truth, there was nothing to
be found.
“Be it so,” said D’Artagnan, “I shall get to know more at
Vannes in half an hour than Porthos has discovered at
Belle-Isle in two months. Only, in order that I may know
something, it is important that Porthos should not make use
of the only stratagem I leave at his disposal. He must not
warn Aramis of my arrival.” All the care of the musketeer
was then, for the moment, confined to the watching of
Porthos. And let us hasten to say, Porthos did not deserve
all this mistrust. Porthos thought of no evil. Perhaps, on
first seeing him, D’Artagnan had inspired him with a little
suspicion, but almost immediately D’Artagnan had reconquered
in that good and brave heart the place he had always
occupied, and not the least cloud darkened the large eye of
Porthos, fixed from time to time with tenderness on his
friend.
On landing, Porthos inquired if his horses were waiting, and
soon perceived them at the crossing of the road that winds
round Sarzeau, and which, without passing through that
little city, leads towards Vannes. These horses were two in
number, one for M. de Vallon, and one for his equerry; for
Porthos had an equerry since Mouston was only able to use a
carriage as a means of locomotion. D’Artagnan expected that
Porthos would propose to send forward his equerry upon one
horse to bring back another, and he — D’Artagnan — had
made up his mind to oppose this proposition. But nothing
D’Artagnan had expected happened. Porthos simply told the
equerry to dismount and await his return at Sarzeau, whilst
D’Artagnan would ride his horse; which was arranged.
“Eh! but you are quite a man of precaution, my dear
Porthos,” said D’Artagnan to his friend, when he found
himself in the saddle, upon the equerry’s horse.
“Yes, but this is a kindness on the part of Aramis. I have
not my stud here, and Aramis has placed his stables at my
disposal.”
“Good horses for bishop’s horses, mordioux!” said
D’Artagnan. “It is true, Aramis is a bishop of a peculiar
kind.”
“He is a holy man!” replied Porthos, in a tone almost nasal,
and with his eyes raised towards heaven.
“Then he is much changed,” said D’Artagnan; “you and I have
known him passably profane.”
“Grace has touched him,” said Porthos.
“Bravo,” said D’Artagnan, “that redoubles my desire to see
my dear old friend.” And he spurred his horse, which sprang
off into a more rapid pace.
“Peste!” said Porthos, “if we go on at this rate, we shall
only take one hour instead of two.”
Page 411
Dumas, Alexandre – Ten Years Later
“To go how far, do you say, Porthos?”
“Four leagues and a half.”
“That will be a good pace.”
“I could have embarked you on the canal, but the devil take
rowers and boat-horses! The first are like tortoises; the