Twenty Years Later by Dumas, Alexandre. Part one

gallery; that will amuse you.”

And they both went into a low room where there were foils,

gloves, masks, breastplates, and all the accessories for a

fencing match.

In a quarter of an hour Athos joined them and at the same

moment Charles brought in a letter for D’Artagnan, which a

messenger had just desired might be instantly delivered.

It was now Athos’s turn to take a sly look.

D’Artagnan read the letter with apparent calmness and said,

shaking his head:

“See, dear friend, what it is to belong to the army. Faith,

you are indeed right not to return to it. Monsieur de

Treville is ill, so my company can’t do without me; there!

my leave is at an end!”

“Do you return to Paris?” asked Athos, quickly.

“Egad! yes; but why don’t you come there also?”

Athos colored a little and answered:

“Should I go, I shall be delighted to see you there.”

“Halloo, Planchet!” cried the Gascon from the door, “we must

set out in ten minutes; give the horses some hay.

Then turning to Athos he added:

“I seem to miss something here. I am really sorry to go away

without having seen Grimaud.”

“Grimaud!” replied Athos. “I’m surprised you have never so

much as asked after him. I have lent him to a friend —- ”

“Who will understand the signs he makes?” returned

D’Artagnan.

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“I hope so.”

The friends embraced cordially; D’Artagnan pressed Raoul’s

hand.

“Will you not come with me?” he said; “I shall pass by

Blois.”

Raoul turned toward Athos, who showed him by a secret sign

that he did not wish him to go.

“No, monsieur,” replied the young man; “I will remain with

monsieur le comte.”

“Adieu, then, to both, my good friends,” said D’Artagnan;

“may God preserve you! as we used to say when we said

good-bye to each other in the late cardinal’s time.”

Athos waved his hand, Raoul bowed, and D’Artagnan and

Planchet set out.

The count followed them with his eyes, his hands resting on

the shoulders of the youth, whose height was almost equal to

his own; but as soon as they were out of sight he said:

“Raoul, we set out to-night for Paris.”

“Eh?” cried the young man, turning pale.

“You may go and offer your adieux and mine to Madame de

Saint-Remy. I shall wait for you here till seven.”

The young man bent low, with an expression of sorrow and

gratitude mingled, and retired in order to saddle his horse.

As to D’Artagnan, scarcely, on his side, was he out of sight

when he drew from his pocket a letter, which he read over

again:

“Return immediately to Paris. — J. M —- .”

“The epistle is laconic,” said D’Artagnan; “and if there had

not been a postscript, probably I should not have understood

it; but happily there is a postscript.”

And he read that welcome postscript, which made him forget

the abruptness of the letter.

“P. S. — Go to the king’s treasurer, at Blois; tell him

your name and show him this letter; you will receive two

hundred pistoles.”

“Assuredly,” said D’Artagnan, “I admire this piece of prose.

The cardinal writes better than I thought. Come, Planchet,

let us pay a visit to the king’s treasurer and then set

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off.”

“Toward Paris, sir?”

“Toward Paris.”

And they set out at as hard a canter as their horses could

maintain.

16

The Duc de Beaufort.

The circumstances that had hastened the return of D’Artagnan

to Paris were as follows:

One evening, when Mazarin, according to custom, went to

visit the queen, in passing the guard-chamber he heard loud

voices; wishing to know on what topic the soldiers were

conversing, he approached with his wonted wolf-like step,

pushed open the door and put his head close to the chink.

There was a dispute among the guards.

“I tell you,” one of them was saying, “that if Coysel

predicted that, ’tis as good as true; I know nothing about

it, but I have heard say that he’s not only an astrologer,

but a magician.”

“Deuce take it, friend, if he’s one of thy friends thou wilt