alone.
At ten o’clock the next day they met again. Athos had been
out since six o’clock.
“Well, have you any news?” Athos asked.
“Nothing. No one has seen D’Artagnan and Porthos has, not
appeared. Have you anything?”
“Nothing.”
“The devil!” said Aramis.
“In fact,” said Athos, “this delay is not natural; they took
the shortest route and should have arrived before we did.”
“Add to that D’Artagnan’s rapidity in action and that he is
not the man to lose an hour, knowing that we were expecting
him.”
“He expected, you will remember, to be here on the fifth.”
“And here we are at the ninth. This evening the margin of
possible delay expires.”
“What do you think should be done,” asked Athos. “if we have
no news of them to-night?”
“Pardieu! we must go and look for them.”
“All right,” said Athos.
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“But Raoul?” said Aramis.
A light cloud passed over the count’s face.
“Raoul gives me much uneasiness,” he said. “He received
yesterday a message from the Prince de Conde; he went to
meet him at Saint Cloud and has not returned.”
“Have you seen Madame de Chevreuse?”
“She was not at home. And you, Aramis, you were going, I
think, to visit Madame de Longueville.”
“I did go there.”
“Well?”
“She was no longer there, but she had left her new address.”
“Where was she?”
“Guess; I give you a thousand chances.”
“How should I know where the most beautiful and active of
the Frondists was at midnight? for I presume it was when you
left me that you went to visit her.”
“At the Hotel de Ville, my dear fellow.”
“What! at the Hotel de Ville? Has she, then, been appointed
provost of merchants?”
“No; but she has become queen of Paris, ad interim, and
since she could not venture at once to establish herself in
the Palais Royal or the Tuileries, she is installed at the
Hotel de Ville, where she is on the point of giving an heir
or an heiress to that dear duke.”
“You didn’t tell me of that, Aramis.”
“Really? It was my forgetfulness then; pardon me.”
“Now,” asked Athos, “what are we to do with ourselves till
evening? Here we are without occupation, it seems to me.”
“You forget, my friend, that we have work cut out for us in
the direction of Charenton; I hope to see Monsieur de
Chatillon, whom I’ve hated for a long time, there.”
“Why have you hated him?”
“Because he is the brother of Coligny.”
“Ah, true! he who presumed to be a rival of yours, for which
he was severely punished; that ought to satisfy you.”
“‘Yes, but it does not; I am rancorous — the only stigma
that proves me to be a churchman. Do you understand? You
understand that you are in no way obliged to go with me.”
“Come, now,” said Athos, “you are joking.”
“In that case, my dear friend, if you are resolved to
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accompany me there is no time to lose; the drum beats; I
observed cannon on the road; I saw the citizens in order of
battle on the Place of the Hotel de Ville; certainly the
fight will be in the direction of Charenton, as the Duc de
Chatillon said.”
“I supposed,” said Athos, “that last night’s conferences
would modify those warlike arrangements.”
“No doubt; but they will fight, none the less, if only to
mask the conferences.”
“Poor creatures!” said Athos, “who are going to be killed,
in order that Monsieur de Bouillon may have his estate at
Sedan restored to him, that the reversion of the admiralty
may be given to the Duc de Beaufort, and that the coadjutor
may be made a cardinal.”
“Come, come, dear Athos, confess that you would not be so
philosophical if your Raoul were to be involved in this
affair.”
“Perhaps you speak the truth, Aramis.”
“Well, let us go, then, where the fighting is, for that is
the most likely place to meet with D’Artagnan, Porthos, and
possibly even Raoul. Stop, there are a fine body of citizens
passing; quite attractive, by Jupiter! and their captain —