202
What Raoul Had Guessed
As soon as Raoul had quitted Athos and d’Artagnan, as the two exclamations that had followed his departure escaped their lips, they found themselves face to face alone. Athos immediately resumed the earnest air that he had assumed at d’Artagnan’s arrival.
“Well,” he said, “what have you come to announce to me, my friend?”
“I?” inquired d’Artagnan.
“Yes; I do not see you in this way without some reason for it,” said Athos, smiling.
“The deuce!” said d’Artagnan.
“I will place you at your ease. The king is furious, I suppose?”
“Well, I must say he is not altogether pleased.”
“And you have come to arrest me, then?”
“My dear friend, you have hit the very mark.”
“Oh, I expected it. I am quite ready to go with you.”
“Deuce take it!” said d’Artagnan, “what a hurry you are in.”
“I am afraid of delaying you,” said Athos, smiling.
“I have plenty of time. Are you not curious, besides, to know how things went on between the king and me?”
“If you will be good enough to tell me, I will listen with the greatest of pleasure,” said Athos, pointing out to d’Artagnan a large chair, into which the latter threw himself, assuming the easiest possible attitude.
“Well, I will do so willingly enough,” continued d’Artagnan, “for the conversation is rather curious, I must say. In the first place the king sent for me.”
“As soon as I had left?”
“You were just going down the last steps of the staircase, as the musketeers told me. I arrived. My dear Athos, he was not red in the face merely, he was positively purple. I was not aware, of course, of what had passed; only, on the ground, lying on the floor, I saw a sword broken in two.”
“ ‘Captain d’Artagnan,’ cried the king, as soon as he saw me.
“ ‘Sire,’ I replied.
“ ‘M. de la Fère has just left me; he is an insolent man.’
“ ‘An insolent man!’ I exclaimed, in such a tone that the king stopped suddenly short.
“ ‘Captain d’Artagnan,’ resumed the king, with his teeth clenched, ‘you will be good enough to listen to and hear me.’
“ ‘That is my duty, sire.’
“ ‘I have, out of consideration for M. de la Fère, wished to spare him—he is a man of whom I still retain some kind recollections—the discredit of being arrested in my palace. You will therefore take a carriage.’ At this I made a slight movement.
“ ‘If you object to arrest him yourself,’ continued the king, ‘send me my captain of the Guards.’
“ ‘Sire,’ I replied, ‘there is no necessity for the captain of the Guards, since I am on duty.’
“ ‘I should not like to annoy you,’ said the king, kindly, ‘for you have always served me well, Monsieur d’Artagnan.’
“ ‘You do not “annoy” me, sire,’ I replied; ‘I am on duty, that is all.’
“ ‘But,’ said the king, in astonishment, ‘I believe the comte is your friend?’
“ ‘If he were my father, sire, it would not make me less on duty than I am.’
“The king looked at me; he saw how unmoved my face was, and seemed satisfied. ‘You will arrest M. le Comte de la Fère, then?’ he inquired.
“ ‘Most certainly, sire, if you give me the order to do so.’
“ ‘Very well; I order you to do so.’
“I bowed, and replied, ‘Where is the comte, sire?’
“ ‘You will look for him.’
“ ‘And am I to arrest him, wherever he may be?’
“ ‘Yes; but try that he may be at his own house. If he should have started for his own estate, leave Paris at once, and arrest him on his way thither.’
“I bowed; but as I did not move, he said, ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’
“ ‘For the order to arrest the comte, signed by yourself.’
“The king seemed annoyed; for, in point of fact, it was the exercise of a fresh act of authority, a repetition of the arbitrary act, if, indeed, it is to be considered as such. He took hold of his pen slowly, and evidently in no very good temper; and then he wrote, ‘Order for M. le Chevalier d’Artagnan, captain of my Musketeers, to arrest M. le Comte de la Fère, wherever he is to be found.’ He then turned towards me; but I was looking on without moving a muscle of my face. In all probability he thought he perceived something like bravado in my tranquil manner, for he signed hurriedly, and then handing me the order, he said, ‘Go, Monsieur!’ I obeyed; and here I am.”
Athos pressed his friend’s hand. “Well, let us set off,” he said.
“Oh! surely,” said d’Artagnan, “you must have some trifling matters to arrange before you leave your apartments in this manner.”
“I?—not at all.”
“Why not?”
“Why, you know, d’Artagnan, that I have always been a very simple traveler on this earth, ready to go to the end of the world by the order of my sovereign; ready to quit it at the summons of my Maker. What does a man who is thus prepared require in such a case?—a portmanteau, or a shroud. I am ready at this moment, as I have always been, my dear friend, and can accompany you at once.”
“But, Bragelonne—”
“I have brought him up in the same principles I laid down for my own guidance; and you observed that, as soon as he perceived you, he guessed, that very moment, the motive of your visit. We have thrown him off his guard for a moment; but do not be uneasy, he is sufficiently prepared for my disgrace not to be too much alarmed at it. So, let us go.”
“Very well, let us go,” said d’Artagnan, quietly.
“As I broke
