After the austere lesson administered to De Wardes, Athos and D'Artagnantogether descended the staircase which led to the courtyard of thePalais-Royal. "You perceive," said Athos to D'Artagnan, "that Raoulcannot, sooner or later, avoid a duel with De Wardes, for De Wardes isas brave as he is vicious and wicked."
"I know such fellows well," replied D'Artagnan; "I had an affair withthe father. I assure you that, although at that time I had good musclesand a sort of brute courage--I assure you that the father did me somemischief. But you should have seen how I fought it out with him. Ah,Athos, such encounters never take place in these times! I had a handwhich could never remain at rest, a hand like quicksilver,--you knew itsquality, for you have seen me at work. My sword was no longer a pieceof steel; it was a serpent that assumed every form and every length,seeking where it might thrust its head; in other words, where it mightfix its bite. I advanced half a dozen paces, then three, and then, bodyto body, I pressed my antagonist closely, then I darted back againten paces. No human power could resist that ferocious ardor. Well,De Wardes, the father, with the bravery of his race, with his doggedcourage, occupied a good deal of my time; and my fingers, at the end ofthe engagement, were, I well remember, tired enough."
"It is, then, as I said," resumed Athos, "the son will always be lookingout for Raoul, and will end by meeting him; and Raoul can easily befound when he is sought for."
"Agreed; but Raoul calculates well; he bears no grudge against DeWardes,--he has said so; he will wait until he is provoked, and in thatcase his position is a good one. The king will not be able to get outof temper about the matter; besides we shall know how to pacify hismajesty. But why so full of these fears and anxieties? You don't easilyget alarmed."
"I will tell you what makes me anxious; Raoul is to see the kingto-morrow, when his majesty will inform him of his wishes respecting acertain marriage. Raoul, loving as he does, will get out of temper, andonce in an angry mood, if he were to meet De Wardes, the shell wouldexplode."
"We will prevent the explosion."
"Not I," said Athos, "for I must return to Blois. All this gildedelegance of the court, all these intrigues, sicken me. I am no longer ayoung man who can make terms with the meannesses of the day. I have readin the Great Book many things too beautiful and too comprehensive, tolonger take any interest in the trifling phrases which these men whisperamong themselves when they wish to deceive others. In one word, I amweary of Paris wherever and whenever you are not with me; and as Icannot have you with me always, I wish to return to Blois."
"How wrong you are, Athos; how you gainsay your origin and the destinyof your noble nature. Men of your stamp are created to continue, to thevery last moment, in full possession of their great faculties. Look atmy sword, a Spanish blade, the one I wore at Rochelle; it served me forthirty years without fail; one day in the winter it fell upon the marblefloor on the Louvre and was broken. I had a hunting-knife made of itwhich will last a hundred years yet. You, Athos, with your loyalty, yourfrankness, your cool courage and your sound information, are the veryman kings need to warn and direct them. Remain here; Monsieur Fouquetwill not last as long as my Spanish blade."
"Is it possible," said Athos, smiling, "that my friend, D'Artagnan, who,after having raised me to the skies, making me an object of worship,casts me down from the top of Olympus, and hurls me to the ground?I have more exalted ambition, D'Artagnan. To be a minister--to be aslave,--never! Am I not still greater? I am nothing. I remember havingheard you occasionally call me 'the great Athos;' I defy you, therefore,if I were minister, to continue to bestow that title upon me. No, no; Ido not yield myself in this manner."
"We will not speak of it any more, then; renounce everything, even thebrotherly feeling which unites us."
"It is almost cruel what you say."
D'Artagnan pressed Athos's hand warmly. "No, no; renounce everythingwithout fear. Raoul can get on without you. I am at Paris."
"In that case I shall return to Blois. We will take leave of each otherto-night, to-morrow at daybreak I shall be on my horse again."
"You cannot return to your hotel alone; why did you not bring Grimaudwith you?"
"Grimaud takes his rest now; he goes to bed early, for my poor oldservant gets easily fatigued. He came from Blois with me, and Icompelled him to remain within doors; for if, in retracing the fortyleagues which separate us from Blois, he needed to draw breath even, hewould die without a murmur. But I don't want to lose Grimaud."
"You shall have one of my musketeers to carry a torch for you. Hola!some one there," called out D'Artagnan, leaning over the gildedbalustrade. The heads of seven or eight musketeers appeared. "I wishsome gentleman who is so disposed to escort the Comte de la Fere," criedD'Artagnan.
"Thank you for your readiness, gentlemen," said Athos; "I regret to haveoccasion to trouble you in this manner."
"I would willingly escort the Comte de la Fere," said some one, "if Ihad not to speak to Monsieur d'Artagnan."
"Who is that?" said D'Artagnan, looking into the darkness.
"I, Monsieur d'Artagnan."
"Heaven forgive me, if that is not Monsieur Baisemeaux's voice."
"It is, monsieur."
"What are you doing in the courtyard, my dear Baisemeaux?"
"I am waiting your orders, my dear Monsieur d'Artagnan."
"Wretch that I am," thought D'Artagnan; "true, you have been told,I suppose, that some one was to be arrested, and have come yourself,instead of sending an officer?"
"I came because I had occasion to speak to you."
"You did not send to me?"
"I waited until you were disengaged," said Monsieur Baisemeaux, timidly.
"I leave you, D'Artagnan," said Athos.
"Not before I have presented Monsieur Baisemeaux de Montlezun, thegovernor of the Bastile."
Baisemeaux and Athos saluted each other.
"Surely you must know each other," said D'Artagnan.
"I have an indistinct recollection of Monsieur Baisemeaux," said Athos.
"You remember, my dear, Baisemeaux, the king's guardsman with whom weused formerly to have such delightful meetings in the cardinal's time?"
"Perfectly," said Athos, taking leave of him with affability.
"Monsieur le Comte de la Fere, whose nom de guerre was Athos," whisperedD'Artagnan to Baisemeaux.
"Yes, yes, a brave man, one of the celebrated four."
"Precisely so. But, my dear Baisemeaux, shall we talk now?"
"If you please."
"In the first place, as for the orders--there are none. The king doesnot intend to arrest the person in question."
"So much the worse," said Baisemeaux with a sigh.
"What do you mean by so much the worse?" exclaimed D'Artagnan, laughing.
"No doubt of it," returned the governor, "my prisoners are my income."
"I beg your pardon, I did not see it in that light."
"And so there are no orders," repeated Baisemeaux with a sigh. "Whatan admirable situation yours is captain," he continued, after a pause,"captain-lieutenant of the musketeers."
"Oh, it is good enough; but I don't see why you should envy me; you,governor of the Bastile, the first castle in France."
"I am well aware of that," said Baisemeaux, in a sorrowful tone ofvoice.
"You say that like a man confessing his sins. I would willingly exchangemy profits for yours."
"Don't speak of profits to me if you wish to save me the bitterestanguish of mind."
"Why do you look first on one side and then on the other, as if you wereafraid of being arrested yourself, you whose business it is to arrestothers?"
"I was looking to see whether any one could see or listen to us; itwould be safer to confer more in private, if you would grant me such afavor."
"Baisemeaux, you seem to forget we are acquaintances of five and thirtyyears' standing. Don't assume such sanctified airs; make yourself quitecomfortable; I don't eat governors of the Bastile raw."
"Heaven be praised!"
"Come into the courtyard with me, it's a beautiful moonlight night; wewill walk up and down arm in arm under the trees, while you tell me yourpitiful tale." He drew the doleful governor into the courtyard, took himby the arm as he had said, and, in his rough, good-humored way, cried:"Out with it, rattle away, Baisemeaux; what have you got to say?"
"It's a long story."
"You prefer your own lamentations, then; my opinion is, it will belonger than ever. I'll wager you are making fifty thousand francs out ofyour pigeons in the Bastile."
"Would to heaven that were the case, M. d'Artagnan."
"You surprise me, Baisemeaux; just look at you, acting the anchorite.I should like to show you your face in a glass, and you would see howplump and florid-looking you are, as fat and round as a cheese, witheyes like lighted coals; and if it were not for that ugly wrinkle youtry to cultivate on your forehead, you would hardly look fifty yearsold, and you are sixty, if I am not mistaken."
"All quite true."
"Of course I knew it was true, as true as the fifty thousand francsprofit you make," at which remark Baisemeaux stamped on the ground.
"Well, well," said D'Artagnan, "I will add up your accounts for you: youwere captain of M. Mazarin's guards; and twelve thousand francs a yearwould in twelve years amount to one hundred and forty thousand francs."
"Twelve thousand francs! Are you mad?" cried Baisemeaux; "the old misergave me no more than six thousand, and the expenses of the post amountedto six thousand five hundred francs. M. Colbert, who deducted the othersix thousand francs, condescended to allow me to take fifty pistolesas a gratification; so that, if it were not for my little estate atMontlezun, which brings me in twelve thousand francs a year, I could nothave met my engagements."
"Well, then, how about the fifty thousand francs from the Bastile?There, I trust, you are boarded and lodged, and get your six thousandfrancs salary besides."
"Admitted!"
"Whether the year be good or bad, there are fifty prisoners, who, on anaverage, bring you in a thousand francs a year each."
"I don't deny it."
"Well, there is at once an income of fifty thousand francs; you haveheld the post three years, and must have received in that time onehundred and fifty thousand francs."
"You forget one circumstance, dear M. d'Artagnan."
"What is that?"
"That while you received your appointment as captain from the kinghimself, I received mine as governor from Messieurs Tremblay andLouviere."
"Quite right, and Tremblay was not a man to let you have the post fornothing."
"Nor Louviere either: the result was, that I gave seventy-five thousandfrancs to Tremblay as his share."
"Very agreeable that! and to Louviere?"
"The very same."
"Money down?"
"No: that would have been impossible. The king did not wish, or ratherM. Mazarin did not wish, to have the appearance of removing thosetwo gentlemen, who had sprung from the barricades; he permitted themtherefore, to make certain extravagant conditions for their retirement."
"What were those conditions?"
"Tremble...three years' income for the good-will."
"The deuce! so that the one hundred and fifty thousand francs havepassed into their hands."
"Precisely so."
"And beyond that?"
"A sum of one hundred and fifty thousand francs, or fifteen thousandpistoles, whichever you please, in three payments."
"Exorbitant."
"Yes, but that is not all."
"What besides?"
"In default of the fulfillment by me of any one of those conditions,those gentlemen enter upon their functions again. The king has beeninduced to sign that."
"It is monstrous, incredible!"
"Such is the fact, however."
"I do indeed pity you, Baisemeaux. But why, in the name of fortune, didM. Mazarin grant you this pretended favor? It would have been far betterto have refused you altogether."
"Certainly, but he was strongly persuaded to do so by my protector."
"Who is he?"
"One of your own friends, indeed; M. d'Herblay."
"M. d'Herblay! Aramis!"
"Just so; he has been very kind towards me."
"Kind! to make you enter into such a bargain!"
"Listen! I wished to leave the cardinal's service. M. d'Herblay spoke onmy behalf to Louviere and Tremblay--they objected; I wished to have theappointment very much, for I knew what it could be made to produce;in my distress I confided in M. d'Herblay, and he offered to become mysurety for the different payments."
"You astound me! Aramis become your surety?"
"Like a man of honor; he procured the signature; Tremblay and Louviereresigned their appointments, I have paid every year twenty-five thousandfrancs to these two gentlemen; on the thirty-first of May every year,M. d'Herblay himself comes to the Bastile, and brings me five thousandpistoles to distribute between my crocodiles."
"You owe Aramis one hundred and fifty thousand francs, then?"
"That is the very thing which is the cause of my despair, for I only owehim one hundred thousand."
"I don't quite understand you."
"He came and settled with the vampires only two years. To-day, however,is the thirty-first of May, and he has not been yet, and to-morrow, atmidday, the payment falls due; if, therefore, I don't pay to-morrow,those gentlemen can, by the terms of the contract, break off thebargain; I shall be stripped of everything; I shall have worked forthree years, and given two hundred and fifty thousand francs fornothing, absolutely for nothing at all, dear M. d'Artagnan."
"This is very strange," murmured D'Artagnan.
"You can now imagine that I may well have wrinkles on my forehead, canyou not?"
"Yes, indeed!"
"And you can imagine, too, that notwithstanding I may be as round as acheese, with a complexion like an apple, and my eyes like coals on fire,I may almost be afraid that I shall not have a cheese or an apple leftme to eat, and that my eyes will be left me only to weep with."
"It is really a very grievous affair."
"I have come to you, M. d'Artagnan, for you are the only man who can getme out of my trouble."
"In what way?"
"You are acquainted with the Abbe d'Herblay and you know that he is asomewhat mysterious gentleman."
"Yes."
"Well, you can, perhaps, give me the address of his presbytery, for Ihave been to Noisy-le-Sec, and he is no longer there."
"I should think not, indeed. He is Bishop of Vannes."
"What! Vannes in Bretagne?"
"Yes."
The little man began to tear his hair, saying, "How can I get to Vannesfrom here by midday to-morrow? I am a lost man."
"Your despair quite distresses me."
"Vannes, Vannes!" cried Baisemeaux.
"But listen; a bishop is not always a resident. M. d'Herblay may notpossibly be so far away as you fear."
"Pray tell me his address."
"I really don't know it."
"In that case I am lost. I will go and throw myself at the king's feet."
"But, Baisemeaux, I can hardly believe what you tell me; besides, sincethe Bastile is capable of producing fifty thousand francs a year, whyhave you not tried to screw one hundred thousand out of it?"
"Because I am an honest man, M. d'Artagnan, and because my prisoners arefed like ambassadors."
"Well, you're in a fair way to get out of your difficulties; giveyourself a good attack of indigestion with your excellent living, andput yourself out of the way between this and midday to-morrow."
"How can you be hard-hearted enough to laugh?"
"Nay, you really afflict me. Come, Baisemeaux, if you can pledge me yourword of honor, do so, that you will not open your lips to any one aboutwhat I am going to say to you."
"Never, never!"
"You wish to put your hand on Aramis?"
"At any cost!"
"Well, go and see where M.
Fouquet is."
"Why, what connection can there be----"
"How stupid you are! Don't you know that Vannes is in the diocese ofBelle-Isle, or Belle-Isle in the diocese of Vannes? Belle-Isle belongsto M. Fouquet, and M. Fouquet nominated M. d'Herblay to that bishopric!"
"I see, I see; you restore me to life again."
"So much the better. Go and tell M. Fouquet very simply that you wish tospeak to M. d'Herblay."
"Of course, of course," exclaimed Baisemeaux, delightedly.
"But," said D'Artagnan, checking him by a severe look, "your word ofhonor?"
"I give you my sacred word of honor," replied the little man, about toset off running.
"Where are you going?"
"To M. Fouquet's house."
"It is useless doing that, M. Fouquet is playing at cards with the king.All you can do is to pay M. Fouquet a visit early to-morrow morning."
"I will do so. Thank you."
"Good luck attend you," said D'Artagnan.
"Thank you."
"This is a strange affair," murmured D'Artagnan, as he slowly ascendedthe staircase after he had left Baisemeaux. "What possible interest canAramis have in obliging Baisemeaux in this manner? Well, I suppose weshall learn some day or another."
CHAPTER 97. The King's Card-table