Vingt ans après. English

  44. Te Deum for the Victory of Lens.

  The bustle which had been observed by Henrietta Maria and for which shehad vainly sought to discover a reason, was occasioned by the battle ofLens, announced by the prince's messenger, the Duc de Chatillon, who hadtaken such a noble part in the engagement; he was, besides, charged tohang five and twenty flags, taken from the Lorraine party, as well asfrom the Spaniards, upon the arches of Notre Dame.

  Such news was decisive; it destroyed, in favor of the court, thestruggle commenced with parliament. The motive given for all the taxessummarily imposed and to which the parliament had made opposition, wasthe necessity of sustaining the honor of France and the uncertain hopeof beating the enemy. Now, since the affair of Nordlingen, they hadexperienced nothing but reverses; the parliament had a plea for callingMazarin to account for imaginary victories, always promised, everdeferred; but this time there really had been fighting, a triumph and acomplete one. And this all knew so well that it was a double victory forthe court, a victory at home and abroad; so that even when the youngking learned the news he exclaimed, "Ah, gentlemen of the parliament, weshall see what you will say now!" Upon which the queen had pressed theroyal child to her heart, whose haughty and unruly sentiments were insuch harmony with her own. A council was called on the same evening, butnothing transpired of what had been decided on. It was only known thaton the following Sunday a Te Deum would be sung at Notre Dame in honorof the victory of Lens.

  The following Sunday, then, the Parisians arose with joy; at that perioda Te Deum was a grand affair; this kind of ceremony had not then beenabused and it produced a great effect. The shops were deserted, housesclosed; every one wished to see the young king with his mother, and thefamous Cardinal Mazarin whom they hated so much that no one wished to bedeprived of his presence. Moreover, great liberty prevailed throughoutthe immense crowd; every opinion was openly expressed and chorused, soto speak, of coming insurrection, as the thousand bells of all the Parischurches rang out the Te Deum. The police belonging to the city beingformed by the city itself, nothing threatening presented itself todisturb this concert of universal hatred or freeze the frequent scoffsof slanderous lips.

  Nevertheless, at eight o'clock in the morning the regiment of thequeen's guards, commanded by Guitant, under whom was his nephewComminges, marched publicly, preceded by drums and trumpets, filing offfrom the Palais Royal as far as Notre Dame, a manoeuvre which theParisians witnessed tranquilly, delighted as they were with militarymusic and brilliant uniforms.

  Friquet had put on his Sunday clothes, under the pretext of having aswollen face which he had managed to simulate by introducing a handfulof cherry kernels into one side of his mouth, and had procured a wholeholiday from Bazin. On leaving Bazin, Friquet started off to the PalaisRoyal, where he arrived at the moment of the turning out of the regimentof guards; and as he had only gone there for the enjoyment of seeing itand hearing the music, he took his place at their head, beating the drumon two pieces of slate and passing from that exercise to that of thetrumpet, which he counterfeited quite naturally with his mouth in amanner which had more than once called forth the praises of amateurs ofimitative harmony.

  This amusement lasted from the Barriere des Sergens to the place ofNotre Dame, and Friquet found in it very real enjoyment; but when atlast the regiment separated, penetrated the heart of the city and placeditself at the extremity of the Rue Saint Christophe, near the RueCocatrix, in which Broussel lived, then Friquet remembered that he hadnot had breakfast; and after thinking in which direction he had betterturn his steps in order to accomplish this important act of the day, hereflected deeply and decided that Councillor Broussel should bear thecost of this repast.

  In consequence he took to his heels, arrived breathlessly at thecouncillor's door, and knocked violently.

  His mother, the councillor's old servant, opened it.

  "What doest thou here, good-for-nothing?" she said, "and why art thounot at Notre Dame?"

  "I have been there, mother," said Friquet, "but I saw things happen ofwhich Master Broussel ought to be warned, and so with Monsieur Bazin'spermission--you know, mother, Monsieur Bazin, the verger--I came tospeak to Monsieur Broussel."

  "And what hast thou to say, boy, to Monsieur Broussel?"

  "I wish to tell him," replied Friquet, screaming with all his might,"that there is a whole regiment of guards coming this way. And as I heareverywhere that at the court they are ill-disposed to him, I wish towarn him, that he may be on his guard."

  Broussel heard the scream of the young oddity, and, enchanted with thisexcess of zeal, came down to the first floor, for he was, in truth,working in his room on the second.

  "Well," said he, "friend, what matters the regiment of guards to us, andart thou not mad to make such a disturbance? Knowest thou not that it isthe custom of these soldiers to act thus and that it is usual for theregiment to form themselves into two solid walls when the king goes by?"

  Friquet counterfeited surprise, and twisting his new cap around in hisfingers, said:

  "It is not astonishing for you to know it, Monsieur Broussel, who knowseverything; but as for me, by holy truth, I did not know it and Ithought I would give you good advice; you must not be angry with me forthat, Monsieur Broussel."

  "On the contrary, my boy, on the contrary, I am pleased with your zeal.Dame Nanette, look for those apricots which Madame de Longueville sentto us yesterday from Noisy and give half a dozen of them to your son,with a crust of new bread."

  "Oh, thank you, sir, thank you, Monsieur Broussel," said Friquet; "I amso fond of apricots!"

  Broussel then proceeded to his wife's room and asked for breakfast; itwas nine o'clock. The councillor placed himself at the window; thestreet was completely deserted, but in the distance was heard, like thenoise of the tide rushing in, the deep hum of the populous wavesincreasing now around Notre Dame.

  This noise redoubled when D'Artagnan, with a company of musketeers,placed himself at the gates of Notre Dame to secure the service of thechurch. He had instructed Porthos to profit by this opportunity to seethe ceremony; and Porthos, in full dress, mounted his finest horse,taking the part of supernumerary musketeer, as D'Artagnan had so oftendone formerly. The sergeant of this company, a veteran of the Spanishwars, had recognized Porthos, his old companion, and very soon all thosewho served under him were placed in possession of startling factsconcerning the honor of the ancient musketeers of Treville. Porthos hadnot only been well received by the company, but he was moreover lookedon with great admiration.

  At ten o'clock the guns of the Louvre announced the departure of theking, and then a movement, similar to that of trees in a stormy windthat bend and writhe with agitated tops, ran though the multitude, whichwas compressed behind the immovable muskets of the guard. At last theking appeared with the queen in a gilded chariot. Ten other carriagesfollowed, containing the ladies of honor, the officers of the royalhousehold, and the court.

  "God save the king!" was the cry in every direction; the young monarchgravely put his head out of the window, looked sufficiently grateful andeven bowed; at which the cries of the multitude were renewed.

  Just as the court was settling down in the cathedral, a carriage,bearing the arms of Comminges, quitted the line of the court carriagesand proceeded slowly to the end of the Rue Saint Christophe, nowentirely deserted. When it arrived there, four guards and a policeofficer, who accompanied it, mounted into the heavy machine and closedthe shutters; then through an opening cautiously made, the policemanbegan to watch the length of the Rue Cocatrix, as if he was waiting forsome one.

  All the world was occupied with the ceremony, so that neither thechariot nor the precautions taken by those who were within it had beenobserved. Friquet, whose eye, ever on the alert, could alone havediscovered them, had gone to devour his apricots upon the entablature ofa house in the square of Notre Dame. Thence he saw the king, the queenand Monsieur Mazarin, and heard the mass as well as if he had been onduty.

  Toward the end of the
service, the queen, seeing Comminges standing nearher, waiting for a confirmation of the order she had given him beforequitting the Louvre, said in a whisper:

  "Go, Comminges, and may God aid you!"

  Comminges immediately left the church and entered the Rue SaintChristophe. Friquet, seeing this fine officer thus walk away, followedby two guards, amused himself by pursuing them and did this so much themore gladly as the ceremony ended at that instant and the king remountedhis carriage.

  Hardly had the police officer observed Comminges at the end of the RueCocatrix when he said one word to the coachman, who at once put hisvehicle into motion and drove up before Broussel's door. Commingesknocked at the door at the same moment, and Friquet was waiting behindComminges until the door should be opened.

  "What dost thou there, rascal?" asked Comminges.

  "I want to go into Master Broussel's house, captain," replied Friquet,in that wheedling way the "gamins" of Paris know so well how to assumewhen necessary.

  "And on what floor does he live?" asked Comminges.

  "In the whole house," said Friquet; "the house belongs to him; heoccupies the second floor when he works and descends to the first totake his meals; he must be at dinner now; it is noon."

  "Good," said Comminges.

  At this moment the door was opened, and having questioned the servantthe officer learned that Master Broussel was at home and at dinner.

  Broussel was seated at the table with his family, having his wifeopposite to him, his two daughters by his side, and his son, Louvieres,whom we have already seen when the accident happened to thecouncillor--an accident from which he had quite recovered--at the bottomof the table. The worthy man, restored to perfect health, was tastingthe fine fruit which Madame de Longueville had sent to him.

  At sight of the officer Broussel was somewhat moved, but seeing him bowpolitely he rose and bowed also. Still, in spite of this reciprocalpoliteness, the countenances of the women betrayed a certain amount ofuneasiness; Louvieres became very pale and waited impatiently for theofficer to explain himself.

  "Sir," said Comminges, "I am the bearer of an order from the king."

  "Very well, sir," replied Broussel, "what is this order?" And he heldout his hand.

  "I am commissioned to seize your person, sir," said Comminges, in thesame tone and with the same politeness; "and if you will believe me youhad better spare yourself the trouble of reading that long letter andfollow me."

  A thunderbolt falling in the midst of these good people, so peacefullyassembled there, would not have produced a more appalling effect. It wasa horrible thing at that period to be imprisoned by the enmity of theking. Louvieres sprang forward to snatch his sword, which stood againsta chair in a corner of the room; but a glance from the worthy Broussel,who in the midst of it all did not lose his presence of mind, checkedthis foolhardy action of despair. Madame Broussel, separated by thewidth of the table from her husband, burst into tears, and the younggirls clung to their father's arms.

  "Come, sir," said Comminges, "make haste; you must obey the king."

  "Sir," said Broussel, "I am in bad health and cannot give myself up aprisoner in this state; I must have time."

  "It is impossible," said Comminges; "the order is strict and must be putinto execution this instant."

  "Impossible!" said Louvieres; "sir, beware of driving us to despair."

  "Impossible!" cried a shrill voice from the end of the room.

  Comminges turned and saw Dame Nanette, her eyes flashing with anger anda broom in her hand.

  "My good Nanette, be quiet, I beseech you," said Broussel.

  "Me! keep quiet while my master is being arrested! he, the support, theliberator, the father of the people! Ah! well, yes; you have to know meyet. Are you going?" added she to Comminges.

  The latter smiled.

  "Come, sir," said he, addressing Broussel, "silence that woman andfollow me."

  "Silence me! me! me!" said Nanette. "Ah! yet one wants some one besidesyou for that, my fine king's cockatoo! You shall see." And Dame Nanettesprang to the window, threw it open, and in such a piercing voice thatit might have been heard in the square of Notre Dame:

  "Help!" she screamed, "my master is being arrested; the CouncillorBroussel is being arrested! Help!"

  "Sir," said Comminges, "declare yourself at once; will you obey or doyou intend to rebel against the king?"

  "I obey, I obey, sir!" cried Broussel, trying to disengage himself fromthe grasp of his two daughters and by a look restrain his son, whoseemed determined to dispute authority.

  "In that case," commanded Comminges, "silence that old woman."

  "Ah! old woman!" screamed Nanette.

  And she began to shriek more loudly, clinging to the bars of the window:

  "Help! help! for Master Broussel, who is arrested because he hasdefended the people! Help!"

  Comminges seized the servant around the waist and would have dragged herfrom her post; but at that instant a treble voice, proceeding from akind of entresol, was heard screeching:

  "Murder! fire! assassins! Master Broussel is being killed! MasterBroussel is being strangled."

  It was Friquet's voice; and Dame Nanette, feeling herself supported,recommenced with all her strength to sound her shrilly squawk.

  Many curious faces had already appeared at the windows and the peopleattracted to the end of the street began to run, first men, then groups,and then a crowd of people; hearing cries and seeing a chariot theycould not understand it; but Friquet sprang from the entresol on to thetop of the carriage.

  "They want to arrest Master Broussel!" he cried; "the guards are in thecarriage and the officer is upstairs!"

  The crowd began to murmur and approached the house. The two guards whohad remained in the lane mounted to the aid of Comminges; those who werein the chariot opened the doors and presented arms.

  "Don't you see them?" cried Friquet, "don't you see? there they are!"

  The coachman turning around, gave Friquet a slash with his whip whichmade him scream with pain.

  "Ah! devil's coachman!" cried Friquet, "you're meddling too! Wait!"

  And regaining his entresol he overwhelmed the coachman with everyprojectile he could lay hands on.

  The tumult now began to increase; the street was not able to contain thespectators who assembled from every direction; the crowd invaded thespace which the dreaded pikes of the guards had till then kept clearbetween them and the carriage. The soldiers, pushed back by these livingwalls, were in danger of being crushed against the spokes of the wheelsand the panels of the carriages. The cries which the police officerrepeated twenty times: "In the king's name," were powerless against thisformidable multitude--seemed, on the contrary, to exasperate it stillmore; when, at the shout, "In the name of the king," an officer ran up,and seeing the uniforms ill-treated, he sprang into the scuffle sword inhand, and brought unexpected help to the guards. This gentleman was ayoung man, scarcely sixteen years of age, now white with anger. Heleaped from his charger, placed his back against the shaft of thecarriage, making a rampart of his horse, drew his pistols from theirholsters and fastened them to his belt, and began to fight with the backsword, like a man accustomed to the handling of his weapon.

  During ten minutes he alone kept the crowd at bay; at last Commingesappeared, pushing Broussel before him.

  "Let us break the carriage!" cried the people.

  "In the king's name!" cried Comminges.

  "The first who advances is a dead man!" cried Raoul, for it was in facthe, who, feeling himself pressed and almost crushed by a giganticcitizen, pricked him with the point of his sword and sent him howlingback.

  Comminges, so to speak, threw Broussel into the carriage and sprang inafter him. At this moment a shot was fired and a ball passed through thehat of Comminges and broke the arm of one of the guards. Commingeslooked up and saw amidst the smoke the threatening face of Louvieresappearing at the window of the second floor.

  "Very well, sir," said Comminges, "you shall
hear of this anon."

  "And you of me, sir," said Louvieres; "and we shall see then who canspeak the loudest."

  Friquet and Nanette continued to shout; the cries, the noise of the shotand the intoxicating smell of powder produced their usual maddeningeffects.

  "Down with the officer! down with him!" was the cry.

  "One step nearer," said Comminges, putting down the sashes, that theinterior of the carriage might be well seen, and placing his sword onhis prisoner's breast, "one step nearer, and I kill the prisoner; myorders were to carry him off alive or dead. I will take him dead, that'sall."

  A terrible cry was heard, and the wife and daughters of Broussel held uptheir hands in supplication to the people; the latter knew that thisofficer, who was so pale, but who appeared so determined, would keep hisword; they continued to threaten, but they began to disperse.

  "Drive to the palace," said Comminges to the coachman, who was by thenmore dead than alive.

  The man whipped his animals, which cleared a way through the crowd; buton arriving on the Quai they were obliged to stop; the carriage wasupset, the horses carried off, stifled, mangled by the crowd. Raoul, onfoot, for he had not time to mount his horse again, tired, like theguards, of distributing blows with the flat of his sword, had recourseto its point. But this last and dreaded resource served only toexasperate the multitude. From time to time a shot from a musket or theblade of a rapier flashed among the crowd; projectiles continued to haildown from the windows and some shots were heard, the echo of which,though they were probably fired in the air, made all hearts vibrate.Voices, unheard except on days of revolution, were distinguished; faceswere seen that only appeared on days of bloodshed. Cries of "Death!death to the guards! to the Seine with the officer!" were heard aboveall the noise, deafening as it was. Raoul, his hat in ribbons, his facebleeding, felt not only his strength but also his reason going; a redmist covered his sight, and through this mist he saw a hundredthreatening arms stretched over him, ready to seize upon him when hefell. The guards were unable to help any one--each one was occupied withhis self-preservation. All was over; carriages, horses, guards, andperhaps even the prisoner were about to be torn to shreds, when all atonce a voice well known to Raoul was heard, and suddenly a great swordglittered in the air; at the same time the crowd opened, upset, troddendown, and an officer of the musketeers, striking and cutting right andleft, rushed up to Raoul and took him in his arms just as he was aboutto fall.

  "God's blood!" cried the officer, "have they killed him? Woe to them ifit be so!"

  And he turned around, so stern with anger, strength and threat, that themost excited rebels hustled back on one another, in order to escape, andsome of them even rolled into the Seine.

  "Monsieur d'Artagnan!" murmured Raoul.

  "Yes, 'sdeath! in person, and fortunately it seems for you, my youngfriend. Come on, here, you others," he continued, rising in hisstirrups, raising his sword, and addressing those musketeers who had notbeen able to follow his rapid onslaught. "Come, sweep away all that forme! Shoulder muskets! Present arms! Aim----"

  At this command the mountain of populace thinned so suddenly thatD'Artagnan could not repress a burst of Homeric laughter.

  "Thank you, D'Artagnan," said Comminges, showing half of his bodythrough the window of the broken vehicle, "thanks, my young friend; yourname--that I may mention it to the queen."

  Raoul was about to reply when D'Artagnan bent down to his ear.

  "Hold your tongue," said he, "and let me answer. Do not lose time,Comminges," he continued; "get out of the carriage if you can and makeanother draw up; be quick, or in five minutes the mob will be on usagain with swords and muskets and you will be killed. Hold! there's acarriage coming over yonder."

  Then bending again to Raoul, he whispered: "Above all things do notdivulge your name."

  "That's right. I will go," said Comminges; "and if they come back,fire!"

  "Not at all--not at all," replied D'Artagnan; "let no one move. On thecontrary, one shot at this moment would be paid for dearly to-morrow."

  Comminges took his four guards and as many musketeers and ran to thecarriage, from which he made the people inside dismount, and broughtthem to the vehicle which had upset. But when it was necessary to conveythe prisoner from one carriage to the other, the people, catching sightof him whom they called their liberator, uttered every imaginable cryand knotted themselves once more around the vehicle.

  "Start, start!" said D'Artagnan. "There are ten men to accompany you. Iwill keep twenty to hold in check the mob; go, and lose not a moment.Ten men for Monsieur de Comminges."

  As the carriage started off the cries were redoubled and more than tenthousand people thronged the Quai and overflowed the Pont Neuf andadjacent streets. A few shots were fired and one musketeer was wounded.

  "Forward!" cried D'Artagnan, driven to extremities, biting hismoustache; and then he charged with his twenty men and dispersed them infear. One man alone remained in his place, gun in hand.

  "Ah!" he exclaimed, "it is thou who wouldst have him assassinated? Waitan instant." And he pointed his gun at D'Artagnan, who was riding towardhim at full speed. D'Artagnan bent down to his horse's neck, the youngman fired, and the ball severed the feathers from the hat. The horsestarted, brushed against the imprudent man, who thought by his strengthalone to stay the tempest, and he fell against the wall. D'Artagnanpulled up his horse, and whilst his musketeers continued to charge, hereturned and bent with drawn sword over the man he had knocked down.

  "Oh, sir!" exclaimed Raoul, recognizing the young man as having seen himin the Rue Cocatrix, "spare him! it is his son!"

  D'Artagnan's arm dropped to his side. "Ah, you are his son!" he said;"that is a different thing."

  "Sir, I surrender," said Louvieres, presenting his unloaded musket tothe officer.

  "Eh, no! do not surrender, egad! On the contrary, be off, and quickly.If I take you, you will be hung!"

  The young man did not wait to be told twice, but passing under thehorse's head disappeared at the corner of the Rue Guenegaud.

  "I'faith!" said D'Artagnan to Raoul, "you were just in time to stay myhand. He was a dead man; and on my honor, if I had discovered that itwas his son, I should have regretted having killed him."

  "Ah! sir!" said Raoul, "allow me, after thanking you for that poorfellow's life, to thank you on my own account. I too, sir, was almostdead when you arrived."

  "Wait, wait, young man; do not fatigue yourself with speaking. We cantalk of it afterward."

  Then seeing that the musketeers had cleared the Quai from the Pont Neufto the Quai Saint Michael, he raised his sword for them to double theirspeed. The musketeers trotted up, and at the same time the ten men whomD'Artagnan had given to Comminges appeared.

  "Halloo!" cried D'Artagnan; "has something fresh happened?"

  "Eh, sir!" replied the sergeant, "their vehicle has broken down a secondtime; it really must be doomed."

  "They are bad managers," said D'Artagnan, shrugging his shoulders. "Whena carriage is chosen, it ought to be strong. The carriage in which aBroussel is to be arrested ought to be able to bear ten thousand men."

  "What are your commands, lieutenant?"

  "Take the detachment and conduct him to his place."

  "But you will be left alone?"

  "Certainly. So you suppose I have need of an escort? Go."

  The musketeers set off and D'Artagnan was left alone with Raoul.

  "Now," he said, "are you in pain?"

  "Yes; my head is not only swimming but burning."

  "What's the matter with this head?" said D'Artagnan, raising thebattered hat. "Ah! ah! a bruise."

  "Yes, I think I received a flower-pot upon my head."

  "Brutes!" said D'Artagnan. "But were you not on horseback? you havespurs."

  "Yes, but I got down to defend Monsieur de Comminges and my horse wastaken away. Here it is, I see."

  At this very moment Friquet passed, mounted on Raoul's horse, waving hisparti-colored cap an
d crying, "Broussel! Broussel!"

  "Halloo! stop, rascal!" cried D'Artagnan. "Bring hither that horse."

  Friquet heard perfectly, but he pretended not to do so and tried tocontinue his road. D'Artagnan felt inclined for an instant to pursueMaster Friquet, but not wishing to leave Raoul alone he contentedhimself with taking a pistol from the holster and cocking it.

  Friquet had a quick eye and a fine ear. He saw D'Artagnan's movement,heard the sound of the click, and stopped at once.

  "Ah! it is you, your honor," he said, advancing toward D'Artagnan; "andI am truly pleased to meet you."

  D'Artagnan looked attentively at Friquet and recognized the littlechorister of the Rue de la Calandre.

  "Ah! 'tis thou, rascal!" said he, "come here: so thou hast changed thytrade; thou art no longer a choir boy nor a tavern boy; thou hast becomea horse stealer?"

  "Ah, your honor, how can you say so?" exclaimed Friquet. "I was seekingthe gentleman to whom this horse belongs--an officer, brave and handsomeas a youthful Caesar;" then, pretending to see Raoul for the first time:

  "Ah! but if I mistake not," continued he, "here he is; you won't forgetthe boy, sir."

  Raoul put his hand in his pocket.

  "What are you about?" asked D'Artagnan.

  "To give ten francs to this honest fellow," replied Raoul, taking apistole from his pocket.

  "Ten kicks on his back!" said D'Artagnan; "be off, you little villain,and forget not that I have your address."

  Friquet, who did not expect to be let off so cheaply, bounded off like agazelle up the Quai a la Rue Dauphine, and disappeared. Raoul mountedhis horse, and both leisurely took their way to the Rue Tiquetonne.

  D'Artagnan watched over the youth as if he had been his own son.

  They arrived without accident at the Hotel de la Chevrette.

  The handsome Madeleine announced to D'Artagnan that Planchet hadreturned, bringing Mousqueton with him, who had heroically borne theextraction of the ball and was as well as his state would permit.

  D'Artagnan desired Planchet to be summoned, but he had disappeared.

  "Then bring some wine," said D'Artagnan. "You are much pleased withyourself," said he to Raoul when they were alone, "are you not?"

  "Well, yes," replied Raoul. "It seems to me I did my duty. I defendedthe king."

  "And who told you to defend the king?"

  "The Comte de la Fere himself."

  "Yes, the king; but to-day you have not fought for the king, you havefought for Mazarin; which is not quite the same thing."

  "But you yourself?"

  "Oh, for me; that is another matter. I obey my captain's orders. As foryou, your captain is the prince, understand that rightly; you have noother. But has one ever seen such a wild fellow," continued he, "makinghimself a Mazarinist and helping to arrest Broussel! Breathe not a wordof that, or the Comte de la Fere will be furious."

  "You think the count will be angry with me?"

  "Think it? I'm certain of it; were it not for that, I should thank you,for you have worked for us. However, I scold you instead of him, and inhis place; the storm will blow over more easily, believe me. Andmoreover, my dear child," continued D'Artagnan, "I am making use of theprivilege conceded to me by your guardian."

  "I do not understand you, sir," said Raoul.

  D'Artagnan rose, and taking a letter from his writing-desk, presented itto Raoul. The face of the latter became serious when he had cast hiseyes upon the paper.

  "Oh, mon Dieu!" he said, raising his fine eyes to D'Artagnan, moist withtears, "the count has left Paris without seeing me?"

  "He left four days ago," said D'Artagnan.

  "But this letter seems to intimate that he is about to incur danger,perhaps death."

  "He--he--incur danger of death! No, be not anxious; he is traveling onbusiness and will return ere long. I hope you have no repugnance toaccept me as your guardian in the interim."

  "Oh, no, Monsieur d'Artagnan," said Raoul, "you are such a bravegentleman and the Comte de la Fere has so much affection for you!"

  "Eh! Egad! love me too; I will not torment you much, but only oncondition that you become a Frondist, my young friend, and a heartyFrondist, too."

  "But can I continue to visit Madame de Chevreuse?"

  "I should say you could! and the coadjutor and Madame de Longueville;and if the worthy Broussel were there, whom you so stupidly helpedarrest, I should tell you to excuse yourself to him at once and kiss himon both cheeks."

  "Well, sir, I will obey you, although I do not understand you."

  "It is unnecessary for you to understand. Hold," continued D'Artagnan,turning toward the door, which had just opened, "here is Monsieur duVallon, who comes with his coat torn."

  "Yes, but in exchange," said Porthos, covered with perspiration andsoiled by dust, "in exchange, I have torn many skins. Those wretcheswanted to take away my sword! Deuce take 'em, what a popular commotion!"continued the giant, in his quiet manner; "but I knocked down more thantwenty with the hilt of Balizarde. A draught of wine, D'Artagnan."

  "Oh, I'll answer for you," said the Gascon, filling Porthos's glass tothe brim; "but when you have drunk, give me your opinion."

  "Upon what?" asked Porthos.

  "Look here," resumed D'Artagnan; "here is Monsieur de Bragelonne, whodetermined at all risks to aid the arrest of Broussel and whom I hadgreat difficulty to prevent defending Monsieur de Comminges."

  "The devil!" said Porthos; "and his guardian, what would he have said tothat?"

  "Do you hear?" interrupted D'Artagnan; "become a Frondist, my friend,belong to the Fronde, and remember that I fill the count's place ineverything;" and he jingled his money.

  "Will you come?" said he to Porthos.

  "Where?" asked Porthos, filling a second glass of wine.

  "To present our respects to the cardinal."

  Porthos swallowed the second glass with the same grace with which he hadimbibed the first, took his beaver and followed D'Artagnan. As forRaoul, he remained bewildered with what he had seen, having beenforbidden by D'Artagnan to leave the room until the tumult was over.