As soon as the king saw the officer enter, he dismissed hisvalet de chambre and his gentleman. "Who is on dutyto-morrow, monsieur?" asked he.

The lieutenant bowed his head with military politeness andreplied, "I am, sire."

"What! still you?"

"Always I, sire."

"How can that be, monsieur?"

"Sire, when traveling, the musketeers supply all the postsof your majesty's household; that is to say, yours, hermajesty the queen's, and monsieur le cardinal's, the latterof whom borrows of the king the best part, or rather themost numerous part, of the royal guard."

"But in the interims?"

"There are no interims, sire, but for twenty or thirty menwho rest out of a hundred and twenty. At the Louvre it isvery different, and if I were at the Louvre I should relyupon my brigadier; but, when traveling, sire, no one knowswhat may happen, and I prefer doing my duty myself."

"Then you are on guard every day?"

"And every night. Yes, sire."

"Monsieur, I cannot allow that - I will have you rest."

"That is very kind, sire, but I will not."

"What do you say?" said the king who did not at firstcomprehend the full meaning of this reply.

"I say, sire, that I will not expose myself to the chance ofa fault. If the devil had a trick to play on me, youunderstand, sire, as he knows the man with whom he has todeal, he would choose the moment when I should not be there.My duty and the peace of my conscience before everything,sire."

"But such duty will kill you, monsieur."

"Eh! sire, I have performed it for thirty years, and in allFrance and Navarre there is not a man in better health thanI am. Moreover, I entreat you, sire, not to trouble yourselfabout me. That would appear very strange to me, seeing thatI am not accustomed to it."

The king cut short the conversation by a fresh question."Shall you be here, then, to-morrow morning?"

"As at present? yes, sire."

The king walked several times up and down his chamber; itwas very plain that he burned with a desire to speak, butthat he was restrained by some fear or other. Thelieutenant, standing motionless, hat in hand, watched himmaking these evolutions, and, whilst looking at him,grumbled to himself, biting his mustache:

"He has not half a crown worth of resolution! Paroled'honneur! I would lay a wager he does not speak at all!"

The king continued to walk about, casting from time to timea side glance at the lieutenant. "He is the very image ofhis father," continued the latter, in his secret soliloquy,"he is at once proud, avaricious, and timid. The devil takehis master, say I."

The king stopped. "Lieutenant," said he.

"I am here, sire."

"Why did you cry out this evening, down below in the salons- `The king's service! His majesty's musketeers!'"

"Because you gave me the order, sire."

"I?"

"Yourself."

"Indeed, I did not say a word, monsieur."

"Sire, an order is given by a sign, by a gesture, by aglance, as intelligibly, as freely, and as clearly as byword of mouth. A servant who has nothing but ears is nothalf a good servant."

"Your eyes are very penetrating, then, monsieur."

"How is that, sire?"

"Because they see what is not."

"My eyes are good, though, sire, although they have servedtheir master long and much: when they have anything to see,they seldom miss the opportunity. Now, this evening, theysaw that your majesty colored with endeavoring to concealthe inclination to yawn, that your majesty looked witheloquent supplications, first at his eminence, and then ather majesty, the queen-mother, and at length to the entrancedoor, and they so thoroughly remarked all I have said, thatthey saw your majesty's lips articulate these words: `Whowill get me out of this?'"

"Monsieur!"

"Or something to this effect, sire - `My musketeers!' Icould then no longer hesitate. That look was for me - theorder was for me. I cried out instantly, `His Majesty'smusketeers!' And, besides, that was shown to be true, sire,not only by your majesty's not saying I was wrong, butproving I was right by going out at once."

The king turned away to smile; then, after a few seconds, heagain fixed his limpid eye upon that countenance, sointelligent, so bold, and so firm, that it might have beensaid to be the proud and energetic profile of the eaglefacing the sun. "That is all very well," said he, after ashort silence, during which he endeavored, in vain, to makehis officer lower his eyes.

But seeing the king said no more, the latter pirouetted onhis heels, and took three steps towards the door, muttering,"He will not speak! Mordioux! he will not speak!"

"Thank you, monsieur," said the king at last.

"Humph!" continued the lieutenant; "there was only wantingthat. Blamed for having been less of a fool than anothermight have been." And he went to the door, allowing hisspurs to jingle in true military style. But when he was onthe threshold, feeling that the king's desire drew him back,he returned.

"Has your majesty told me all?" asked he, in a tone wecannot describe, but which, without appearing to solicit theroyal confidence, contained so much persuasive frankness,that the king immediately replied:

"Yes, but draw near, monsieur."

"Now then," murmured the officer, "he is coming to it atlast."

"Listen to me."

"I shall not lose a word, sire."

"You will mount on horseback to-morrow, at about half-pastfour in the morning, and you will have a horse saddled forme."

"From your majesty's stables?"

"No, one of your musketeers' horses."

"Very well, sire. Is that all?"

"And you will accompany me."

"Alone?"

"Alone."

"Shall I come to seek your majesty, or shall I wait?"

"You will wait for me."

"Where, sire?"

"At the little park-gate."

The lieutenant bowed, understanding that the king had toldhim all he had to say. In fact, the king dismissed him witha gracious wave of the hand. The officer left the chamber ofthe king, and returned to place himself philosophically inhis fauteuil, where, far from sleeping, as might have beenexpected, considering how late it was, he began to reflectmore deeply than he had ever reflected before. The result ofthese reflections was not so melancholy as the precedingones had been.

"Come, he has begun," said he. "Love urges him on, and hegoes forward - he goes forward! The king is nobody in hisown palace; but the man perhaps may prove to be worthsomething. Well, we shall see to-morrow morning. Oh! oh!"cried he, all at once starting up, "that is a gigantic idea,mordioux! and perhaps my fortune depends, at least, uponthat idea!" After this exclamation, the officer arose andmarched, with his hands in the pockets of his justacorps,about the immense ante-chamber that served him as anapartment. The wax-light flamed furiously under the effectsof a fresh breeze which stole in through the chinks of thedoor and the window, and cut the salle diagonally. It threwout a reddish, unequal light, sometimes brilliant, sometimesdull, and the tall shadow of the lieutenant was seenmarching on the wall, in profile, like a figure by Callot,with his long sword and feathered hat.

"Certainly!" said he, "I am mistaken if Mazarin is notlaying a snare for this amorous boy. Mazarin, this evening,gave an address, and made an appointment as complacently asM. Dangeau himself could have done - I heard him, and Iknow the meaning of his words. `To-morrow morning,' said he,`they will pass opposite the bridge of Blois. Mordioux! thatis clear enough, and particularly for a lover. That is thecause of this embarrassment; that is the cause of thishesitation; that is the cause of this order - `Monsieur thelieutenant of my musketeers, be on horseback to-morrow atfour o'clock in the morning.' Which is as clear as if he hadsaid, - `Monsieur the lieutenant of my musketeers,to-morrow, at four, at the bridge of Blois - do youunderstand?' Here is a state secret, then, which I, humbleas I am, have in my possession, while it is in action. Andhow do I get it? Because I have good eyes, as his majestyjust now said. They say he loves this little Italian dollfuriously. They say he threw himself at his mother's feet,to beg her to allow him to marry her. They say the queenwent so far as to consult the court of Rome, whether such amarriage, contracted against her will, would be valid. Oh,if I were but twenty-five! If I had by my side those I nolonger have! If I did not despise the whole world mostprofoundly, I would embroil Mazarin with the queen-mother,France with Spain, and I would make a queen after my ownfashion. But let that pass." And the lieutenant snapped hisfingers in disdain.

"This miserable Italian - this poor creature - this sordidwretch - who has just refused the king of England amillion, would not perhaps give me a thousand pistoles forthe news I could carry him. Mordioux! I am falling intosecond childhood - I am becoming stupid indeed! The idea ofMazarin giving anything! ha! ha! ha!" and he laughed in asubdued voice.

"Well, let us go to sleep - let us go to sleep; and thesooner the better. My mind is wearied with my evening'swork, and will see things to-morrow more clearly thanto-day."

And upon this recommendation, made to himself, he folded hiscloak around him, looking with contempt upon his royalneighbor. Five minutes after this he was asleep, with hishands clenched and his lips apart, giving escape, not to hissecret, but to a sonorous sound, which rose and spreadfreely beneath the majestic roof of the ante-chamber.