It was seven o'clock in the morning, the first rays of daylightened the pools of the marsh, in which the sun wasreflected like a red ball, when Athos, awaking and openingthe window of his bed-chamber, which looked out upon thebanks of the river, perceived, at fifteen paces' distancefrom him, the sergeant and the men who had accompanied himthe evening before, and who, after having deposited thecasks at his house, had returned to the camp by the causewayon the right.

Why had these men come back after having returned to thecamp? That was the question which first presented itself toAthos. The sergeant, with his head raised, appeared to bewatching the moment when the gentleman should appear, toaddress him. Athos, surprised to see these men, whom he hadseen depart the night before, could not refrain fromexpressing his astonishment to them.

"There is nothing surprising in that, monsieur," said thesergeant; "for yesterday the general commanded me to watchover your safety, and I thought it right to obey thatorder."

"Is the general at the camp?" asked Athos.

"No doubt he is, monsieur; as when he left you he was goingback."

"Well, wait for me a moment; I am going thither to render anaccount of the fidelity with which you fulfilled your duty,and to get my sword, which I left upon the table in thetent."

"That happens very well," said the sergeant, "for we wereabout to request you to do so."

Athos fancied he could detect an air of equivocal bonhomieupon the countenance of the sergeant; but the adventure ofthe vault might have excited the curiosity of the man, andit was not surprising that he allowed some of the feelingswhich agitated his mind to appear in his face. Athos closedthe doors carefully, confiding the keys to Grimaud, who hadchosen his domicile beneath the shed itself, which led tothe cellar where the casks had been deposited. The sergeantescorted the Comte de la Fere to the camp. There a freshguard awaited him, and relieved the four men who hadconducted Athos.

This fresh guard was commanded by the aid-de-camp Digby,who, on their way, fixed upon Athos looks so littleencouraging, that the Frenchman asked himself whence arose,with regard to him, this vigilance and this severity, whenthe evening before he had been left perfectly free. Henevertheless continued his way to the headquarters, keepingto himself the observations which men and things forced himto make. He found in the general's tent, to which he hadbeen introduced the evening before, three superior officers:these were Monk's lieutenant and two colonels. Athosperceived his sword; it was still on the table where he leftit. Neither of the officers had seen Athos, consequentlyneither of them knew him. Monk's lieutenant asked, at theappearance of Athos, if that were the same gentleman withwhom the General had left the tent.

"Yes, your honor," said the sergeant; "it is the same."

"But," said Athos haughtily, "I do not deny it, I think; andnow, gentlemen, in turn, permit me to ask you to whatpurpose these questions are asked, and particularly someexplanation upon the tone in which you ask them?"

"Monsieur," said the lieutenant, "if we address thesequestions to you, it is because we have a right to do so,and if we make them in a particular tone, it is because thattone, believe me, agrees with the circumstances."

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "you do not know who I am; but Imust tell you I acknowledge no one here but General Monk asmy equal. Where is he? Let me be conducted to him, and if hehas any questions to put to me, I will answer him and to hissatisfaction, I hope. I repeat, gentlemen, where is thegeneral?"

"Eh! good God! you know better than we do where he is," saidthe lieutenant.

"I?"

"Yes, you."

"Monsieur," said Athos, "I do not understand you."

"You will understand me - and, in the first place, do notspeak so loud."

Athos smiled disdainfully.

"We don't ask you to smile," said one of the colonelswarmly; "we require you to answer."

"And I, gentlemen, declare to you that I will not replyuntil I am in the presence of the general."

"But," replied the same colonel who had already spoken, "youknow very well that is impossible."

"This is the second time I have received this strange replyto the wish I express," said Athos. "Is the general absent?"

This question was made with such apparent good faith, andthe gentleman wore an air of such natural surprise, that thethree officers exchanged a meaning look. The lieutenant, bya tacit convention with the other two, was spokesman."

"Monsieur, the general left you last night on the borders ofthe monastery."

"Yes, monsieur."

"And you went - - "

"It is not for me to answer you, but for those who haveaccompanied me. They were your soldiers, ask them."

"But if we please to question you?"

"Then it will please me to reply, monsieur, that I do notrecognize any one here, that I know no one here but thegeneral, and that it is to him alone I will reply."

"So be it, monsieur; but as we are the masters, weconstitute ourselves a council of war, and when you arebefore judges you must reply."

The countenance of Athos expressed nothing but astonishmentand disdain, instead of the terror the officers expected toread in it at this threat.

"Scotch or English judges upon me, a subject of the king ofFrance; upon me, placed under the safeguard of Britishhonor! You are mad, gentlemen!" said Athos, shrugging hisshoulders.

The officers looked at each other. "Then, monsieur," saidone of them, "do you pretend not to know where the generalis?"

"To that, monsieur, I have already replied."

"Yes, but you have already replied an incredible thing."

"It is true, nevertheless, gentlemen. Men of my rank are notgenerally liars. I am a gentleman, I have told you, and whenI have at my side the sword which, by an excess of delicacy,I left last night upon the table whereon it still lies,believe me, no man says that to me which I am unwilling tohear. I am at this moment disarmed; if you pretend to be myjudges, try me; if you are but my executioners, kill me."

"But, monsieur - - " asked the lieutenant, in a morecourteous voice, struck with the lofty coolness of Athos.

"Sir, I came to speak confidentially with your general aboutaffairs of importance. It was not an ordinary welcome thathe gave me. The accounts your soldiers can give you mayconvince you of that. If, then, the general received me inthat manner, he knew my titles to his esteem. Now, you donot suspect, I should think that I should reveal my secretsto you, and still less his."

"But these casks, what do they contain?"

"Have you not put that question to your soldiers? What wastheir reply?"

"That they contained powder and ball."

"From whom had they that information? They must have toldyou that."

"From the general; but we are not dupes."

"Beware, gentlemen, it is not to me you are now giving thelie, it is to your leader."

The officers again looked at each other. Athos continued:"Before your soldiers the general told me to wait a week,and at the expiration of that week he would give me theanswer he had to make me. Have I fled away? No, I wait."

"He told you to wait a week!" cried the lieutenant.

"He told me that so clearly, sir, that I have a sloop at themouth of the river, which I could with ease have joinedyesterday, and embarked. Now, if I have remained, it wasonly in compliance with the desire of your general, hishonor having requested me not to depart without a lastaudience, which fixed at a week hence. I repeat to you,then, I am waiting."

The lieutenant turned towards the other officers, and said,in a low voice: "If this gentleman speaks truth, there maystill be some hope. The general may be carrying out somenegotiations so secret, that he thought it imprudent toinform even us. Then the time limited for his absence wouldbe a week." Then, turning towards Athos: "Monsieur," saidhe, "your declaration is of the most serious importance; areyou willing to repeat it under the seal of an oath?"

"Sir," replied Athos, "I have always lived in a world wheremy simple word was regarded as the most sacred of oaths."

"This time, however, monsieur, the circumstance is moregrave than any you may have been placed in. The safety ofthe whole army is at stake. Reflect, the general hasdisappeared, and our search for him has been vain. Is thisdisappearance natural? Has a crime been committed? Are wenot bound to carry our investigations to extremity? Have weany right to wait with patience? At this moment, everything,monsieur, depends upon the words you are about topronounce."

"Thus questioned, gentlemen, I no longer hesitate," saidAthos. "Yes, I came hither to converse confidentially withGeneral Monk, and ask him for an answer regarding certaininterests; yes, the general being, doubtless, unable topronounce before the expected battle, begged me to remain aweek in the house I inhabit, promising me that in a week Ishould see him again. Yes, all this is true, and I swear itby the God who is the absolute master of my life and yours."Athos pronounced these words with so much grandeur andsolemnity, that the three officers were almost convinced.Nevertheless, one of the colonels made a last attempt.

"Monsieur," said he, "although we may be now persuaded ofthe truth of what you say, there is yet a strange mystery inall this. The general is too prudent a man to have thusabandoned his army on the eve of a battle without having atleast given notice of it to one of us. As for myself, Icannot believe but that some strange event has been thecause of this disappearance. Yesterday some foreignfishermen came to sell their fish here; they were lodgedyonder among the Scots; that is to say, on the road thegeneral took with this gentleman, to go to the abbey, and toreturn from it. It was one of those fishermen thataccompanied the general with a light. And this morning, barkand fishermen have all disappeared, carried away by thenight's tide."

"For my part," said the lieutenant, "I see nothing in thatthat is not quite natural, for these people were notprisoners."

"No, but I repeat it was one of them who lighted the generaland this gentleman to the abbey, and Digby assures us thatthe general had strong suspicions concerning those people.Now, who can say whether these people were not connectedwith this gentleman; and that, the blow being struck, thegentleman, who is evidently brave, did not remain toreassure us by his presence, and to prevent our researchesbeing made in a right direction?"

This speech made an impression upon the other two officers.

"Sir," said Athos, "permit me to tell you, that yourreasoning, though specious in appearance, nevertheless wantsconsistency, as regards me. I have remained, you say, todivert suspicion. Well! on the contrary, suspicions arise inme as well as in you; and I say, it is impossible,gentlemen, that the general, on the eve of a battle, shouldleave his army without saying anything to at least one ofhis officers. Yes, there is some strange event connectedwith this; instead of being idle and waiting, you mustdisplay all the activity and all the vigilance possible. Iam your prisoner, gentlemen, upon parole or otherwise. Myhonor is concerned in ascertaining what has become ofGeneral Monk, and to such a point, that if you were to sayto me, `Depart!' I should reply `No, I will remain!' And ifyou were to ask my opinion, I should add: `Yes, the generalis the victim of some conspiracy, for, if he had intended toleave the camp he would have told me so.' Seek then, searchthe land, search the sea; the general has not gone of hisown good will."

The lieutenant made a sign to the other two officers.

"No, monsieur," said he, "no; in your turn you go too far.The general has nothing to suffer from these events, and, nodoubt, has directed them. What Monk is now doing he hasoften done before. We are wrong in alarming ourselves; hisabsence will, doubtless, be of short duration; therefore,let us beware, lest by a pusillanimity which the generalwould consider a crime, of making his absence public, and bythat means demoralize the army. The general gives a strikingproof of his confidence in us; let us show ourselves worthyof it. Gentlemen, let the most profound silence cover allthis with an impenetrable veil; we will detain thisgentleman, not from mistrust of him with regard to thecrime, but to assure more effectively the secret of thegeneral's absence by keeping among ourselves; therefore,until fresh orders, the gentleman will remain atheadquarters."

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "you forget that last night thegeneral confided to me a deposit over which I am bound towatch. Give me whatever guard you like, chain me if youlike, but leave me the house I inhabit for my prison. Thegeneral, on his return, would reproach you, I swear on thehonor of a gentleman, for having displeased him in this."

"So be it, monsieur," said the lieutenant; "return to yourabode."

Then they placed over Athos a guard of fifty men, whosurrounded his house, without losing sight of him for aminute.

The secret remained secure, but hours, days passed awaywithout the general's returning, or without anything beingheard of him.