M. de Treville was at the moment in rather ill-humor,nevertheless he saluted the young man politely, who bowed to thevery ground; and he smiled on receiving D'Artagnan's response,the Bearnese accent of which recalled to him at the same timehis youth and his country - a double remembrance which makes a mansmile at all ages; but stepping toward the antechamber and makinga sign to D'Artagnan with his hand, as if to ask his permissionto finish with others before he began with him, he called threetimes, with a louder voice at each time, so that he ran throughthe intervening tones between the imperative accent and the angryaccent.

"Athos! Porthos! Aramis!"

The two Musketeers with whom we have already made acquaintance,and who answered to the last of these three names, immediatelyquitted the group of which they had formed a part, and advancedtoward the cabinet, the door of which closed after them as soonas they had entered. Their appearance, although it was not quiteat ease, excited by its carelessness, at once full of dignity andsubmission, the admiration of D'Artagnan, who beheld in these twomen demigods, and in their leader an Olympian Jupiter, armed withall his thunders.

When the two Musketeers had entered; when the door was closedbehind them; when the buzzing murmur of the antechamber, to whichthe summons which had been made had doubtless furnished freshfood, had recommenced; when M. de Treville had three or fourtimes paced in silence, and with a frowning brow, the wholelength of his cabinet, passing each time before Porthos andAramis, who were as upright and silent as if on parade - hestopped all at once full in front of them, and covering them fromhead to foot with an angry look, "Do you know what the king saidto me," cried he, "and that no longer ago then yesterdayevening - do you know, gentlemen?"

"No," replied the two Musketeers, after a moment's silence, "no,sir, we do not."

"But I hope that you will do us the honor to tell us," addedAramis, in his politest tone and with his most graceful bow.

"He told me that he should henceforth recruit his Musketeers fromamong the Guards of Monsieur the Cardinal."

"The Guards of the cardinal! And why so?" asked Porthos, warmly.

"Because he plainly perceives that his piquette* stands in needof being enlivened by a mixture of good wine."

*A watered liquor, made from the second pressing of the grape.

The two Musketeers reddened to the whites of their eyes.D'Artagnan did not know where he was, and wished himself ahundred feet underground.

"Yes, yes," continued M. de Treville, growing warmer as he spoke,"and his majesty was right; for, upon my honor, it is true thatthe Musketeers make but a miserable figure at court. Thecardinal related yesterday while playing with the king, with anair of condolence very displeasing to me, that the day beforeyesterday those DAMNED MUSKETEERS, those DAREDEVILS - he dweltupon those words with an ironical tone still more displeasing tome - those BRAGGARTS, added he, glancing at me with his tiger-cat's eye, had made a riot in the Rue Ferou in a cabaret, andthat a party of his Guards (I thought he was going to laugh in myface) had been forced to arrest the rioters! MORBLEU! You mustknow something about it. Arrest Musketeers! You were amongthem - you were! Don't deny it; you were recognized, and thecardinal named you. But it's all my fault; yes, it's all myfault, because it is myself who selects my men. You, Aramis, whythe devil did you ask me for a uniform when you would have beenso much better in a cassock? And you, Porthos, do you only wearsuch a fine golden baldric to suspend a sword of straw from it?And Athos - I don't see Athos. Where is he?"

"Ill - very ill, say you? And of what malady?"

"It is feared that it may be the smallpox, sir," replied Porthos,desirous of taking his turn in the conversation; "and what isserious is that it will certainly spoil his face."

"The smallpox! That's a great story to tell me, Porthos! Sickof the smallpox at his age! No, no; but wounded without doubt,killed, perhaps. Ah, if I knew! S'blood! Messieurs Musketeers,I will not have this haunting of bad places, this quarreling inthe streets, this swordplay at the crossways; and above all, Iwill not have occasion given for the cardinal's Guards, who arebrave, quiet, skillful men who never put themselves in aposition to be arrested, and who, besides, never allow themselvesto be arrested, to laugh at you! I am sure of it - they wouldprefer dying on the spot to being arrested or taking back a step.To save yourselves, to scamper away, to flee - that is good forthe king's Musketeers!"

Porthos and Aramis trembled with rage. They could willingly havestrangled M. de Treville, if, at the bottom of all this, they hadnot felt it was the great love he bore them which made him speakthus. They stamped upon the carpet with their feet; they bittheir lips till the blood came, and grasped the hilts of theirswords with all their might. All without had heard, as we havesaid, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis called, and had guessed, from M.de Treville's tone of voice, that he was very angry aboutsomething. Ten curious heads were glued to the tapestry andbecame pale with fury; for their ears, closely applied to thedoor, did not lose a syllable of what he said, while their mouthsrepeated as he went on, the insulting expressions of the captainto all the people in the antechamber. In an instant, from thedoor of the cabinet to the street gate, the whole hotel wasboiling.

"Ah! The king's Musketeers are arrested by the Guards of thecardinal, are they?" continued M. de Treville, as furious atheart as his soldiers, but emphasizing his words and plungingthem, one by one, so to say, like so many blows of a stiletto,into the bosoms of his auditors. "What! Six of his Eminence'sGuards arrest six of his Majesty's Musketeers! MORBLEU! My partis taken! I will go straight to the louvre; I will give in myresignation as captain of the king's Musketeers to take alieutenancy in the cardinal's Guards, and if he refuses me,MORBLEU! I will turn abbe."

At these words, the murmur without became an explosion; nothingwas to be heard but oaths and blasphemies. The MORBLUES, theSANG DIEUS, the MORTS TOUTS LES DIABLES, crossed one another inthe air. D'Artagnan looked for some tapestry behind which hemight hide himself, and felt an immense inclination to crawlunder the table.

"Well, my Captain," said Porthos, quite beside himself, "thetruth is that we were six against six. But we were not capturedby fair means; and before we had time to draw our swords, two ofour party were dead, and Athos, grievously wounded, was verylittle better. For you know Athos. Well, Captain, he endeavoredtwice to get up, and fell again twice. And we did notsurrender - no! They dragged us away by force. On the way weescaped. Asfor Athos, they believed him to be dead, and left him very quieton the field of battle, not thinking it worth the trouble tocarry him away. That's the whole story. What the devil,Captain, one cannot win all one's battles! The great Pompey lostthat of Pharsalia; and Francis the First, who was, as I haveheard say, as good as other folks, nevertheless lost the Battleof Pavia."

"And I have the honor of assuring you that I killed one of themwith his own sword," said Aramis; "for mine was broken at thefirst parry. Killed him, or poniarded him, sir, as is mostagreeable to you."

"I did not know that," replied M. de Treville, in a somewhatsoftened tone. "The cardinal exaggerated, as I perceive."

"But pray, sir," continued Aramis, who, seeing his captain becomeappeased, ventured to risk a prayer, "do not say that Athos iswounded. He would be in despair if that should come to the earsof the king; and as the wound is very serious, seeing that aftercrossing the shoulder it penetrates into the chest, it is to be feared - "

At this instant the tapestry was raised and a noble and handsomehead, but frightfully pale, appeared under the fringe.

"Athos!" cried the two Musketeers.

"Athos!" repeated M. de Treville himself.

"You have sent for me, sir," said Athos to M. de Treville, in afeeble yet perfectly calm voice, "you have sent for me, as mycomrades inform me, and I have hastened to receive your orders.I am here; what do you want with me?"

And at these words, the Musketeer, in irreproachable costume,belted as usual, with a tolerably firm step, entered the cabinet.M. de Treville, moved to the bottom of his heart by this proof ofcourage, sprang toward him.

"I was about to say to these gentlemen," added he, "that I forbidmy Musketeers to expose their lives needlessly; for brave men arevery dear to the king, and the king knows that his Musketeers arethe bravest on the earth. Your hand, Athos!"

And without waiting for the answer of the newcomer to this proofof affection, M. de Treville seized his right hand and pressed itwith all his might, without perceiving that Athos, whatever mightbe his self-command, allowed a slight murmur of pain to escapehim, and if possible, grew paler than he was before.

The door had remained open, so strong was the excitement producedby the arrival of Athos, whose wound, though kept as a secret,was known to all. A burst of satisfaction hailed the last wordsof the captain; and two or three heads, carried away by theenthusiasm of the moment, appeared through the openings of thetapestry. M. de Treville was about to reprehend this breach ofthe rules of etiquette, when he felt the hand of Athos, who hadrallied all his energies to contend against pain, at lengthovercome by it, fell upon the floor as if he were dead.

"A surgeon!" cried M. de Treville, "mine! The king's! The best! Asurgeon! Or, s'blood, my brave Athos will die!"

At the cries of M. de Treville, the whole assemblage rushed intothe cabinet, he not thinking to shut the door against anyone, andall crowded round the wounded man. But all this eager attentionmight have been useless if the doctor was so loudly called forhad chanced to be in the hotel. He pushed through the crowd,approached Athos, still insensible, and as all this noise andcommotion inconvenienced him greatly, he required, as the firstand most urgent thing, that the Musketeer should be carried intoan adjoining chamber. Immediately M. de Treville opened andpointed the way to Porthos and Aramis, who bore their comrade intheir arms. Behind this group walked the surgeon; and behind thesurgeon the door closed.

The cabinet of M. de Treville, generally held so sacred, becamein an instant the annex of the antechamber. Everyone spoke,harangued, and vociferated, swearing, cursing, and consigning thecardinal and his Guards to all the devils.

An instant after, Porthos and Aramis re-entered, the surgeon andM. de Treville alone remaining with the wounded.

At length, M. de Treville himself returned. The injured man hadrecovered his senses. The surgeon declared that the situation ofthe Musketeer had nothing in it to render his friends uneasy, hisweakness having been purely and simply caused by loss of blood.

Then M. de Treville made a sign with his hand, and all retiredexcept D'Artagnan, who did not forget that he had an audience,and with the tenacity of a Gascon remained in his place.

When all had gone out and the door was closed, M. de Treville, onturning round, found himself alone with the young man. The eventwhich had occurred had in some degree broken the thread of hisideas. He inquired what was the will of his persevering visitor.D'Artagnan then repeated his name, and in an instant recoveringall his remembrances of the present and the past, M. de Trevillegrasped the situation.

"Pardon me," said he, smiling, "pardon me my dear compatriot, butI had wholly forgotten you. But what help is there for it! Acaptain is nothing but a father of a family, charged with even agreater responsibility than the father of an ordinary family.Soldiers are big children; but as I maintain that the orders ofthe king, and more particularly the orders of the cardinal,should be executed - "

D'Artagnan could not restrain a smile. By this smile M. deTreville judged that he had not to deal with a fool, and changingthe conversation, came straight to the point.

"I respected your father very much," said he. "What can I do forthe son? Tell me quickly; my time is not my own."

"Monsieur," said D'Artagnan, "on quitting Tarbes and cominghither, it was my intention to request of you, in remembrance ofthe friendship which you have not forgotten, the uniform of aMusketeer; but after all that I have seen during the last twohours, I comprehend that such a favor is enormous, and tremblelest I should not merit it."

"It is indeed a favor, young man," replied M. de Treville, "butit may not be so far beyond your hopes as you believe, or ratheras you appear to believe. But his majesty's decision is alwaysnecessary; and I inform you with regret that no one becomes aMusketeer without the preliminary ordeal of several campaigns,certain brilliant actions, or a service of two years in someother regiment less favored than ours."

D'Artagnan bowed without replying, feeling his desire to don theMusketeer's uniform vastly increased by the great difficultieswhich preceded the attainment of it.

"But," continued M. de Treville, fixing upon his compatriot alook so piercing that it might be said he wished to read thethoughts of his heart, "on account of my old companion, yourfather, as I have said, I will do something for you, young man.Our recruits from Bearn are not generally very rich, and I haveno reason to think matters have much changed in this respectsince I left the province. I dare say you have not brought toolarge a stock of money with you?"

D'Artagnan drew himself up with a proud air which plainly said,"I ask alms of no man."

"Oh, that's very well, young man," continued M. de Treville,"that's all very well. I know these airs; I myself came to Pariswith four crowns in my purse, and would have fought with anyonewho dared to tell me I was not in a condition to purchase theLouvre."

D'Artagnan's bearing became still more imposing. Thanks to thesale of his horse, he commenced his career with four more crownsthan M. de Treville possessed at the commencement of his.

"You ought, I say, then, to husband the means you have, howeverlarge the sum may be; but you ought also to endeavor to perfectyourself in the exercises becoming a gentleman. I will write aletter today to the Director of the Royal Academy, and tomorrowhe will admit you without any expense to yourself. Do not refusethis little service. Our best-born and richest gentlemensometimes solicit it without being able to obtain it. You willlearn horsemanship, swordsmanship in all its branches, anddancing. You will make some desirable acquaintances; and fromtime to time you can call upon me to tell you how you are gettingon and to say whether I can be of further service to you."

D'Artagnan, stranger as he was to all the manners of a court,could not but perceive a little coldness in this reception.

"Alas, sir," said he, "I cannot but perceive how sadly I miss theletter of introduction which my father gave me to present toyou."

"I certainly am surprised," replied M. de Treville, "that youshould undertake so long a journey without that necessarypassport, the sole resource of us poor Bearnese."

"I had one, sir, and, thank God, such as I could wish," criedD'Artagnan; "but it was perfidiously stolen from me."

He then related the adventure of Meung, described the unknowngentleman with the greatest minuteness, and all with a warmth andtruthfulness that delighted M. de Treville.

"This is all very strange," said M. de Treville, after meditatinga minute; "you mentioned my name, then, aloud?"

"Yes, sir, I certainly committed that imprudence; but why shouldI have done otherwise? A name like yours must be as a buckler tome on my way. Judge if I should not put myself under itsprotection."

Flattery was at that period very current, and M. de Trevilleloved incense as well as a king, or even a cardinal. He couldnot refrain from a smile of visible satisfaction; but this smilesoon disappeared, and returning to the adventure of Meung, "Tellme," continued he, "had not this gentlemen a slight scar on hischeek?"

"Yes, such a one as would be made by the grazing of a ball."

"Was he not a fine-looking man?"

"Yes."

"Of lofty stature."

"Yes."

"Of complexion and brown hair?"

"Yes, yes, that is he; how is it, sir, that you are acquaintedwith this man? If I ever find him again - and I will find him, Iswear, were it in hell!"

"He was waiting for a woman," continued Treville.

"He departed immediately after having conversed for a minute withher whom he awaited."

"You know not the subject of their conversation?"

"He gave her a box, told her not to open it except in London."

"Was this woman English?"

"He called her Milady."

"It is he; it must be he!" murmured Treville. "I believed himstill at Brussels."

"Oh, sir, if you know who this man is," cried D'Artagnan, "tellme who he is, and whence he is. I will then release you from allyour promises - even that of procuring my admission into theMusketeers; for before everything, I wish to avenge myself."

"Beware, young man!" cried Treville. "If you see him coming onone side of the street, pass by on the other. Do not castyourself against such a rock; he would break you like glass."

"That will not prevent me," replied D'Artagnan, "if ever I findhim."

"In the meantime," said Treville, "seek him not - if I have aright to advise you."

All at once the captain stopped, as if struck by a suddensuspicion. This great hatred which the young traveler manifestedso loudly for this man, who - a rather improbable thing - hadstolen his father's letter from him - was there not some perfidyconcealed under this hatred? Might not this young man be sent byhis Eminence? Might he not have come for the purpose of laying asnare for him? This pretended D'Artagnan - was he not an emissaryof the cardinal, whom the cardinal sought to introduce intoTreville's house, to place near him, to win his confidence, andafterward to ruin him as had been done in a thousand otherinstances? He fixed his eyes upon D'Artagnan even more earnestlythan before. He was moderately reassured however, by the aspectof that countenance, full of astute intelligence and affectedhumility. "I know he is a Gascon," reflected he, "but he may beone for the cardinal was well as for me. Let us try him."

"My friend," said he, slowly, "I wish, as the son of an ancientfriend - for I consider this story of the lost letter perfectlytrue - I wish, I say, in order to repair the coldness you may haveremarked in my reception of you, to discover to you the secretsof our policy. The king and the cardinal are the best offriends; their apparent bickerings are only feints to deceivefools. I am not willing that a compatriot, a handsome cavalier,a brave youth, quite fit to make his way, should become the dupeof all these artifices and fall into the snare after the exampleof so many others who have been ruined by it. Be assured that Iam devoted to both these all-powerful masters, and that myearnest endeavors have no other aim than the service of the king,and also the cardinal - one of the most illustrious geniuses thatFrance has ever produced.

"Now, young man, regulate your conduct accordingly; and if youentertain, whether from your family, your relations, or even fromyour instincts, any of these enmities which we see constantlybreaking out against the cardinal, bid me adieu and let usseparate. I will aid you in many ways, but without attaching youto my person. I hope that my frankness at least will make you myfriend; for you are the only young man to whom I have hithertospoken as I have done to you."

Treville said to himself: "If the cardinal has set this youngfox upon me, he will certainly not have failed - he, who knows howbitterly I execrate him - to tell his spy that the best means ofmaking his court to me is to rail at him. Therefore, in spite ofall my protestations, if it be as I suspect, my cunning gossipwill assure me that he holds his Eminence in horror."

It, however, proved otherwise. D'Artagnan answered, with thegreatest simplicity: "I came to Paris with exactly suchintentions. My father advised me to stoop to nobody but theking, the cardinal, and yourself - whom he considered the firstthree personages in France."

D'Artagnan added M. de Treville to the others, as may beperceived; but he thought this addition would do no harm.

"I have the greatest veneration for the cardinal," continued he,"and the most profound respect for his actions. So much thebetter for me, sir, if you speak to me, as you say, withfrankness - for then you will do me the honor to esteem theresemblance of our opinions; but if you have entertained anydoubt, as naturally you may, I feel that I am ruining myself byspeaking the truth. But I still trust you will not esteem me theless for it, and that is my object beyond all others."

M. de Treville was surprised to the greatest degree. So muchpenetration, so much frankness, created admiration, but did notentirely remove his suspicions. The more this young man wassuperior to others, the more he was to be dreaded of he meant todeceive him; "You are an honest youth; but at the present momentI can only do for you that which I just now offered. My hotelwill be always open to you. Hereafter, being able to ask for meat all hours, and consequently to take advantage of allopportunities, you will probably obtain that which you desire."

"That is to say," replied D'Artagnan, "that you will wait until Ihave proved myself worthy of it. Well, be assured," added he,with the familiarity of a Gascon, "you shall not wait long." Andhe bowed in order to retire, and as if he considered the futurein his own hands.

"But wait a minute," said M. de Treville, stopping him. "Ipromised you a letter for the director of the Academy. Are youtoo proud to accept it, young gentleman?"

"No, sir," said D'Artagnan; "and I will guard it so carefullythat I will be sworn it shall arrive at its address, and woe beto him who shall attempt to take it from me!"

M. de Treville smiled at this flourish; and leaving his young mancompatriot in the embrasure of the window, where they had talkedtogether, he seated himself at a table in order to write thepromised letter of recommendation. While he was doing this,D'Artagnan, having no better employment, amused himself withbeating a march upon the window and with looking at theMusketeers, who went away, one after another, following them withhis eyes until they disappeared.

M. de Treville, after having written the letter, sealed it, andrising, approached the young man in order to give it to him. Butat the very moment when D'Artagnan stretched out his hand toreceive it, M. de Treville was highly astonished to see hisprotege make a sudden spring, become crimson with passion, andrush from the cabinet crying, "S'blood, he shall not escape methis time!"

"And who?" asked M. de Treville.

"He, my thief!" replied D'Artagnan. "Ah, the traitor!" and hedisappeared.

"The devil take the madman!" murmured M. de Treville, "unless,"added he, "this is a cunning mode of escaping, seeing that he hadfailed in his purpose!"