"Tell me, Mouston," said Porthos, "are my arms in good condition?" "Your arms, my lord--what arms?"
"Zounds! my weapons." "What weapons?"
"My military weapons."
"Yes, my lord; at any rate, I think so."
"Make sure of it, and if they want it, have them burnished up. Which is my best cavalry horse?" "Vulcan."
"And the best hack?" "Bayard."
"What horse dost thou choose for thyself ?"
"I like Rustaud, my lord; a good animal, whose paces suit me."
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"Strong, thinkest thou?"
"Half Norman, half Mecklenburger; will go night and day."
"That will do for us. See to these horses. Polish up or make some one else polish my arms. Then take pistols with thee and a hunting-knife."
"Are we then going to travel, my lord?" asked Mousqueton, rather uneasy. "Something better still, Mouston."
"An expedition, sir?" asked the steward, whose roses began to change into lilies.
"We are going to return to the service, Mouston," replied Porthos, still trying to restore his mustache to the military curl it had long lost.
"Into the service--the king's service?" Mousqueton trembled; even his fat, smooth cheeks shook as he spoke, and he looked at
D'Artagnan with an air of reproach; he staggered, and his voice was almost choked.
"Yes and no. We shall serve in a campaign, seek out all sorts of adventures--return, in short, to our former life."
These last words fell on Mousqueton like a thunderbolt. It was those very terrible old days that made the present so excessively delightful, and the blow was so great he rushed out, overcome, and forgot to shut the door.
The two friends remained alone to speak of the future and to build castles in the air. The good wine which Mousqueton had placed before them traced out in glowing drops to D'Artagnan a fine perspective, shining with quadruples and pistoles, and showed to Porthos a blue ribbon and a ducal mantle; they were, in fact, asleep on the table when the servants came to light them to their bed.
Mousqueton was, however, somewhat consoled by D'Artagnan, who the next day told him that in all probability war would always be carried on in the heart of Paris and within reach of the Chateau du Vallon, which was near Corbeil, or Bracieux, which was near Melun, and of Pierrefonds, which was between Compiegne and Villars-Cotterets.
"But--formerly--it appears," began Mousqueton timidly.
"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, "we don't now make war as we did formerly. To-day it's a sort of diplomatic arrangement; ask Planchet." Mousqueton inquired, therefore, the state of the case of his old friend, who confirmed the statement of D'Artagnan. "But," he
added, "in this war prisoners stand a chance of being hung."
"The deuce they do!" said Mousqueton; "I think I should like the siege of Rochelle better than this war, then!"
Porthos, meantime, asked D'Artagnan to give him his instructions how to proceed on his journey.
"Four days," replied his friend, "are necessary to reach Blois; one day to rest there; three or four days to return to Paris. Set out,
therefore, in a week, with your suite, and go to the Hotel de la Chevrette, Rue Tiquetonne, and there await me." "That's agreed," said Porthos.
"As to myself, I shall go around to see Athos; for though I don't think his aid worth much, one must with one's friends observe all
due politeness," said D'Artagnan.
The friends then took leave of each other on the very border of the estate of Pierrefonds, to which Porthos escorted his friend.
"At least," D'Artagnan said to himself, as he took the road to Villars-Cotterets, "at least I shall not be alone in my undertaking. That devil, Porthos, is a man of prodigious strength; still, if Athos joins us, well, we shall be three of us to laugh at Aramis, that little coxcomb with his too good luck."
At Villars-Cotterets he wrote to the cardinal:
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"My Lord,--I have already one man to offer to your eminence, and he is well worth twenty men. I am just setting out for Blois. The
Comte de la Fere inhabits the Castle of Bragelonne, in the environs of that city."
13. Two Angelic Faces.
The road was long, but the horses upon which D'Artagnan and Planchet rode had been refreshed in the well supplied stables of the Lord of Bracieux; the master and servant rode side by side, conversing as they went, for D'Artagnan had by degrees thrown off the master and Planchet had entirely ceased to assume the manners of a servant. He had been raised by circumstances to the rank of a confidant to his master. It was many years since D'Artagnan had opened his heart to any one; it happened, however, that these two men, on meeting again, assimilated perfectly. Planchet was in truth no vulgar companion in these new adventures; he was a man of uncommonly sound sense. Without courting danger he never shrank from an encounter; in short, he had been a soldier and arms ennoble a man; it was, therefore, on the footing of friends that D'Artagnan and Planchet arrived in the neighborhood of Blois.
Going along, D'Artagnan, shaking his head, said:
"I know that my going to Athos is useless and absurd; but still I owe this courtesy to my old friend, a man who had in him material
for the most noble and generous of characters."
"Oh, Monsieur Athos was a noble gentleman," said Planchet, "was he not? Scattering money round about him as Heaven sprinkles rain. Do you remember, sir, that duel with the Englishman in the inclosure des Carmes? Ah! how lofty, how magnificent Monsieur Athos was that day, when he said to his adversary: 'You have insisted on knowing my name, sir; so much the worse for you, since I shall be obliged to kill you.' I was near him, those were his exact words, when he stabbed his foe as he said he would, and his adversary fell without saying, 'Oh!' 'Tis a noble gentleman--Monsieur Athos."
"Yes, true as Gospel," said D'Artagnan; "but one single fault has swallowed up all these fine qualities."
"I remember well," said Planchet, "he was fond of drinking--in truth, he drank, but not as other men drink. One seemed, as he raised the wine to his lips, to hear him say, 'Come, juice of the grape, and chase away my sorrows.' And how he used to break the stem of a glass or the neck of a bottle! There was no one like him for that."
"And now," replied D'Artagnan, "behold the sad spectacle that awaits us. This noble gentleman with his lofty glance, this handsome cavalier, so brilliant in feats of arms that every one was surprised that he held in his hand a sword only instead of a baton of command! Alas! we shall find him changed into a broken down old man, with garnet nose and eyes that slobber; we shall find him extended on some lawn, whence he will look at us with a languid eye and peradventure will not recognize us. God knows, Planchet, that I should fly from a sight so sad if I did not wish to show my respect for the illustrious shadow of what was once the Comte de la Fere, whom we loved so much."
Planchet shook his head and said nothing. It was evident that he shared his master's apprehensions.
"And then," resumed D'Artagnan, "to this decrepitude is probably added poverty, for he must have neglected the little that he had, and the dirty scoundrel, Grimaud, more taciturn than ever and still more drunken than his master--stay, Planchet, it breaks my heart to merely think of it."
"I fancy myself there and that I see him staggering and hear him stammering," said Planchet, in a piteous tone, "but at all events
we shall soon know the real state of things, for I imagine that those lofty walls, now turning ruby in the setting sun, are the walls of
Blois."
"Probably; and those steeples, pointed and sculptured, that we catch a glimpse of yonder, are similar to those that I have heard
described at Chambord."
At this moment one