CHAPTER SIX

D'ARTAGNAN IS RECEIVED IN AUDIENCE AND HEARS MORE THAN HE EXPECTED TO HEAR

At that moment M. de Treville was in rather ill-humour, nevertheless he greeted politely the young man who bowed low. He smiled on hearing D'Artagnan's first words. The Gascon way of speaking recalled to him his younger days and his home. But, making a sign to him to wait a moment, he stepped to the door and called out in a loud, commanding voice, "Athos! Porthos! Aramis!"

The two Musketeers who answered to the second and third names immediately left their companions and hurried to the office.

M. de Treville walked up and down the room in silence with a deep frown on his brow. Each time he passed silently before Porthos and Aramis, who stood as upright and silent as if they were on parade. Then he stopped suddenly full in front of them, covering them from head to foot with an angry look.

"Do you know what the King said to me only yesterday evening?" he cried. "Do you know, gentlemen?"

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

"He told me that in future he would choose his Musketeers from among the Cardinal's Guards."

The two Musketeers reddened with anger at the insult. D'Artagnan felt exceedingly uncomfortable and wished himself a hundred feet underground.

"Yes, yes," continued M. de Treville, growing angrier as he spoke. "His Majesty was right. Yesterday while playing chess with the King, the Cardinal related how you 'dare-devil Musketeers', you 'braggarts of Musketeers', had made a disturbance and his Guards, I thought he was going to laugh in my face, had been obliged to arrest you. Good heavens! You must know something about it. Arrest my Musketeers! You were there among them. You were! Don't deny it. You were recognized. The Cardinal named you.

"You, Aramis; why did you ask for the uniform, when you would be better studying in a monastery? You, Porthos; do you hang a straw sword from your fine shoulder-strap? And, Athos—I don't see Athos. Where is he?"

"Sir," replied Aramis, in a sorrowful tone, "he is very ill, very ill."

"Ill? Very ill, you say?"

"It is feared so, sir," replied Porthos, not wishing to be left out of the conversation.

"Sick! I don't believe it. It is more likely that he is wounded—killed, perhaps. Ah! If I knew!

"Gentlemen, I will not have this frequenting of drinking halls, this quarrelling in the streets, this sword-play in public. Above all, I will not have the opportunity given for the Cardinal's Guards to laugh at you. To save yourselves, to run away, to flee—a fine thing to be said of the King's Musketeers—my Musketeers."

Porthos and Aramis trembled with rage at this remark. They could willingly have killed M. de Treville if they had not known that it was the great love he had for them, his Musketeers, that made him speak in that manner.

"Think of it! The King's Musketeers are arrested by the Cardinal's Guards!" continued M. de Treville, as furious as his soldiers. "What! Six of the Cardinal's Guards arrest six Musketeers! Good heavens! I'll go straight to the Palace. I'll hand my resignation to the King and then join the Cardinal's Guards, and (looking straight at Aramis) if he refuses me, I will enter a monastery."

"Well, sir," said Porthos, hardly able to control himself, "it is true that we were six against six, but we were not captured by fair means. Before we had time to draw our swords, two of our party were killed, and Athos severely wounded. You know Athos, sir. He is no coward. We did not surrender, no! They dragged us away by force; on the way, however, we managed to escape. They believed Athos was dead and left him, not thinking it worth the trouble to carry him away. That's the whole story. Good heavens! One cannot win all one's battles, captain!"

"And I can assure you that I killed one of them with his own sword," said Aramis, "for mine was broken at the first blow."

"I did not know that," replied M. de Treville in a somewhat quieter tone. " I suppose the Cardinal exaggerated as he always does."

"But I beg of you, sir," said Aramis, "please, do not say that Athos is wounded. He would be in despair if the King should hear. The wound is serious and it is feared—"

At this moment the curtain over the door was raised and a head appeared, noble and handsome, but frightfully pale.

"Athos!" cried the two Musketeers.

"Athos!" cried M. de Treville.

"You sent for me, sir," said Athos to M. de Treville, in a feeble yet perfectly calm voice. "You sent for me, so my comrades informed me, and I have hastened to receive your orders."

Saying this, the Musketeer, correctly dressed, entered the office with a slow step.

M. de Treville, touched by this proof of courage, stepped towards him.

"I was about to tell these gentlemen," he said, "that I forbid my Musketeers to expose their lives needlessly. Brave men are very dear to the King, and he knows that his Musketeers are the bravest fellows on earth."

So strong was the excitement produced by the arrival of Athos, that a crowd had gathered outside the half-open door. His wound, though known to all the Musketeers, had been kept as secret as possible from others. On hearing these last words of the captain, they could not suppress their murmur of satisfaction, and several heads even appeared from behind the curtain. M. de Treville was about to speak to them severely for this lack of discipline, when Athos fell fainting to the floor.

"A doctor!" cried M. de Treville. "Mine! The King's! The best that can be obtained!"

At the cries a number of Musketeers rushed into the office and crowded round the wounded man. Fortunately, the doctor so loudly called for happened to be in the building. He pushed through the crowd and demanded that the Musketeer should be carried into another room. M. de Treville opened a side door, and pointed the way to Porthos and Aramis who at once carried their comrade in.

Porthos and Aramis returned immediately, leaving the doctor and M. de Treville alone with Athos.

After a short while M. de Treville himself returned and informed them all that the condition of the Musketeer had nothing in it to cause uneasiness. His weakness had been purely and simply caused by loss of blood.

Then M. de Treville made a sign with his hand and all except D'Artagnan left the office. D'Artagnan did not forget that he had an audience, and so, with the determination of a Gascon, remained in his place.