CHAPTER THREE

Meeting Mister Treville

Mister Treville, like young d'Artagnan, had left home when quite young to find his fortune in the world. He had come to Paris without money or connections. The only thing he brought with him was his bravery, great skill with a sword, and a quick mind. After many years his fame grew and, eventually, he became one of the Kings most trusted servants. Louis XIII trusted Mister Treville perhaps even more than he trusted the Prime Minister or even his own wife. He made Treville the captain of his guards—the Musketeers.

Mister Treville was the third most powerful man in France at this time. Cardinal Richelieu was the second; he was Prime Minister of France. Cardinal Richelieu had great influence with the King, who listened to his advice closely. Both the King and the Cardinal had a group of armed bodyguards. The two men were both very competitive and they each tried to find the best swordsmen. The King's guards were called the Musketeers; they were all brave men who did not fear death. Richelieu's men were called simply the Cardinal's Guards.

The Cardinal needed loyal guards because he had many powerful enemies. One of his enemies was the Queen—Anne of Austria—she feared the Cardinal's power and his influence over her husband, the King.

The second was Mister Treville. He would often have his Musketeers train in front of the Cardinal's house to show off their strength. This always made the Cardinal red with anger.

D'Artagnan found his way to the Musketeer's camp early that day. The camp was full of men, all wearing the traditional uniform of the Musketeers. They all carried sword and were standing in groups talking and laughing. D'Artagnan moved through the crowd in the courtyard and entered the large building at the end. He went through a large door and found himself in a large hall filled with swordsmen. He walked down the hall feeling very excited and a little nervous.

At the end of the hall was a stair and d'Artagnan hurried up them. He asked the way to Mister Treville's room and was brought into a waiting room.

An older Musketeer came over and asked him what he wanted. D'Artagnan told him and the Musketeer nodded his head. While he was waiting, d'Artagnan looked around the room and listened to a group of Musketeer's talking.

He was shocked to hear that they were all telling jokes about Cardinal Richelieu. D'Artagnan's father had said that the Cardinal was a great man and had taught his son to have respect for him. Strangely the Musketeers spoke loudly about his bent legs and funny face and made plans to annoy his guards.

D'Artagnan's eyes then spotted a very tall Musketeer. He was as big as a mountain, with a proud face and huge strong hands. He was wearing a beautiful sword belt made of gold and a long, purple cloak.

"Where did you get your wonderful belt, Porthos?" a Musketeer asked.

"I had it made especially for me," replied Porthos, touching his thick moustache, "I paid a lot of money for it, didn't I, Aramis?"

The Musketeer whom he called Aramis was a young man. His skin was darker than most people and he had black eyes, a little beard and a small moustache. He did not seem to speak much and laughed quietly. To answer his friend's question he only nodded his head.

A servant then came out of Mister Treville's room. "Mister Treville will now see Mister d'Artagnan," he cried.

Everyone in the room became silent, as d'Artagnan walked across the room. All the Musketeers watched him.

Mister Treville, the captain of the Musketeers, was standing by an open window. He was very tall and strong and had thick gray hair. He turned around and looked at d'Artagnan.

"Please wait a moment," Treville said, and walked over to the door. "Athos!" he shouted loudly. "Porthos! Aramis! Come in here!"

The two Musketeers whom d'Artagnan had seen in the waiting room came in. Mister Treville walked around the room for a minute and then stopped suddenly in front of them and stared at each of them with eyes as sharp as swords.

"Yesterday evening I had dinner with the King. Do you know what he said to me?" he shouted angrily.

"No, sir," answered Porthos. "We do not know."

"He said that in the future he planned to choose his guards from among the Cardinal's men!"

"Use the Cardinal's men?" cried Porthos angrily, "Why?"

"Because his Musketeers are weak cowards, it seems," said Treville seriously.

Both Musketeers' faces turned red.

"The King was right!" yelled Treville, staring at them. "Last night some of the Musketeers made trouble in an inn and the Cardinal's guards had to arrest them. Arrest Musketeers! They are supposed to make peace in the city, not trouble. You were there! You, Aramis, why do you wear a Musketeer uniform when you would look better wearing dirty rags? And Porthos—why do you need such a wonderful gold belt to carry such a useless sword? And Athos—where is Athos?"

"Sir," answered Aramis sadly. "He is very sick."

"Sick? What's wrong with him?"

"He may have smallpox, sir," said Porthos sadly.

"Smallpox! Not possible! Perhaps he was wounded or killed last night in the inn, but he certainly does not have smallpox. My God! My Musketeer's will not fight in the streets and will not be laughed at by the Cardinal and his guards. Would the Cardinal's Guards allow themselves to be arrested? They would die before they were arrested. But you, you ran away from them. Now the whole city is saying that the King's Musketeers are cowards!"

"Captain," cried Porthos. "The truth is that it was not a fair fight. There were six Musketeers and six of the Cardinal's Guards, but they attacked us by surprise. They killed two Musketeers and wounded Athos before we even pulled out our swords. Athos tried to stand up, but could not, so the guards left him there, thinking that he would die. They captured us, but we escaped once we got outside."

"I did not know that they had surprised you like that," said Treville, with some kindness in his voice.

"Sir, please do not tell the King that Athos is hurt," Aramis said quickly. "Athos is too embarrassed and does not want His Majesty to hear of it."

There was then a knock on the door. The door opened and a tall Musketeer entered the room. He had a strong and proud face, but it was also very pale and showing great pain.

"Athos!" cried Treville.

"You have asked for me, sir," Athos said weakly.

Treville jumped quickly towards him. "Yes. I wanted to say that I don't want my Musketeers risking their lives without a good reason," he said. "You are a brave man, Athos, and you are important to the King, who knows that his Musketeers are the bravest men in France. Give me your hand, Athos."

Mister Treville held the Musketeer's hand tightly. Athos became even whiter and fell to the floor unconscious.

"Get a doctor, quickly!" cried Treville.

The doctor said that Athos definitely would not die, but that he had lost a lot of blood and would be weak for many days.

Some other Musketeers came in the room and took Athos out; his friends followed him. Finally d'Artagnan was alone with Mister Treville.

"What do you want?" asked Treville sharply.

D'Artagnan repeated his name, and Mister Treville remembered him at once.

"I am sorry," he said. "I had forgotten you. Your father and I were good friends. How can I help you?"

"I came to ask," d'Artagnan said carefully. "If you would allow me the honor of wearing the uniform of a Musketeer; in the short time I have been here in Paris I have already seen what a great honor that is—"

"You are right!" agreed Treville, "It is a very great honor. No one can become a Musketeer until he has shown that he has uncommon courage," he said. "Since your father was my good friend," continued Treville. "I will do what I can to help you. I will write a letter to the Director of the Royal Academy; tomorrow you can begin studying how to use a sword and ride a horse. I will make sure that you can study without any expense to yourself. Come to see me every few months and tell me about your progress."

D'Artagnan was feeling very disappointed. He felt that Treville was acting a little cold.

Without thinking he quickly cried out, "I can ride and fight already. If only you could see the letter that my father wrote you! I had one, sir—but it was stolen from me."

D'Artagnan then told Mister Treville about the stranger at the inn in Meung.

Mister Treville looked very interested and said, "You said that the man who stole your letter had a large scar on his face, yes?"

"Yes, sir. On his left cheek," said d'Artagnan excitedly.

"This is very strange," said Treville seriously.

"Do you know this man?" asked d'Artagnan. "Tell me where I can find him."

Treville looked serious and troubled. "Listen to my advice, young man," he said with a very serious face. "Do not look for that man. He is quite dangerous." He then turned away from d'Artagnan and sat down at his desk. "I will write that letter for you."

As he waited for Treville to finish writing, d'Artagnan stood by the window and looked out into the streets of Paris. Treville finished writing the letter and was about to give it to d'Artagnan, when suddenly the young man was seen running towards the door, yelling loudly.

"He will not escape this time!"

"Who? Who won't escape?" asked Treville, standing up shocked.

"The man who stole my letter!" replied d'Artagnan while running down the stairs. "I just saw him in the street."

Before Mister Treville could stop him, d'Artagnan was down the stairs.

(end of section)