Part 62 (1/2)
”And where are you going?”
”Ah, if you could tellme a service”
”Ah, me! ah, nan, wishi+ng to signify to the hostess that her lamentations were superfluous and that therefore she had better spare hirief
”There's one just arrived,” and she handed the letter to D'Artagnan
”Fro
”Ah!” said Porthos, ”let us hear what he says”
D'Artagnan opened the letter and read as follows: ”Dear D'Artagnan, dear Du Vallon, ood friends, perhaps this may be the last time that you will ever hear froe, and the remembrance of our friendshi+p sustain us Think often of Raoul I intrust to you certain papers which are at Blois; and in two months and a half, if you do not hear of us, take possession of them
”Embrace, with all your heart, the vicomte, for your devoted, friend, ”ATHOS” ”I believe, by Heaven,” said D'Artagnan, ”that I shall embrace him, since he's upon our road; and if he is so unfortunate as to lose our dear Athos, from that very day he becomes my son”
”And I,” said Porthos, ”shall make him my sole heir”
”Let us see, what more does Athos say?”
”Should you meet on your journey a certain Monsieur Mordaunt, distrust him, in a letter I cannot say more”
”Monsieur Mordaunt!” exclaimed the Gascon, surprised
”Monsieur Mordaunt! 'tis well,” said Porthos, ”we shall remember that; but see, there is a postscript fronan, and he read: ”We conceal the place where we are, dear friends, knowing your brotherly affection and that you would come and die with us e to reveal it”
”Confound it,” interrupted Porthos, with an explosion of passion which sent Mousqueton to the other end of the roonan continued: ”Athos bequeaths to you Raoul, and I bequeath to you ood luck you lay your hand on a certain man named Mordaunt, tell Porthos to take hi his neck I dare not say more in a letter
”ARAMIS” ”If that is all, it is easily done,” said Porthos
”On the contrary,” observed D'Artagnan, with a vexed look; ”it would be impossible”
”How so?”
”It is precisely this Monsieur Mordaunt e are going to join at Boulogne and e cross to England”
”Well, suppose instead of joining this Monsieur Mordaunt ere to go and join our friends?” said Porthos, with a gesture fierce enough to have frightened an army
”I did think of it, but this letter has neither date nor postan to wander about the roo his sword out of the scabbard
As to D'Artagnan, he re like a man in consternation, with the deepest affliction depicted on his face
”Ah, this is not right; Athos insults us; he wishes to die alone; it is bad, bad, bad”
Mousqueton, witnessing this despair, melted into tears in a corner of the roo Let us go on We will embrace Raoul, and perhaps he will have news of Athos”
”Stop--an idea!” cried Porthos; ”indeed, e, but you are always full of ideas; let us go and embrace Raoul”
”Woe to that man who should happen to contradict my master at this ive a farthing for his life”
They set out On arriving at the Rue Saint Denis, the friends found a vast concourse of people It was the Duc de Beaufort, as co to the Parisians, intoxicated with joy With the duke's aid they already considered themselves invincible
The two friends turned off into a side street to avoid ate
”Is it true,” said the guard to the two cavaliers, ”that the Duc de Beaufort has arrived in Paris?”
”Nothing nan, ”that he has dispatched us toin his turn”
”Long live De Beaufort!” cried the guards, and they drew back respectfully to let the two friends pass Once across the barriers these two knew neither fatigue nor fear Their horses flew, and they never ceased speaking of Athos and Aramis
The camp had entered Saint Omer; the friends ave the ar and queen They found Raoul near his tent, reclining on a truss of hay, of which his horse stole so man's eyes were red and he seemed dejected The Marechal de Grammont and the Comte de Guiche had returned to Paris and he was quite lonely And as soon as he saw the two cavaliers he ran to them with open arms
”Oh, is it you, dear friends? Did you come here to fetch s of nan to the youth
”Alas! sir, no, and I do not knohat has become of him; so that I am really so unhappy that I weep”
In fact, tears rolled down his cheeks
Porthos turned aside, in order not to show by his honest round face as passing in his nan,time, ”don't despair, my friend, if you have not received any letters from the count, we have received one”
”Oh, really!” cried Raoul
”And a coht that his intelligence gave the young man
”Have you it?” asked Raoul ”Yes--that is, I had it,” repined the Gascon, ht to be there in my pocket; it speaks of his return, does it not, Porthos?”
All Gascon as he was, D'Artagnan could not bear alone the weight of that falsehood
”Yes,” replied Porthos, coughing