Part 97 (2/2)
”Monsieur,your word to , roaned
”You are free,” he said, ”through reed; but the ransoallery, to which one descends on pushi+ng a spring hidden in the wall, which causes a tub to turn, revealing a staircase--must not one speak of that a little, my lord?”
”Diavolo!” cried Mazarin, al his hands; ”I a to his protestations of alarently down into the arms of Athos, who stood immovable at the bottom of the wall
Porthos next made an effort which shook the solid wall, and by the aid of his friend's hand gained the summit
”I didn't understand it all,” he said, ”but I understand no droll it is!”
”You think so? so hter-worthy even to the end, let us not lose time” And he jumped off the wall
Porthos did the saentlenan; ”for myself, I will reconnoitre”
The Gascon then drew his sword and uard
”My lord,” he said, ”which way do we go? Think well of your reply, for should your erave results for all of us”
”Along the wall, sir,” said Mazarin, ”there will be no danger of losing yourselves”
The three friends hastened on, but in a short tied to slacken the pace The cardinal could not keep up with thenan touched so warm, which moved
”Stop! a horse!” he cried; ”I have found a horse!”
”And I, likewise,” said Athos
”I, too,” said Porthos, who, faithful to the instructions, still held the cardinal's ar of being tired and obliged to walk”
But as he spoke the barrel of a pistol was presented at his breast and these words were pronounced: ”Touch it not!”
”Grimaud!” he cried; ”Grimaud! what art thou about? Why, thou art posted here by Heaven!”
”No, sir,” said the honest servant, ”it was Monsieur Aramis who posted me here to take care of the horses”
”Is Aramis here?”
”Yes, sir; he has been here since yesterday”
”What are you doing?”
”On the watch----”
”What! Araate of the castle; he's posted there”
”Are you a large party?”
”Sixty”
”Let hi that no one could execute the commission better than himself, Griether again, the friends awaited his return
There was no one in the whole group in a bad hu that Porthos will be at last a Baron, and D'Artagnan a Captain
At the expiration of ten ht or ten followers He was excessively delighted and threw himself into his friends' arms
”You are free, my brothers! free withoutfor you in spite of all my efforts”
”Do not be unhappy, dear friend, on that account; if you have done nothing as yet, you will do so soon,” replied Athos
”I had well concerted ave uard the walls of the park, twenty the road from Rueil to Saint Germain, twenty are dispersed in the woods Thus I was able, thanks to the strategic disposition of my forces, to intercept two couriers from Mazarin to the queen”
Mazarin listened intently
”But,” said D'Artagnan, ”I trust that you honorably sent them back to monsieur le cardinal!”
”Ah, yes!” said Aramis, ”toward him I should be very likely to practice such delicacy of sentiment! In one of the despatches the cardinal declares to the queen that the treasury is empty and that her majesty has no more money In the other he announces that he is about to transport his prisoners to Melun, since Rueil seemed to him not sufficiently secure You can understand, dear friend, hat hope I was inspired by that last letter I placed myself in a horses I entrusted to Gri out, which I did not expect till to-morrow, and I didn't hope to free you without a skir; so e to escape that scoundrel Mazarin? You must have much reason to conan
”Really!”
”I ht even say that we have some reason to praise hi to hi to hiery by Monsieur Bernouin, his valet-de-chambre, and from there we followed him to visit the Comte de la Fere Then he offered us our liberty and we accepted it He even went so far as to show us the way out; he led us to the park wall, which we climbed over without accident, and then we fell in with Grimaud”
”Well!” exclaimed Aramis, ”this will reconcile ht tell him that I did not believe hinan, no longer able to contain himself, ”allow me to introduce to you the Chevalier d'Herblay, ishes--as you ratulations to your e Mazarin, as in great confusion, to the astonished gaze of Aralorious prize! Halloo! halloo! friends! to horse! to horse!”