Part 123 (1/2)

”My faith,” said Athos, ”I have nothing to say against a retreat. We bet upon one hour, and we have stayed an hour and a half. Nothing can be said; let us be off, gentlemen, let us be off!”

Grimaud was already ahead, with the basket and the dessert. The four friends followed, ten paces behind him.

”What the devil shall we do now, gentlemen?” cried Athos.

”Have you forgotten anything?” said Aramis.

”The white flag, morbleu! We must not leave a flag in the hands of the enemy, even if that flag be but a napkin.”

And Athos ran back to the bastion, mounted the platform, and bore off the flag; but as the Roch.e.l.lais had arrived within musket range, they opened a terrible fire upon this man, who appeared to expose himself for pleasure's sake.

But Athos might be said to bear a charmed life. The b.a.l.l.s pa.s.sed and whistled all around him; not one struck him.

Athos waved his flag, turning his back on the guards of the city, and saluting those of the camp. On both sides loud cries arose--on the one side cries of anger, on the other cries of enthusiasm.

A second discharge followed the first, and three b.a.l.l.s, by pa.s.sing through it, made the napkin really a flag. Cries were heard from the camp, ”Come down! come down!”

Athos came down; his friends, who anxiously awaited him, saw him returned with joy.

”Come along, Athos, come along!” cried d'Artagnan; ”now we have found everything except money, it would be stupid to be killed.”

But Athos continued to march majestically, whatever remarks his companions made; and they, finding their remarks useless, regulated their pace by his.

Grimaud and his basket were far in advance, out of the range of the b.a.l.l.s.

At the end of an instant they heard a furious fusillade.

”What's that?” asked Porthos, ”what are they firing at now? I hear no b.a.l.l.s whistle, and I see n.o.body!”

”They are firing at the corpses,” replied Athos.

”But the dead cannot return their fire.”

”Certainly not! They will then fancy it is an ambuscade, they will deliberate; and by the time they have found out the pleasantry, we shall be out of the range of their b.a.l.l.s. That renders it useless to get a pleurisy by too much haste.”

”Oh, I comprehend now,” said the astonished Porthos.

”That's lucky,” said Athos, shrugging his shoulders.

On their part, the French, on seeing the four friends return at such a step, uttered cries of enthusiasm.

At length a fresh discharge was heard, and this time the b.a.l.l.s came rattling among the stones around the four friends, and whistling sharply in their ears. The Roch.e.l.lais had at last taken possession of the bastion.

”These Roch.e.l.lais are bungling fellows,” said Athos; ”how many have we killed of them--a dozen?”

”Or fifteen.”

”How many did we crush under the wall?”

”Eight or ten.”