His visit to M. de Treville being paid, the pensive D'Artagnan took the longest way homeward.

On what was D'Artagnan thinking, that he strayed thus from hispath, gazing at the stars of heaven, and sometimes sighing,sometimes smiling?

He was thinking of Mme. Bonacieux. For an apprentice Musketeerthe young woman was almost an ideal of love. Pretty, mysterious,initiated in almost all the secrets of the court, which reflectedsuch a charming gravity over her pleasing features, it might besurmised that she was not wholly unmoved; and this is anirresistible charm to novices in love. Moreover, D'Artagnan haddelivered her from the hands of the demons who wished to searchand ill treat her; and this important service had establishedbetween them one of those sentiments of gratitude which so easilyassume a more tender character.

D'Artagnan already fancied himself, so rapid is the flight of ourdreams upon the wings of imagination, accosted by a messengerfrom the young woman, who brought him some billet appointing ameeting, a gold chain, or a diamond. We have observed that youngcavaliers received presents from their king without shame. Letus add that in these times of lax morality they had no moredelicacy with respect to the mistresses; and that the latteralmost always left them valuable and durable remembrances, as ifthey essayed to conquer the fragility of their sentiments by thesolidity of their gifts.

Without a blush, men made their way in the world by the means ofwomen blushing. Such as were only beautiful gave their beauty,whence, without doubt, comes the proverb, "The most beautifulgirl in the world can only give what she has." Such as were richgave in addition a part of their money; and a vast number ofheroes of that gallant period may be cited who would neither havewon their spurs in the first place, nor their battles afterward,without the purse, more or less furnished, which their mistressfastened to the saddle bow.

D'Artagnan owned nothing. Provincial diffidence, that slightvarnish, the ephemeral flower, that down of the peach, hadevaporated to the winds through the little orthodox counselswhich the three Musketeers gave their friend. D'Artagnan,following the strange custom of the times, considered himself atParis as on a campaign, neither more nor less than if he had beenin Flanders - Spain yonder, woman here, In each there was anenemy to contend with, and contributions to be levied.

But, we must say, at the present moment D'Artagnan was ruled byas feeling much more noble and disinterested. The mercer hadsaid that he was rich; the young man might easily guess thatwith so weak a man as M. Bonacieux; and interest was almostforeign to this commencement of love, which had been theconsequence of it. We say ALMOST, for the idea that a young,handsome, kind, and witty woman is at the same time rich takesnothing from the beginning of love, but on the contrarystrengthens it.

There are in affluence a crowd of aristocratic cares and capriceswhich are highly becoming to beauty. A fine and white stocking,a silken robe, a lace kerchief, a pretty slipper on the foot, atasty ribbon on the head do not make an ugly woman pretty, butthey make a pretty woman beautiful, without reckoning the hands,which gain by all this; the hands, among women particularly, tobe beautiful must be idle.

Then D'Artagnan, as the reader, from whom we have not concealedthe state of his fortune, very well knows - D'Artagnan was not amillionaire; he hoped to become one someday, but the time whichin his own mind he fixed upon for this happy change was still fardistant. In the meanwhile, how disheartening to see the womanone loves long for those thousands of nothings which constitute awoman's happiness, and be unable to give her those thousands ofnothings. At least, when the woman is rich and the lover is notthat which he cannot offer she offers to herself; and although itis generally with her husband's money that she procures herselfthis indulgence, the gratitude for it seldom reverts to him.

Then D'Artagnan, disposed to become the most tender of lovers,was at the same time a very devoted friend, In the midst of hisamorous projects for the mercer's wife, he did not forget hisfriends. The pretty Mme. Bonacieux was just the woman to walkwith in the Plain St. Denis or in the fair of St. Germain, incompany with Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, to whom D'Artagnan hadoften remarked this. Then one could enjoy charming littledinners, where one touches on one side the hand of a friend, andon the other the foot of a mistress. Besides, on pressingoccasions, in extreme difficulties, D'Artagnan would become thepreserver of his friends.

And M. Bonacieux? whom D'Artagnan had pushed into the hands ofthe officers, denying him aloud although he had promised in awhisper to save him. We are compelled to admit to our readersthat D'Artagnan thought nothing about him in any way; or that ifhe did think of him, it was only to say to himself that he wasvery well where he was, wherever it might be. Love is the mostselfish of all the passions.

Let our readers reassure themselves. IF D'Artagnan forgets hishost, or appears to forget him, under the pretense of not knowingwhere he has been carried, we will not forget him, and we knowwhere he is. But for the moment, let us do as did the amorousGascon; we will see after the worthy mercer later.

D'Artagnan, reflecting on his future amours, addressing himselfto the beautiful night, and smiling at the stars, rescinded theRue Cherish-Midi, or Chase-Midi, as it was then called. As hefound himself in the quarter in which Aramis lived, he took itinto his head to pay his friend a visit in order to explain themotives which had led him to send Planchet with a request that hewould come instantly to the mousetrap. Now, if Aramis had beenat home when Planchet came to his abode, he had doubtlesshastened to the Rue des Fossoyeurs, and finding nobody there buthis other two companions perhaps, they would not be able toconceive what all this meant. This mystery required anexplanation; at least, so D'Artagnan declared to himself.

He likewise thought this was an opportunity for talking aboutpretty little Mme. Bonacieux, of whom his head, if not his heart,was already full. We must never look for discretion in firstlove. First love is accompanied by such excessive joy thatunless the joy be allowed to overflow, it will stifle you.

Paris for two hours past had been dark, and seemed a desert.Eleven o'clock sounded from all the clocks of the Faubourg St.Germain. It was delightful weather. D'Artagnan was passingalong a lane on the spot where the Rue d'Assas is now situated,breathing the balmy emanations which were borne upon the windfrom the Rue de Vaugirard, and which arose from the gardensrefreshed by the dews of evening and the breeze of night. From adistance resounded, deadened, however, by good shutters, thesongs of the tipplers, enjoying themselves in the cabaretsscattered along the plain. Arrived at the end of the lane,D'Artagnan turned to the left. The house in which Aramis dweltwas situated between the Rue Cassette and the Rue Servandoni.

D'Artagnan had just passed the Rue Cassette, and alreadyperceived the door of his friend's house, shaded by a mass ofsycamores and clematis which formed a vast arch opposite thefront of it, when he perceived something like a shadow issuingfrom the Rue Servandoni. This something was enveloped in acloak, and D'Artagnan at first believed it was a man; but by thesmallness of the form, the hesitation of the walk, and theindecision of the step, he soon discovered that it was a woman.Further, this woman, as if not certain of the house she wasseeking, lifted up her eyes to look around her, stopped, wentbackward, and then returned again. D'Artagnan was perplexed.

"Shall I go and offer her my services?" thought he. "By her stepshe must be young; perhaps she is pretty. Oh, yes! But a womanwho wanders in the streets at this hour only ventures out to meether lover. If I should disturb a rendezvous, that would not bethe best means of commencing an acquaintance."

Meantime the young woman continued to advance, counting thehouses and windows. This was neither long nor difficult. Therewere but three hotels in this part of the street; and only twowindows looking toward the road, one of which was in a pavilionparallel to that which Aramis occupied, the other belonging toAramis himself.

"PARIDIEU!" said D'Artagnan to himself, to whose mind the nieceof the theologian reverted, "PARDIEU, it would be droll if thisbelated dove should be in search of our friend's house. But onmy soul, it looks so. Ah, my dear Aramis, this time I shall findyou out." And D'Artagnan, making himself as small as he could,concealed himself in the darkest side of the street near a stonebench placed at the back of a niche.

The young woman continued to advance; and in addition to thelightness of her step, which had betrayed her, she emitted alittle cough which denoted a sweet voice. D'Artagnan believedthis cough to be a signal.

Nevertheless, whether the cough had been answered by a similarsignal which had fixed the irresolution of the nocturnal seeker,or whether without this aid she saw that she had arrived at theend of her journey, she resolutely drew near to Aramis's shutter,and tapped, at three equal intervals, with her bent finger.

"This is all very fine, dear Aramis," murmured D'Artagnan.

"Ah, Monsieur Hypocrite, I understand how you study theology."

The three blows were scarcely struck, when the inside blind wasopened and a light appeared through the panes of the outsideshutter.

"Ah, ah!" said the listener, "not through doors, but throughwindows! Ah, this visit was expected. We shall see the windowsopen, and the lady enter by escalade. Very pretty!"

But to the great astonishment of D'Artagnan, the shutter remainedclosed. Still more, the light which had shone for an instantdisappeared, and all was again in obscurity.

D'Artagnan thought this could not last long, and continued tolook with all his eyes and listen with all his ears.

He was right; at the end of some seconds two sharp taps wereheard inside. The young woman in the street replied by a singletap, and the shutter was opened a little way.

It may be judged whether D'Artagnan looked or listened withavidity. Unfortunately the light had been removed into anotherchamber; but the eyes of the young man were accustomed to thenight. Besides, the eyes of the Gascons have, as it is asserted,like those of cats, the faculty of seeing in the dark.

D'Artagnan then saw that the young woman took from her pocket awhite object, which she unfolded quickly, and which took the formof a handkerchief. She made her interlocutor observe the cornerof this unfolded object.

This immediately recalled to D'Artagnan's mind the handkerchiefwhich he had found at the feet of Mme. Bonacieux, which hadreminded him of that which he had dragged from under the feet ofAramis.

"What the devil could that handkerchief signify?"

Placed where he was, D'Artagnan could not perceive the face ofAramis. We say Aramis, because the young man entertained nodoubt that it was his friend who held this dialogue from theinterior with the lady of the exterior. Curiosity prevailed overprudence; and profiting by the preoccupation into which the sightof the handkerchief appeared to have plunged the two personagesnow on the scene, he stole from his hiding place, and quick aslightning, but stepping with utmost caution, he ran and placedhimself close to the angle of the wall, from which his eye couldpierce the interior of Aramis's room.

Upon gaining this advantage D'Artagnan was near uttering a cry ofsurprise; it was not Aramis who was conversing with the nocturnalvisitor, it was a woman! D'Artagnan, however, could only seeenough to recognize the form of her vestments, not enough todistinguish her features.

At the same instant the woman inside drew a second handkerchieffrom her pocket, and exchanged it for that which had just beenshown to her. Then some words were spoken by the two women. Atlength the shutter closed. The woman who was outside the windowturned round, and passed within four steps of D'Artagnan, pullingdown the hood of her mantle; but the precaution was too late,D'Artagnan had already recognized Mme. Bonacieux.

Mme. Bonacieux! The suspicion that it was she had crossed themind of D'Artagnan when she drew the handkerchief from herpocket; but what probability was there that Mme. Bonacieux, whohad sent for M. Laporte in order to be reconducted to the Louvre,should be running about the streets of Paris at half past elevenat night, at the risk of being abducted a second time?

This must be, then, an affair of importance; and what is the mostimportant affair to a woman of twenty-five! Love.

But was it on her own account, or on account of another, that sheexposed herself to such hazards? This was a question the youngman asked himself, whom the demon of jealousy already gnawed,being in heart neither more nor less than an accepted lover.

There was a very simple means of satisfying himself whither Mme.Bonacieux was going; that was to follow her. This method was sosimple that D'Artagnan employed it quite naturally andinstinctively.

But at the sight of the young man, who detached himself from thewall like a statue walking from its niche, and at the noise ofthe steps which she heard resound behind her, Mme. Bonacieuxuttered a little cry and fled.

D'Artagnan ran after her. It was not difficult for him toovertake a woman embarrassed with her cloak. He came up with herbefore she had traversed a third of the street. The unfortunatewoman was exhausted, not by fatigue, but by terror, and whenD'Artagnan placed his hand upon her shoulder, she sank upon oneknee, crying in a choking voice, "Kill me, if you please, youshall know nothing!"

D'Artagnan raised her by passing his arm round her waist; but ashe felt by her weight she was on the point of fainting, he madehaste to reassure her by protestations of devotedness. Theseprotestations were nothing for Mme. Bonacieux, for suchprotestations may be made with the worst intentions in the world;but the voice was all Mme. Bonacieux thought she recognized thesound of that voice; she reopened her eyes, cast a quick glanceupon the man who had terrified her so, and at once perceiving itwas D'Artagnan, she uttered a cry of joy, "Oh, it is you, it isyou! Thank God, thank God!"

"Yes, it is I," said D'Artagnan, "it is I, whom God has sent towatch over you."

"Was it with that intention you followed me?" asked the youngwoman, with a coquettish smile, whose somewhat banteringcharacter resumed its influence, and with whom all fear haddisappeared from the moment in which she recognized a friend inone she had taken for an enemy.

"No," said D'Artagnan; "no, I confess it. It was chance thatthrew me in your way; I saw a woman knocking at the window of oneof my friends."

"One of your friends?" interrupted Mme. Bonacieux.

"Without doubt; Aramis is one of my best friends."

"Aramis! Who is he?"

"Come, come, you won't tell me you don't know Aramis?"

"This is the first time I ever heard his name pronounced."

"It is the first time I ever heard his name pronounced."

"It is the first time, then, that you ever went to that house?"

"Undoubtedly."

"And you did not know that it was inhabited by a young man?"

"No."

"By a Musketeer?"

"No, indeed!"

"It was not he, then, you came to seek?"

"Not the least in the world. Besides, you must have seen thatthe person to whom I spoke was a woman."

"That is true; but this woman is a friend of Aramis - "

"I know nothing of that."

" - since she lodges with him."

"That does not concern me."

"But who is she?"

"Oh, that is not my secret."

"My dear Madame Bonacieux, you are charming; but at the same timeyou are one of the most mysterious women."

"Do I lose by that?"

"No; you are, on the contrary, adorable."

"Give me your arm, then."

"Most willingly. And now?"

"Now escort me."

"Where?"

"Where I am going."

"But where are you going?"

"You will see, because you will leave me at the door."

"Shall I wait for you?"

"That will be useless."

"You will return alone, then?"

"Perhaps yes, perhaps no."

"But will the person who shall accompany you afterward be a manor a woman?"

"I don't know yet."

"But I will know it!"

"How so?"

"I will wait until you come out."

"In that case, adieu."

"Why so?"

"I do not want you."

"But you have claimed - "

"The aid of a gentleman, not the watchfulness of a spy."

"The word is rather hard."

"How are they called who follow others in spite of them?"

"They are indiscreet."

"The word is too mild."

"well, madame, I perceive I must do as you wish."

"Why did you deprive yourself of the merit of doing so at once?"

"Is there no merit in repentance?"

"And do you really repent?"

"I know nothing about it myself. But what I know is that Ipromise to do all you wish if you allow me to accompany you whereyou are going."

"And you will leave me then?"

"Yes."

"Without waiting for my coming out again?"

"Yes."

"Word of honor?"

"By the faith of a gentleman. Take my arm, and let us go."

D'Artagnan offered his arm to Mme. Bonacieux, who willingly tookit, half laughing, half trembling, and both gained the top of Ruede la Harpe. Arriving there, the young woman seemed to hesitate,as she had before done in the Rue Vaugirard. She seemed,however, by certain signs, to recognize a door, and approachingthat door, "And now, monsieur," said she, "it is here I havebusiness; a thousand thanks for your honorable company, which hassaved me from all the dangers to which, alone I was exposed. Butthe moment is come to keep your word; I have reached mydestination."

"And you will have nothing to fear on your return?"

"I shall have nothing to fear but robbers."

"And that is nothing?"

"What could they take from me? I have not a penny about me."

"You forget that beautiful handkerchief with the coat of arms."

"Which?"

"That which I found at your feet, and replaced in your pocket."

"Hold your tongue, imprudent man! Do you wish to destroy me?"

"You see very plainly that there is still danger for you, since asingle word makes you tremble; and you confess that if that wordwere heard you would be ruined. Come, come, madame!" criedD'Artagnan, seizing her hands, and surveying her with an ardentglance, "come, be more generous. Confide in me. Have you notread in my eyes that there is nothing but devotion and sympathyin my heart?"

"Yes," replied Mme. Bonacieux; "therefore, ask my own secrets,and I will reveal them to you; but those of others - that is quiteanother thing."

"Very well," said D'Artagnan, "I shall discover them; as thesesecrets may have an influence over your life, these secrets mustbecome mine."

"Beware of what you do!" cried the young woman, in a manner soserious as to make D'Artagnan start in spite of himself. "Oh,meddle in nothing which concerns me. Do not seek to assist me inthat which I am accomplishing. This I ask of you in the name ofthe interest with which I inspire you, in the name of the serviceyou have rendered me and which I never shall forget while I havelife. Rather, place faith in what I tell you. Have no moreconcern about me; I exist no longer for you, any more than if youhad never seen me."

"Must Aramis do as much as I, madame?" said D'Artagnan, deeplypiqued.

"This is the second or third time, monsieur, that you haverepeated that name, and yet I have told you that I do not knowhim."

"You do not know the man at whose shutter you have just knocked?Indeed, madame, you believe me too credulous!"

"Confess that it is for the sake of making me talk that youinvent this story and create this personage."

"I invent nothing, madame; I create nothing. I only speak thatexact truth."

"And you say that one of your friends lives in that house?"

"I say so, and I repeat it for the third time; that house is oneinhabited by my friend, and that friend is Aramis."

"All this will be cleared up at a later period," murmured theyoung woman; "no, monsieur, be silent."

"If you could see my heart," said D'Artagnan, "you would thereread so much curiosity that you would pity me and so much lovethat you would instantly satisfy my curiosity. We have nothingto fear from those who love us."

"You speak very suddenly of love, monsieur," said the youngwoman, shaking her head.

"That is because love has come suddenly upon me, and for thefirst time; and because I am only twenty."

The young woman looked at him furtively.

"Listen; I am already upon the scent," resumed D'Artagnan."About three months ago I was near having a duel with Aramisconcerning a handkerchief resembling the one you showed to thewoman in his house - for a handkerchief marked in the same manner,I am sure."

"Monsieur," said the young woman, "you weary me very much, Iassure you, with your questions."

"But you, madame, prudent as you are, think, if you were to bearrested with that handkerchief, and that handkerchief were to beseized, would you not be compromised?"

"In what way? The initials are only mine - C. B., ConstanceBonacieux."

"Or Camille de Bois-Tracy."

"Silence, monsieur! Once again, silence! Ah, since the dangersI incur on my own account cannot stop you, think of those you mayyourself run!"

"Me?"

"Yes; there is peril of imprisonment, risk of life in knowingme."

"Then I will not leave you."

"Monsieur!" said the young woman, supplicating him and claspingher hands together, "monsieur, in the name of heaven, by thehonor of a soldier, by the courtesy of a gentleman, depart!There, there midnight sounds! That is the hour when I amexpected."

"Madame," said the young man, bowing; "I can refuse nothing askedof me thus. Be content; I will depart."

"But you will not follow me; you will not watch me?"

"I will return home instantly."

"Ah, I was quite sure you were a good and brave young man," saidMme. Bonacieux, holding out her hand to him, and placing theother upon the knocker of a little door almost hidden in thewall.

D'Artagnan seized the hand held out to him, and kissed itardently.

"Ah! I wish I had never seen you!" cried D'Artagnan, with thatingenuous roughness which women often prefer to the affectationsof politeness, because it betrays the depths of the thought andproves that feeling prevails over reason.

"Well!" resumed Mme. Bonacieux, in a voice almost caressing, andpressing the hand of D'Artagnan, who had not relinquished hers,"well: I will not say as much as you do; what is lost for todaymay not be lost forever. Who knows, when I shall be at liberty,that I may not satisfy your curiosity?"

"And will you make the same promise to my love?" criedD'Artagnan, beside himself with joy.

"Oh, as to that, I do not engage myself. That depends upon thesentiments with which you may inspire me."

"Then today, madame - "

"Oh, today, I am no further than gratitude."

"Ah! You are too charming," said D'Artagnan, sorrowfully; "andyou abuse my love."

"No, I use your generosity, that's all. But be of good cheer;with certain people, everything comes round."

"Oh, you render me the happiest of men! Do not forget thisevening - do not forget that promise."

"Be satisfied. In the proper time and place I will remembereverything. Now then, go, go, in the name of heaven! I wasexpected at sharp midnight, and I am late."

"By five minutes."

"Yes; but in certain circumstances five minutes are five ages."

"When one loves."

"Well! And who told you I had no affair with a lover?"

"It is a man, then, who expects you?" cried D'Artagnan. "A man!"

"The discussion is going to begin again!" said Mme. Bonacieux,with a half-smile which was not exempt from a tinge ofimpatience.

"No, no; I go, I depart! I believe in you, and I would have allthe merit of my devotion, even if that devotion were stupidity.Adieu, madame, adieu!"

And as if he only felt strength to detach himself by a violenteffort from the hand he held, he sprang away, running, while Mme.Bonacieux knocked, as at the shutter, three light and regulartaps. When he had gained the angle of the street, he turned.The door had been opened, and shut again; the mercer's prettywife had disappeared.

D'Artagnan pursued his way. He had given his word not to watchMme. Bonacieux, and if his life had depended upon the spot towhich she was going or upon the person who should accompany her,D'Artagnan would have returned home, since he had so promised.Five minutes later he was in the Rue des Fossoyeurs.

"Poor Athos!" said he; "he will never guess what all this means.He will have fallen asleep waiting for me, or else he will havereturned home, where he will have learned that a woman had beenthere. A woman with Athos! After all," continued D'Artagnan,"there was certainly one with Aramis. All this is very strange;and I am curious to know how it will end."

"Badly, monsieur, badly!" replied a voice which the young manrecognized as that of Planchet; for, soliloquizing aloud, as verypreoccupied people do, he had entered the alley, at the end ofwhich were the stairs which led to his chamber.

"How badly? What do you mean by that, you idiot?" askedD'Artagnan. "What has happened?"

"All sorts of misfortunes."

"What?"

"In the first place, Monsieur Athos is arrested."

"Arrested! Athos arrested! What for?"

"He was found in your lodging; they took him for you."

"And by whom was he arrested?"

"By Guards brought by the men in black whom you put to flight."

"Why did he not tell them his name? Why did he not tell them heknew nothing about this affair?"

"He took care not to do so, monsieur; on the contrary, he came upto me and said, 'It is your master that needs his liberty at thismoment and not I, since he knows everything and I know nothing.They will believe he is arrested, and that will give him time; inthree days I will tell them who I am, and they cannot fail to letme go.'"

"Bravo, Athos! Noble heart!" murmured D'Artagnan. "I know himwell there! And what did the officers do?"

"Four conveyed him away, I don't know where - to the Bastille orFort l'Eveque. Two remained with the men in black, who rummagedevery place and took all the papers. The last two mounted guardat the door during this examination; then, when all was over,they went away, leaving the house empty and exposed."

"And Porthos and Aramis?"

"I could not find them; they did not come."

"But they may come any moment, for you left word that I awaitedthem?"

"Yes, monsieur."

"Well, don't budge, then; if they come, tell them what hashappened. Let them wait for me at the Pomme-de-Pin. Here itwould be dangerous; the house may be watched. I will run toMonsieur de Treville to tell them all this, and will meet themthere."

"Very well, monsieur," said Planchet.

"But you will remain; you are not afraid?" said D'Artagnan,coming back to recommend courage to his lackey.

"Be easy, monsieur," said Planchet; "you do not know me yet. Iam brave when I set about it. It is all in beginning. Besides,I am a Picard."

"Then it is understood," said D'Artagnan; "you would rather bekilled than desert your post?"

"Yes, monsieur; and there is nothing I would not do to prove toMonsieur that I am attached to him."

"Good!" said D'Artagnan to himself. "It appears that the methodI have adopted with this boy is decidedly the best. I shall useit again upon occasion."

And with all the swiftness of his legs, already a little fatiguedhowever, with the perambulations of the day, D'Artagnan directedhis course toward M. de Treville's.

M. de Treville was not at his hotel. His company was on guard atthe Louvre; he was at the Louvre with his company.

It was necessary to reach M. de Treville; it was important thathe should be informed of what was passing. D'Artagnan resolvedto try and enter the Louvre. His costume of Guardsman in thecompany of M. Dessessart ought to be his passport.

He therefore went down the Rue des Petits Augustins, and came upto the quay, in order to take the New Bridge. He had at first anidea of crossing by the ferry; but on gaining the riverside, hehad mechanically put his hand into his pocket, and perceived thathe had not wherewithal to pay his passage.

As he gained the top of the Rue Guenegaud, he saw two personscoming out of the Rue Dauphine whose appearance very much struckhim. Of the two persons who composed this group, one was a manand the other a woman. The woman had the outline of Mme.Bonacieux; the man resembled Aramis so much as to be mistaken forhim.

Besides, the woman wore that black mantle which D'Artagnan couldstill see outlined on the shutter of the Rue de Vaugirard and onthe door of the Rue de la Harpe; still further, the man wore theuniform of a Musketeer.

The woman's hood was pulled down, and the man geld a handkerchiefto his face. Both, as this double precaution indicated, had aninterest in not being recognized.

They took the bridge. That was D'Artagnan's road, as he wasgoing to the Louvre. D'Artagnan followed them.

He had not gone twenty steps before he became convinced that thewoman was really Mme. Bonacieux and that the man was Aramis.

He felt at that instant all the suspicions of jealousy agitatinghis heart. He felt himself doubly betrayed, by his friend and byher whom he already loved like a mistress. Mme. Bonacieux haddeclared to him, by all the gods, that she did not know Aramis;and a quarter of an hour after having made this assertion, hefound her hanging on the arm of Aramis.

D'Artagnan did not reflect that he had only known the mercer'spretty wife for three hours; that she owed him nothing but alittle gratitude for having delivered her from the men in black,who wished to carry her off, and that she had promised himnothing. He considered himself an outraged, betrayed, andridiculed lover. Blood and anger mounted to his face; he wasresolved to unravel the mystery.

The young man and young woman perceived they were watched, andredoubled their speed. D'Artagnan determined upon his course.He passed them, then returned so as to meet them exactly beforethe Samaritaine. Which was illuminated by a lamp which threw itslight over all that part of the bridge.

D'Artagnan stopped before them, and they stopped before him.

"What do you want, monsieur?" demanded the Musketeer, recoiling astep, and with a foreign accent, which proved to D'Artagnan thathe was deceived in one of his conjectures.

"It is not Aramis!" cried he.

"No, monsieur, it is not Aramis; and by your exclamation Iperceive you have mistaken me for another, and pardon you."

"You pardon me?" cried D'Artagnan.

"Yes," replied the stranger. "Allow me, then, to pass on, sinceit is not with me you have anything to do."

"You are right, monsieur, it is not with you that I have anythingto do; it is with Madame."

"With Madame! You do not know her," replied the stranger.

"You are deceived, monsieur; I know her very well."

"Ah," said Mme. Bonacieux; in a tone of reproach, "ah, monsieur,I had your promise as a soldier and your word as a gentleman. Ihoped to be able to rely upon that."

"And I, madame!" said D'Artagnan, embarrassed; "you promised me - "

"Take my arm, madame," said the stranger, "and let us continueour way."

D'Artagnan, however, stupefied, cast down, annihilated by allthat happened, stood, with crossed arms, before the Musketeer andMme. Bonacieux.

The Musketeer advanced two steps, and pushed D'Artagnan asidewith his hand. D'Artagnan made a spring backward and drew hissword. At the same time, and with the rapidity of lightning, thestranger drew his.

"In the name of heaven, my Lord!" cried Mme. Bonacieux, throwingherself between the combatants and seizing the swords with herhands.

"My Lord!" cried D'Artagnan, enlightened by a sudden idea, "myLord! Pardon me, monsieur, but you are not - "

"My Lord the Duke of Buckingham," said Mme. Bonacieux, in anundertone; "and now you may ruin us all."

"My Lord, Madame, I ask a hundred pardons! But I love her, myLord, and was jealous. You know what it is to love, my Lord.Pardon me, and then tell me how I can risk my life to serve yourGrace?"

"You are a brave young man," said Buckingham, holding out hishand to D'Artagnan, who pressed it respectfully. "You offer meyour services; with the same frankness I accept them. Follow usat a distance of twenty paces, as far as the Louvre, and ifanyone watches us, slay him!"

D'Artagnan placed his naked sword under his arm, allowed the dukeand Mme. Bonacieux to take twenty steps ahead, and then followedthem, ready to execute the instructions of the noble and elegantminister of Charles I.

Fortunately, he had no opportunity to give the duke this proof ofhis devotion, and the young woman and the handsome Musketeerentered the Louvre by the wicket of the Echelle without anyinterference.

As for D'Artagnan, he immediately repaired to the cabaret of thePomme-de-Pin, where he found Porthos and Aramis awaiting him.Without giving them any explanation of the alarm andinconvenience he had caused them, he told them that he hadterminated the affair alone in which he had for a moment believedhe should need their assistance.

Meanwhile, carried away as we are by our narrative, we must leaveour three friends to themselves, and follow the Duke ofBuckingham and his guide through the labyrinths of the Louvre.