Meanwhile the king, who, with more reason than the cardinal,showed his hatred for Buckingham, although scarcely arrivedwas in such a haste to meet the enemy that he commandedevery disposition to be made to drive the English from theIsle of Re, and afterward to press the siege of La Rochelle;but notwithstanding his earnest wish, he was delayed by thedissensions which broke out between MM. Bassompierre andSchomberg, against the Duc d'Angouleme.

MM. Bassompierre and Schomberg were marshals of France, andclaimed their right of commanding the army under the ordersof the king; but the cardinal, who feared that Bassompierre,a Huguenot at heart, might press but feebly the English andRochellais, his brothers in religion, supported the Ducd'Angouleme, whom the king, at his instigation, had namedlieutenant general. The result was that to prevent MM.Bassompierre and Schomberg from deserting the army, aseparate command had to be given to each. Bassompierre tookup his quarters on the north of the city, between Leu andDompierre; the Duc d'angouleme on the east, from Dompierreto Perigny; and M. de Schomberg on the south, from Perignyto Angoutin.

The quarters of Monsieur were at Dompierre; the quarters ofthe king were sometimes at Estree, sometimes at Jarrie; thecardinal's quarters were upon the downs, at the bridge of LaPierre, in a simple house without any entrenchment. So thatMonsieur watched Bassompierre; the king, the Ducd'Angouleme; and the cardinal, M. de Schomberg.

As soon as this organization was established, they set aboutdriving the English from the Isle.

The juncture was favorable. The English, who require, aboveeverything, good living in order to be good soldiers, onlyeating salt meat and bad biscuit, had many invalids in theircamp. Still further, the sea, very rough at this period ofthe year all along the sea coast, destroyed every day somelittle vessel; and the shore, from the point of l'Aiguillonto the trenches, was at every tide literally covered withthe wrecks of pinnacles, roberges, and feluccas. The resultwas that even if the king's troops remained quietly in theircamp, it was evident that some day or other, Buckingham, whoonly continued in the Isle from obstinacy, would be obligedto raise the siege.

But as M. de Toiras gave information that everything waspreparing in the enemy's camp for a fresh assault, the kingjudged that it would be best to put an end to the affair,and gave the necessary orders for a decisive action.

As it is not our intention to give a journal of the siege,but on the contrary only to describe such of the events ofit as are connected with the story we are relating, we willcontent ourselves with saying in two words that theexpedition succeeded, to the great astonishment of the kingand the great glory of the cardinal. The English, repulsedfoot by foot, beaten in all encounters, and defeated in thepassage of the Isle of Loie, were obliged to re-embark,leaving on the field of battle two thousand men, among whomwere five colonels, three lieutenant colonels, two hundredand fifty captains, twenty gentlemen of rank, four pieces ofcannon, and sixty flags, which were taken to Paris by Claudede St. Simon, and suspended with great pomp in the arches ofNotre Dame.

Te Deums were chanted in camp, and afterward throughoutFrance.

The cardinal was left free to carry on the siege, withouthaving, at least at the present, anything to fear on thepart of the English.

But it must be acknowledged, this response was butmomentary. An envoy of the Duke of Buckingham, namedMontague, was taken, and proof was obtained of a leaguebetween the German Empire, Spain, England, and Lorraine.This league was directed against France.

Still further, in Buckingham's lodging, which he had beenforced to abandon more precipitately than he expected,papers were found which confirmed this alliance and which,as the cardinal asserts in his memoirs, strongly compromisedMme. de Chevreuse and consequently the queen.

It was upon the cardinal that all the responsibility fell,for one is not a despotic minister without responsibility.All, therefore, of the vast resources of his genius were atwork night and day, engaged in listening to the least reportheard in any of the great kingdoms of Europe.

The cardinal was acquainted with the activity, and moreparticularly the hatred, of Buckingham. If the league whichthreatened France triumphed, all his influence would belost. Spanish policy and Austrian policy would have theirrepresentatives in the cabinet of the Louvre, where they hadas yet but partisans; and he, Richelieu - the Frenchminister, the national minister - would be ruined. The king,even while obeying him like a child, hated him as a childhates his master, and would abandon him to the personalvengeance of Monsieur and the queen. He would then be lost,and France, perhaps, with him. All this must be preparedagainst.

Courtiers, becoming every instant more numerous, succeededone another, day and night, in the little house of thebridge of La Pierre, in which the cardinal had establishedhis residence.

There were monks who wore the frock with such an ill gracethat it was easy to perceive they belonged to the churchmilitant; women a little inconvenienced by their costume aspages and whose large trousers could not entirely concealtheir rounded forms; and peasants with blackened hands butwith fine limbs, savoring of the man of quality a leagueoff.

There were also less agreeable visits - for two or threetimes reports were spread that the cardinal had nearly beenassassinated.

It is true that the enemies of the cardinal said that it washe himself who set these bungling assassins to work, inorder to have, if wanted, the right of using reprisals; butwe must not believe everything ministers say, nor everythingtheir enemies say.

These attempts did not prevent the cardinal, to whom hismost inveterate detractors have never denied personalbravery, from making nocturnal excursions, sometimes tocommunicate to the Duc d'Angouleme important orders,sometimes to confer with the king, and sometimes to have aninterview with a messenger whom he did not wish to see athome.

On their part the Musketeers, who had not much to do withthe siege, were not under very strict orders and led ajoyous life. The was the more easy for our three companionsin particular; for being friends of M. de Treville, theyobtained from him special permission to be absent after theclosing of the camp.

Now, one evening when D'Artagnan, who was in the trenches,was not able to accompany them, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis,mounted on their battle steeds, enveloped in their warcloaks, with their hands upon their pistol butts, werereturning from a drinking place called the Red Dovecot,which Athos had discovered two days before upon the route toJarrie, following the road which led to the camp and quiteon their guard, as we have stated, for fear of an ambuscade,when, about a quarter of a league from the village ofBoisnau, they fancied they heard the sound of horsesapproaching them. They immediately all three halted, closedin, and waited, occupying the middle of the road. In aninstant, and as the moon broke from behind a cloud, they sawat a turning of the road two horsemen who, on perceivingthem, stopped in their turn, appearing to deliberate whetherthey should continue their route or go back. The hesitationcreated some suspicion in the three friends, and Athos,advancing a few paces in front of the others, cried in afirm voice, "Who goes there?"

"Who goes there, yourselves?" replied one of the horsemen.

"That is not an answer," replied Athos. "Who goes there?Answer, or we charge."

"Beware of what you are about, gentlemen!" said a clearvoice which seemed accustomed to command.

"It is some superior officer making his night rounds," saidAthos. "What do you wish, gentlemen?"

"Who are you?" said the same voice, in the same commandingtone. "Answer in your turn, or you may repent of yourdisobedience."

"King's Musketeers," said Athos, more and more convincedthat he who interrogated them had the right to do so.

"What company?"

"Company of Treville."

"Advance, and give an account of what you are doing here atthis hour."

The three companions advanced rather humbly - for all werenow convinced that they had to do with someone more powerfulthan themselves - leaving Athos the post of speaker.

One of the two riders, he who had spoken second, was tenpaces in front of his companion. Athos made a sign toPorthos and Aramis also to remain in the rear, and advancedalone.

"Your pardon, my officer," said Athos; "but we were ignorantwith whom we had to do, and you may see that we were goodguard."

"Your name?" said the officer, who covered a part of hisface with his cloak.

"But yourself, monsieur," said Athos, who began to beannoyed by this inquisition, "give me, I beg you, the proofthat you have the right to question me."

"Your name?" repeated the cavalier a second time, lettinghis cloak fall, and leaving his face uncovered.

"Monsieur the Cardinal!" cried the stupefied Musketeer.

"Your name?" cried his Eminence, for the third time.

"Athos," said the Musketeer.

The cardinal made a sign to his attendant, who drew near."These three Musketeers shall follow us," said he, in anundertone. "I am not willing it should be known I have leftthe camp; and if they follow us we shall be certain theywill tell nobody."

"We are gentlemen, monseigneur," said Athos; "require ourparole, and give yourself no uneasiness. Thank God, we cankeep a secret."

The cardinal fixed his piercing eyes on this courageousspeaker.

"You have a quick ear, Monsieur Athos," said the cardinal;"but now listen to this. It is not from mistrust that Irequest you to follow me, but for my security. Yourcompanions are no doubt Messieurs Porthos and Aramis."

"Yes, your Eminence," said Athos, while the two Musketeerswho had remained behind advanced hat in hand.

"I know you, gentlemen," said the cardinal, "I know you. Iknow you are not quite my friends, and I am sorry you arenot so; but I know you are brave and loyal gentlemen, andthat confidence may be placed in you. Monsieur Athos, dome, then, the honor to accompany me; you and your twofriends, and then I shall have an escort to excite envy inhis Majesty, if we should meet him."

The three Musketeers bowed to the necks of their horses.

"Well, upon my honor," said Athos, "your Eminence is rightin taking us with you; we have seen several ill-lookingfaces on the road, and we have even had a quarrel at the RedDovecot with four of those faces."

"A quarrel, and what for, gentlemen?" said the cardinal;"you know I don't like quarrelers."

"And that is the reason why I have the honor to inform yourEminence of what has happened; for you might learn it fromothers, and upon a false account believe us to be in fault."

"What have been the results of your quarrel?" said thecardinal, knitting his brow.

"My friend, Aramis, here, has received a slight sword woundin the arm, but not enough to prevent him, as your Eminencemay see, from mounting to the assault tomorrow, if yourEminence orders an escalade."

"But you are not the men to allow sword wounds to beinflicted upon you thus," said the cardinal. "Come, befrank, gentlemen, you have settled accounts with somebody!Confess; you know I have the right of giving absolution."

"I, monseigneur?" said Athos. "I did not even draw mysword, but I took him who offended me round the body, andthrew him out of the window. It appears that in falling,"continued Athos, with some hesitation, "he broke his thigh."

"Ah, ah!" said the cardinal; "and you, Monsieur Porthos?"

"I, monseigneur, knowing that dueling is prohibited - Iseized a bench, and gave one of those brigands such a blowthat I believe his shoulder is broken."

"Very well," said the cardinal; "and you, Monsieur Aramis?"

"Monseigneur, being of a very mild disposition, and being,likewise, of which Monseigneur perhaps is not aware, aboutto enter into orders, I endeavored to appease my comrades,when one of these wretches gave me a wound with a sword,treacherously, across my left arm. Then I admit my patiencefailed me; I drew my sword in my turn, and as he came backto the charge, I fancied I felt that in throwing himselfupon me, he let it pass through his body. I only know for acertainty that he fell; and it seemed to me that he wasborne away with his two companions."

"The devil, gentlemen!" said the cardinal, "three men placedhors de combat in a cabaret squabble! You don't do yourwork by halves. And pray what was this quarrel about?"

"These fellows were drunk," said Athos. "and knowing therewas a lady who had arrived at the cabaret this evening, theywanted to force her door."

"Force her door!" said the cardinal, "and for what purpose?"

"To do her violence, without doubt," said Athos. "I havehad the honor of informing your Eminence that these men weredrunk."

"And was this lady young and handsome?" asked the cardinal,with a certain degree of anxiety.

"We did not see her, monseigneur," said Athos.

"You did not see her? Ah, very well," replied the cardinal,quickly. "You did well to defend the honor of a woman; andas I am going to the Red Dovecot myself, I shall know if youhave told me the truth."

"Monseigneur," said Athos, haughtily, "we are gentlemen, andto save our heads we would not be guilty of a falsehood."

"Therefore I do not doubt what you say, Monsieur Athos, I donot doubt it for a single instant; but," added he, "tochange the conversation, was this lady alone?"

"The lady had a cavalier shut up with her," said Athos, "butas notwithstanding the noise, this cavalier did not showhimself, it is to be presumed that he is a coward."

"Judge not rashly, says the Gospel," replied the cardinal.

Athos bowed.

"And now, gentlemen, that's well," continued the cardinal."I know what I wish to know; follow me."

The three Musketeers passed behind his Eminence, who againenveloped his face in his cloak, and put his horse inmotion, keeping from eight to ten paces in advance of hisfour companions.

They soon arrived at the silent, solitary inn. No doubt thehost knew what illustrious visitor was expected, and hadconsequently sent intruders out of the way.

Ten paces from the door the cardinal made a sign to hisesquire and the three Musketeers to halt. A saddled horsewas fastened to the window shutter. The cardinal knockedthree times, and in a peculiar manner.

A man, enveloped in a cloak, came out immediately, andexchanged some rapid words with the cardinal; after which hemounted his horse, and set off in the direction of Surgeres,which was likewise the way to Paris.

"Advance, gentlemen," said the cardinal.

"You have told me the truth, my gentlemen," said he,addressing the Musketeers, "and it will not be my fault ifour encounter this evening be not advantageous to you. Inthe meantime, follow me."

The cardinal alighted; the three Musketeers did likewise.The cardinal threw the bridle of his horse to his esquire;the three Musketeers fastened the horses to the shutters.

The host stood at the door. For him, the cardinal was onlyan officer coming to visit a lady.

"Have you any chamber on the ground floor where thesegentlemen can wait near a good fire?" said the cardinal.

The host opened the door of a large room, in which an oldstove had just been replaced by a large and excellentchimney.

"I have this," said he.

"That will do," replied the cardinal. "Enter, gentlemen,and be kind enough to wait for me; I shall not be more thanhalf an hour."

And while the three Musketeers entered the ground floorroom, the cardinal, without asking further information,ascended the staircase like a man who has no need of havinghis road pointed out to him.