On arriving at the lodgings of his three friends, D'Artagnanfound them assembled in the same chamber. Athos wasmeditating; Porthos was twisting his mustache; Aramis wassaying his prayers in a charming little Book of Hours, boundin blue velvet.

"Pardieu, gentlemen," said he. "I hope what you have totell me is worth the trouble, or else, I warn you, I willnot pardon you for making me come here instead of getting alittle rest after a night spent in taking and dismantling abastion. Ah, why were you not there, gentlemen? It waswarm work."

"We were in a place where it was not very cold," repliedPorthos, giving his mustache a twist which was peculiar tohim.

"Hush!" said Athos.

"Oh, oh!" said D'Artagnan, comprehending the slight frown ofthe Musketeer. "It appears there is something freshaboard."

"Aramis," said Athos, "you went to breakfast the day beforeyesterday at the inn of the Parpaillot, I believe?"

"Yes."

"How did you fare?"

"For my part, I ate but little. The day before yesterdaywas a fish day, and they had nothing but meat."

"What," said Athos, "no fish at a seaport?"

"They say," said Aramis, resuming his pious reading, "thatthe dyke which the cardinal is making drives them all outinto the open sea."

"But that is not quite what I mean to ask you, Aramis,"replied Athos. "I want to know if you were left alone, andnobody interruptedyou."

"Why, I think there were not many intruders. Yes, Athos, Iknow what you mean: we shall do very well at theParpaillot."

"Let us go to the Parpaillot, then, for here the walls arelike sheets of paper."

D'Artagnan, who was accustomed to his friend's manner ofacting, and who perceived immediately, by a word, a gesture,or a sign from him, that the circumstances were serious,took Athos's arm, and went out without saying anything.Porthos followed, chatting with Aramis.

On their way they met Grimaud. Athos made him a sign tocome with them. Grimaud, according to custom, obeyed insilence; the poor lad had nearly come to the pass offorgetting how to speak.

They arrived at the drinking room of the Parpaillot. It wasseven o'clock in the morning, and daylight began to appear.The three friends ordered breakfast, and went into a room inwhich the host said they would not be disturbed.

Unfortunately, the hour was badly chosen for a privateconference. The morning drum had just been beaten; everyoneshook off the drowsiness of night, and to dispel the humidmorning air, came to take a drop at the inn. Dragoons,Swiss, Guardsmen, Musketeers, light-horsemen, succeeded oneanother with a rapidity which might answer the purpose ofthe host very well, but agreed badly with the views of thefour friends. Thus they applied very curtly to thesalutations, healths, and jokes of their companions.

"I see how it will be," said Athos: "we shall get into somepretty quarrel or other, and we have no need of one justnow. D'Artagnan, tell us what sort of a night you have had,and we will describe ours afterward."

"Ah, yes," said a light-horseman, with a glass of brandy inhis hand, which he sipped slowly. "I hear you gentlemen ofthe Guards have been in the trenches tonight, and that youdid not get much the best of the Rochellais."

D'Artagnan looked at Athos to know if he ought to reply tothis intruder who thus mixed unmasked in their conversation.

"Well," said Athos, "don't you hear Monsieur de Busigny, whodoes you the honor to ask you a question? Relate what haspassed during the night, since these gentlemen desire toknow it."

"Have you not taken a bastion?" said a Swiss, who wasdrinking rum out of beer glass.

"Yes, monsieur," said D'Artagnan, bowing, "we have had thathonor. We even have, as you may have heard, introduced abarrel of powder under one of the angles, which in blowingup made a very pretty breach. Without reckoning that as thebastion was not built yesterday all the rest of the buildingwas badly shaken."

"And what bastion is it?" asked a dragoon, with his saberrun through a goose which he was taking to be cooked.

"The bastion St. Gervais," replied D'Artagnan, "from behindwhich the Rochellais annoyed our workmen."

"Was that affair hot?"

"Yes, moderately so. We lost five men, and the Rochellaiseight or ten."

"Balzempleu!" said the Swiss, who, notwithstanding theadmirable collection of oaths possessed by the Germanlanguage, had acquired a habit of swearing in French.

"But it is probable," said the light-horseman, "that theywill send pioneers this morning to repair the bastion."

"Yes, that's probable," said D'Artagnan.

"Gentlemen," said Athos, "a wager!"

"Ah, wooi, a vager!" cried the Swiss.

"What is it?" said the light-horseman.

"Stop a bit," said the dragoon, placing his saber like aspit upon the two large iron dogs which held the firebrandsin the chimney, "stop a bit, I am in it. You cursed host! adripping pan immediately, that I may not lose a drop of thefat of this estimable bird."

"You was right," said the Swiss; "goose grease is kood withbasdry."

"There!" said the dragoon. "Now for the wager! We listen, Monsieur Athos."

"Yes, the wager!" said the light-horseman.

"Well, Monsieur de Busigny, I will bet you," said Athos,"that my three companions, Messieurs Porthos, Aramis, andD'Artagnan, and myself, will go and breakfast in the bastionSt. Gervais, and we will remain there an hour, by the watch,whatever the enemy may do to dislodge us."

Porthos and Aramis looked at each other; they began tocomprehend.

"But," said D'Artagnan, in the ear of Athos, "you are goingto get us all killed without mercy."

"We are much more likely to be killed," said Athos, "if wedo not go."

"My faith, gentlemen," said Porthos, turning round upon hischair and twisting his mustache, "that's a fair bet, Ihope."

"I take it," said M. de Busigny; "so let us fix the stake."

"You are four gentlemen," said Athos, "and we are four; anunlimited dinner for eight. Will that do?"

"Capitally," replied M. de Busigny.

"Perfectly," said the dragoon.

"That shoots me," said the Swiss.

The fourth auditor, who during all this conversation hadplayed a mute part, made a sign of the head in proof that heacquiesced in the proposition.

"The breakfast for these gentlemen is ready," said the host.

"Well, bring it," said Athos.

The host obeyed. Athos called Grimaud, pointed to a largebasket which lay in a corner, and made a sign to him to wrapthe viands up in the napkins.

Grimaud understood that it was to be a breakfast on thegrass, took the basket, packed up the viands, added thebottles, and then took the basket on his arm.

"But where are you going to eat my breakfast?" asked thehost.

"What matter, if you are paid for it?" said Athos, and hethrew two pistoles majestically on the table.

"Shall I give you the change, my officer?" said the host.

"No, only add two bottles of champagne, and the differencewill be for the napkins."

The host had not quite so good a bargain as he at firsthoped for, but he made amends by slipping in two bottles ofAnjou wine instead of two bottles of champagne.

"Monsieur de Busigny," said Athos, "will you be so kind asto set your watch with mine, or permit me to regulate mineby yours?"

"Which you please, monsieur!" said the light-horseman,drawing from his fob a very handsome watch, studded withdiamonds; "half past seven."

"Thirty-five minutes after seven," said Athos, "by which youperceive I am five minutes faster than you."

And bowing to all the astonished persons present, the youngmen took the road to the bastion St. Gervais, followed byGrimaud, who carried the basket, ignorant of where he wasgoing but in the passive obedience which Athos had taughthim not even thinking of asking.

As long as they were within the circle of the camp, the fourfriends did not exchange one word; besides, they werefollowed by the curious, who, hearing of the wager, wereanxious to know how they would come out of it. But whenonce they passed the line of circumvallation and foundthemselves in the open plain, D'Artagnan, who was completelyignorant of what was going forward, thought it was time todemand an explanation.

"And now, my dear Athos," said he, "do me the kindness totell me where we are going?"

"Why, you see plainly enough we are going to the bastion."

"But what are we going to do there?"

"You know well that we go to breakfast there."

"But why did we not breakfast at the Parpaillot?"

"Because we have very important matters to communicate toone another, and it was impossible to talk five minutes inthat inn without being annoyed by all those importunatefellows, who keep coming in, saluting you, and addressingyou. Here at least," said Athos, pointing to the bastion,"they will not come and disturb us."

"It appears to me," said D'Artagnan, with that prudencewhich allied itself in him so naturally with excessivebravery, "that we could have found some retired place on thedowns or the seashore."

"Where we should have been seen all four conferringtogether, so that at the end of a quarter of an hour thecardinal would have been informed by his spies that we wereholding a council."

"Yes," said Aramis, "Athos is right: Animadvertuntur indesertis."

"A desert would not have been amiss," said Porthos; "but itbehooved us to find it."

"There is no desert where a bird cannot pass over one'shead, where a fish cannot leap out of the water, where arabbit cannot come out of its burrow, and I believe thatbird, fish, and rabbit each becomes a spy of the cardinal.Better, then, pursue our enterprise; from which, besides, wecannot retreat without shame. We have made a wager - a wagerwhich could not have been foreseen, and of which I defyanyone to divine the true cause. We are going, in order towin it, to remain an hour in the bastion. Either we shallbe attacked, or not. If we are not, we shall have all thetime to talk, and nobody will hear us - for I guarantee thewalls of the bastion have no ears; if we are, we will talkof our affairs just the same. Moreover, in defendingourselves, we shall cover ourselves with glory. You seethat everything is to our advantage."

"Yes," said D'Artagnan; "but we shall indubitably attract aball."

"Well, my dear," replied Athos, "you know well that theballs most to be dreaded are not from the enemy."

"But for such an expedition we surely ought to have broughtour muskets."

"You are stupid, friend Porthos. Why should we loadourselves with a useless burden?"

"I don't find a good musket, twelve cartridges, and a powderflask very useless in the face of an enemy."

"Well," replied Athos, "have you not heard what D'Artagnansaid?"

"What did he say?" demanded Porthos.

"D'Artagnan said that in the attack of last night eight orten Frenchmen were killed, and as many Rochellais."

"What then?"

"The bodies were not plundered, were they? It appears theconquerors had something else to do."

"Well?"

"Well, we shall find their muskets, their cartridges, andtheir flasks; and instead of four musketoons and twelveballs, we shall have fifteen guns and a hundred charges tofire."

"Oh, Athos!" said Aramis, "truly you are a great man."

Porthos nodded in sign of agreement. D'Artagnan alone didnot seem convinced.

Grimaud no doubt shared the misgivings of the young man, forseeing that they continued to advance toward thebastion - something he had till then doubted - he pulled hismaster by the skirt of his coat.

"Where are we going?" asked he, by a gesture.

Athos pointed to the bastion.

"But," said Grimaud, in the same silent dialect, "we shallleave our skins there."

Athos raised his eyes and his finger toward heaven.

Grimaud put his basket on the ground and sat down with ashake of the head.

Athos took a pistol from his belt, looked to see if it wasproperly primed, cocked it, and placed the muzzle close toGrimaud's ear.

Grimaud was on his legs again as if by a spring. Athos thenmade him a sign to take up his basket and to walk on first.Grimaud obeyed. All that Grimaud gained by this momentarypantomime was to pass from the rear guard to the vanguard.

Arrived at the bastion, the four friends turned round.

More than three hundred soldiers of all kinds were assembledat the gate of the camp; and in a separate group might bedistinguished M. de Busigny, the dragoon, the Swiss, and thefourth bettor.

Athos took off his hat, placed it on the end of his sword,and waved it in the air.

All the spectators returned him his salute, accompanyingthis courtesy with a loud hurrah which was audible to thefour; after which all four disappeared in the bastion,whither Grimaud had preceded them.