第17章

"I

hadnoarms，"murmuredAramis，aswildandterribleinhiswrathastheshadeofDido。？Andthen，withouttouchingFouquet\'shand，heturnedhisheadaside，andsteppedbackapaceortwo。？Hislastwordwasanimprecation，hislastgestureacurse，whichhisblood—stainedhandseemedtoinvoke，asitsprinkledonFouquet\'sfaceafewdropsofbloodwhichflowedfromhisbreast。？Andbothofthemdartedoutoftheroombythesecretstaircasewhichleddowntotheinnercourtyard。？Fouquetorderedhisbesthorses，whileAramispausedatthefootofthestaircasewhichledtoPorthos\'sapartment。？Hereflectedprofoundlyandforsometime，whileFouquet\'scarriageleftthecourtyardatfullgallop。

"ShallIgoalone？"saidAramistohimself，"orwarntheprince？？Oh！fury！？Warntheprince，andthen—dowhat？？Takehimwithme？？Tocarrythisaccusingwitnessaboutwithmeeverywhere？？War，too，wouldfollow—civilwar，implacableinitsnature！？Andwithoutanyresourcesavemyself—itisimpossible！？Whatcouldhedowithoutme？？Oh！withoutmehewillbeutterlydestroyed。？Yetwhoknows—letdestinybefulfilled—condemnedhewas，lethimremainsothen！？GoodorevilSpirit—gloomyandscornfulPower，whommencallthegeniusofhumanity，thouartapowermorerestlesslyuncertain，morebaselesslyuseless，thanwildmountainwind！？Chance，thouterm\'stthyself，butthouartnothing;thouinflamesteverythingwiththybreath，crumblestmountainsatthyapproach，andsuddenlyartthyselfdestroyedatthepresenceoftheCrossofdeadwoodbehindwhichstandanotherPowerinvisiblelikethyself—whomthoudeniest，perhaps，butwhoseavenginghandisonthee，andhurlstheeinthedustdishonoredandunnamed！？Lost！—I

amlost！？Whatcanbedone？？FleetoBelle—Isle？？Yes，andleavePorthosbehindme，totalkandrelatethewholeaffairtoeveryone！？Porthos，too，whowillhavetosufferforwhathehasdone。？IwillnotletpoorPorthossuffer。？Heseemslikeoneofthemembersofmyownframe;andhisgrieformisfortunewouldbemineaswell。？Porthosshallleavewithme，andshallfollowmydestiny。？Itmustbeso。"

AndAramis，apprehensiveofmeetinganyonetowhomhishurriedmovementsmightappearsuspicious，ascendedthestaircasewithoutbeingperceived。？Porthos，sorecentlyreturnedfromParis，wasalreadyinaprofoundsleep;hishugebodyforgotitsfatigue，ashismindforgotitsthoughts。？Aramisentered，lightasashadow，andplacedhisnervousgrasponthegiant\'sshoulder。？"Come，Porthos，"hecried，"come。"

Porthosobeyed，rosefromhisbed，openedhiseyes，evenbeforehisintelligenceseemedtobearoused。

"Weleaveimmediately，"saidAramis。

"Ah！"

returnedPorthos。

"Weshallgomounted，andfasterthanwehaveevergoneinourlives。"

"Ah！"

repeatedPorthos。

"Dressyourself，myfriend。"

Andhehelpedthegianttodresshimself，andthrusthisgoldanddiamondsintohispocket。？Whilsthewasthusengaged，aslightnoiseattractedhisattention，andonlookingup，hesawD\'Artagnanwatchingthemthroughthehalf—openeddoor。？Aramisstarted。

"Whatthedevilareyoudoingthereinsuchanagitatedmanner？"saidthemusketeer。

"Hush！"

saidPorthos。

"Wearegoingoffonamissionofgreatimportance，"addedthebishop。

"Youareveryfortunate，"saidthemusketeer。

"Oh，dearme！"saidPorthos，"Ifeelsowearied;Iwouldfarsoonerhavebeenfastasleep。？Buttheserviceoftheking？;

"HaveyouseenM。Fouquet？"saidAramistoD\'Artagnan。

"Yes，thisveryminute，inacarriage。"

"Whatdidhesaytoyou？"

"\'Adieu;\'

nothingmore。"

"Wasthatall？"

"Whatelsedoyouthinkhecouldsay？？AmI

worthanythingnow，sinceyouhavegotintosuchhighfavor？"

"Listen，"

saidAramis，embracingthemusketeer;"yourgoodtimesarereturningagain。？Youwillhavenooccasiontobejealousofanyone。"

"Ah！

bah！"

"I

predictthatsomethingwillhappentoyouto—daywhichwillincreaseyourimportancemorethanever。"

"Really？"

"YouknowthatIknowallthenews？"

"Oh，yes！"

"Come，Porthos，areyouready？？Letusgo。"

"I

amquiteready，Aramis。"

"LetusembraceD\'Artagnanfirst。"

"Mostcertainly。"

"Butthehorses？"

"Oh！

thereisnowantofthemhere。？Willyouhavemine？"

"No;

Porthoshashisownstud。？Soadieu！

adieu！"

Thefugitivesmountedtheirhorsesbeneaththeveryeyesofthecaptainofthemusketeers，whoheldPorthos\'sstirrupforhim，andgazedafterthemuntiltheywereoutofsight。

"Onanyotheroccasion，"thoughttheGascon，"Ishouldsaythatthosegentlemenweremakingtheirescape;butinthesedayspoliticsseemsochangedthatsuchanexitistermedgoingonamission。？Ihavenoobjection;letmeattendtomyownaffairs，thatismorethanenoughforme，"—andhephilosophicallyenteredhisapartments。

ChapterXXII:

ShowingHowtheCountersignWasRespectedattheBastile。

Fouquettorealongasfastashishorsescoulddraghim。？Onhiswayhetrembledwithhorrorattheideaofwhathadjustbeenrevealedtohim。

"Whatmusthavebeen，"hethought，"theyouthofthoseextraordinarymen，who，evenasageisstealingfastuponthem，arestillabletoconceivesuchgiganticplans，andcarrythemthroughwithoutatremor？"

AtonemomenthecouldnotresisttheideathatallAramishadjustbeenrecountingtohimwasnothingmorethanadream，andwhetherthefableitselfwasnotthesnare;sothatwhenFouquetarrivedattheBastile，hemightpossiblyfindanorderofarrest，whichwouldsendhimtojointhedethronedking。？Stronglyimpressedwiththisidea，hegavecertainsealedordersonhisroute，whilefreshhorseswerebeingharnessedtohiscarriage。？TheseorderswereaddressedtoM。d\'Artagnanandtocertainotherswhosefidelitytothekingwasfarabovesuspicion。

"Inthisway，"saidFouquettohimself，"prisonerornot，IshallhaveperformedthedutythatIowemyhonor。？Theorderswillnotreachthemuntilaftermyreturn，ifIshouldreturnfree，andconsequentlytheywillnothavebeenunsealed。？Ishalltakethembackagain。？IfIamdelayed;itwillbebecausesomemisfortunewillhavebefallenme;andinthatcaseassistancewillbesentformeaswellasfortheking。"

Preparedinthismanner，thesuperintendentarrivedattheBastile;hehadtraveledattherateoffiveleaguesandahalfthehour。？EverycircumstanceofdelaywhichAramishadescapedinhisvisittotheBastilebefellFouquet。？Itwasuselessgivinghisname，equallyuselesshisbeingrecognized;hecouldnotsucceedinobtaininganentrance。？Bydintofentreaties，threats，commands，hesucceededininducingasentineltospeaktooneofthesubalterns，whowentandtoldthemajor。？Asforthegovernortheydidnotevendaredisturbhim。？Fouquetsatinhiscarriage，attheoutergateofthefortress，chafingwithrageandimpatience，awaitingthereturnoftheofficers，whoatlastre—appearedwithasufficientlysulkyair。

"Well，"

saidFouquet，impatiently，"whatdidthemajorsay？"

"Well，monsieur，"repliedthesoldier，"themajorlaughedinmyface。？HetoldmethatM。FouquetwasatVaux，andthatevenwereheatParis，M。Fouquetwouldnotgetupatsoearlyanhourasthepresent。"

"Mordieu！youareanabsolutesetoffools，"criedtheminister，dartingoutofthecarriage;andbeforethesubalternhadtimetoshutthegate，Fouquetsprangthroughit，andranforwardinspiteofthesoldier，whocriedoutforassistance。？Fouquetgainedground，regardlessofthecriesoftheman，who，however，havingatlastcomeupwithFouquet，calledouttothesentinelofthesecondgate，"Lookout，lookout，sentinel！"？Themancrossedhispikebeforetheminister;butthelatter，robustandactive，andhurriedaway，too，byhispassion，wrestedthepikefromthesoldierandstruckhimaviolentblowontheshoulderwithit。？Thesubaltern，whoapproachedtooclosely，receivedashareoftheblowsaswell。？Bothofthemutteredloudandfuriouscries，atthesoundofwhichthewholeofthefirstbodyoftheadvancedguardpouredoutoftheguardhouse。？Amongthemtherewasone，however，whorecognizedthesuperintendent，andwhocalled，"Monseigneur，ah！monseigneur。？Stop，stop，youfellows！"？Andheeffectuallycheckedthesoldiers，whowereonthepointofrevengingtheircompanions。？Fouquetdesiredthemtoopenthegate，buttheyrefusedtodosowithoutthecountersign;hedesiredthemtoinformthegovernorofhispresence;butthelatterhadalreadyheardthedisturbanceatthegate。？Heranforward，followedbyhismajor，andaccompaniedbyapicketoftwentymen，persuadedthatanattackwasbeingmadeontheBastile。？BaisemeauxalsorecognizedFouquetimmediately，anddroppedtheswordhebravelyhadbeenbrandishing。

"Ah！

monseigneur，"hestammered，"howcanIexcuse—"

"Monsieur，"

saidthesuperintendent，flushedwithanger，andheatedbyhisexertions，"Icongratulateyou。？Yourwatchandwardareadmirablykept。"

Baisemeauxturnedpale，thinkingthatthisremarkwasmadeironically，andportendedafuriousburstofanger。？ButFouquethadrecoveredhisbreath，and，beckoningthesentinelandthesubaltern，whowererubbingtheirshoulders，towardshim，hesaid，"Therearetwentypistolesforthesentinel，andfiftyfortheofficer。？Prayreceivemycompliments，gentlemen。？Iwillnotfailtospeaktohismajestyaboutyou。？Andnow，M。Baisemeaux，awordwithyou。"

Andhefollowedthegovernortohisofficialresidence，accompaniedbyamurmurofgeneralsatisfaction。？Baisemeauxwasalreadytremblingwithshameanduneasiness。？Aramis\'searlyvisit，fromthatmoment，seemedtopossessconsequences，whichafunctionarysuchashe（Baisemeaux）was，wasperfectlyjustifiedinapprehending。？Itwasquiteanotherthing，however，whenFouquetinasharptoneofvoice，andwithanimperiouslook，said，"YouhaveseenM。d\'Herblaythismorning？"

"Yes，monseigneur。"

"Andareyounothorrifiedatthecrimeofwhichyouhavemadeyourselfanaccomplice？"

"Well，"

thoughtBaisemeaux，"goodsofar;"andthenheadded，aloud，"Butwhatcrime，monseigneur，doyoualludeto？"

"Thatforwhichyoucanbequarteredalive，monsieur—donotforgetthat！？Butthisisnotatimetoshowanger。？Conductmeimmediatelytotheprisoner。"

"Towhatprisoner？"saidBaisemeaux，trembling。

"Youpretendtobeignorant？？Verygood—itisthebestplanforyou，perhaps;forif，infact，youweretoadmityourparticipationinsuchacrime，itwouldbealloverwithyou。？Iwish，therefore，toseemtobelieveinyourassumptionofignorance。"

"I

entreatyou，monseigneur—"

"Thatwilldo。？Leadmetotheprisoner。"

"ToMarchiali？"

"WhoisMarchiali？"

"TheprisonerwhowasbroughtbackthismorningbyM。d\'Herblay。"

"HeiscalledMarchiali？"saidthesuperintendent，hisconvictionsomewhatshakenbyBaisemeaux\'scoolmanner。

"Yes，monseigneur;thatisthenameunderwhichhewasinscribedhere。"

FouquetlookedsteadilyatBaisemeaux，asifhewouldreadhisveryheart;andperceived，withthatclear—sightednessmostmenpossesswhoareaccustomedtotheexerciseofpower，thatthemanwasspeakingwithperfectsincerity。？Besides，inobservinghisfaceforafewmoments，hecouldnotbelievethatAramiswouldhavechosensuchaconfidant。

"Itistheprisoner，"saidthesuperintendenttohim，"whomM。d\'Herblaycarriedawaythedaybeforeyesterday？"

"Yes，monseigneur。"

"Andwhomhebroughtbackthismorning？"addedFouquet，quickly:forheunderstoodimmediatelythemechanismofAramis\'splan。

"Precisely，monseigneur。"

"AndhisnameisMarchiali，yousay？"

"Yes，Marchiali。？Ifmonseigneurhascomeheretoremovehim，somuchthebetter，forIwasgoingtowriteabouthim。"

"Whathashedone，then？"

"Eversincethismorninghehasannoyedmeextremely。？Hehashadsuchterriblefitsofpassion，asalmosttomakemebelievethathewouldbringtheBastileitselfdownaboutourears。"

"I

willsoonrelieveyouofhispossession，"saidFouquet。

"Ah！

somuchthebetter。"

"Conductmetohisprison。"

"Willmonseigneurgivemetheorder？"

"Whatorder？"

"Anorderfromtheking。"

"WaituntilIsignyouone。"

"Thatwillnotbesufficient，monseigneur。？I

musthaveanorderfromtheking。"

Fouquetassumedanirritatedexpression。？"Asyouaresoscrupulous，"hesaid，"withregardtoallowingprisonerstoleave，showmetheorderbywhichthisonewassetatliberty。"

BaisemeauxshowedhimtheordertoreleaseSeldon。

"Verygood，"saidFouquet;"butSeldonisnotMarchiali。"

"ButMarchialiisnotatliberty，monseigneur;heishere。"

"ButyousaidthatM。d\'Herblaycarriedhimawayandbroughthimbackagain。"

"I

didnotsayso。"

"Sosurelydidyousayit，thatIalmostseemtohearitnow。"

"Itwasaslipofmytongue，then，monseigneur。"

"Takecare，M。Baisemeaux，takecare。"

"I

havenothingtofear，monseigneur;Iamactingaccordingtotheverystrictestregulation。"

"Doyoudaretosayso？"

"Iwouldsaysointhepresenceofoneoftheapostles。？M。d\'HerblaybroughtmeanordertosetSeldonatliberty。？Seldonisfree。"

"ItellyouthatMarchialihaslefttheBastile。"

"Youmustprovethat，monseigneur。"

"Letmeseehim。"

"You，monseigneur，whogovernthiskingdom，knowverywellthatnoonecanseeanyoftheprisonerswithoutanexpressorderfromtheking。"

"M。

d\'Herblayhasentered，however。"

"Thatremainstobeproved，monseigneur。"

"M。deBaisemeaux，oncemoreIwarnyoutopayparticularattentiontowhatyouaresaying。"

"Allthedocumentsarethere，monseigneur。"

"M。

d\'Herblayisoverthrown。"

"Overthrown？

—M。d\'Herblay！？Impossible！"

"Youseethathehasundoubtedlyinfluencedyou。"

"No，monseigneur;whatdoes，infact，influenceme，istheking\'sservice。？Iamdoingmyduty。？Givemeanorderfromhim，andyoushallenter。"

"Stay，M。

legouverneur，Igiveyoumywordthatifyouallowmetoseetheprisoner，I

willgiveyouanorderfromthekingatonce。"

"Giveittomenow，monseigneur。"

"Andthat，ifyourefuseme，Iwillhaveyouandallyourofficersarrestedonthespot。"

"Beforeyoucommitsuchanactofviolence，monseigneur，youwillreflect，"saidBaisemeaux，whohadturnedverypale，"thatwewillonlyobeyanordersignedbytheking;andthatitwillbejustaseasyforyoutoobtainonetoseeMarchialiastoobtainonetodomesomuchinjury;me，too，whoamperfectlyinnocent。"

"True。？True！"criedFouquet，furiously;

"perfectlytrue。？M。deBaisemeaux，"

headded，inasonorousvoice，drawingtheunhappygovernortowardshim，"doyouknowwhyIamsoanxioustospeaktotheprisoner？"

"No，monseigneur;andallowmetoobservethatyouareterrifyingmeoutofmysenses;Iamtremblingallover—infact，IfeelasthoughIwereabouttofaint。"

"Youwillstandabetterchanceoffaintingoutright，MonsieurBaisemeaux，whenIreturnhereattheheadoftenthousandmenandthirtypiecesofcannon。"

"Goodheavens，monseigneur，youarelosingyoursenses。"

"WhenI

haverousedthewholepopulationofParisagainstyouandyouraccursedtowers，andhavebatteredopenthegatesofthisplace，andhangedyoutothetopmosttreeofyonderpinnacle！"

"Monseigneur！

monseigneur！forpity\'ssake！"

"Igiveyoutenminutestomakeupyourmind，"addedFouquet，inacalmvoice。？"Iwillsitdownhere，inthisarmchair，andwaitforyou;if，intenminutes\'time，youstillpersist，I

leavethisplace，andyoumaythinkmeasmadasyoulike。？Then—youshallsee！"

Baisemeauxstampedhisfootonthegroundlikeamaninastateofdespair，buthedidnotreplyasinglesyllable;whereuponFouquetseizedapenandink，andwrote:

"OrderforM。lePr関魌desMarchandstoassemblethemunicipalguardandtomarchupontheBastileontheking\'simmediateservice。"

Baisemeauxshruggedhisshoulders。？Fouquetwrote:

"OrderfortheDucdeBouillonandM。lePrincedeCond？toassumethecommandoftheSwissguards，oftheking\'sguards，andtomarchupontheBastileontheking\'simmediateservice";

Baisemeauxreflected。？Fouquetstillwrote:

"Orderforeverysoldier，citizen，orgentlemantoseizeandapprehend，whereverhemaybefound，leChevalierd\'Herblay，Ev阸uedeVannes，andhisaccomplices，whoare:

first，M。deBaisemeaux，governoroftheBastile，suspectedofthecrimesofhightreasonandrebellion—"

"Stop，monseigneur！"criedBaisemeaux;"Idonotunderstandasinglejotofthewholematter;butsomanymisfortunes，evenwereitmadnessitselfthathadsetthemattheirawfulwork，mighthappenhereinacoupleofhours，thattheking，bywhomImustbejudged，willseewhetherIhavebeenwronginwithdrawingthecountersignbeforethisfloodofimminentcatastrophes。？Comewithmetothekeep，monseigneur，youshallseeMarchiali。"

Fouquetdartedoutoftheroom，followedbyBaisemeauxashewipedtheperspirationfromhisface。？"Whataterriblemorning！"hesaid;"whatadisgraceforme！"

"Walkfaster，"repliedFouquet。

Baisemeauxmadeasigntothejailertoprecedethem。？Hewasafraidofhiscompanion，whichthelattercouldnotfailtoperceive。

"Atrucetothischild\'splay，"hesaid，roughly。？"Letthemanremainhere;takethekeysyourself，andshowmetheway。？Notasingleperson，doyouunderstand，musthearwhatisgoingtotakeplacehere。"

"Ah！"

saidBaisemeaux，undecided。

"Again！"

criedM。Fouquet。？"Ah！say\'no\'atonce，andIwillleavetheBastileandwillmyselfcarrymyowndispatches。"

Baisemeauxbowedhishead，tookthekeys，andunaccompanied，exceptbytheminister，ascendedthestaircase。？Thehighertheyadvancedupthespiralstaircase，themoreclearlydidcertainmuffledmurmursbecomedistinctappealsandfearfulimprecations。

"Whatisthat？"askedFouquet。

"ThatisyourMarchiali，"saidthegovernor;"thisisthewaythesemadmenscream。"

Andheaccompaniedthatreplywithaglancemorepregnantwithinjuriousallusion，asfarasFouquetwasconcerned，thanpoliteness。？Thelattertrembled;hehadjustrecognizedinonecrymoreterriblethananythathadprecededit，theking\'svoice。？Hepausedonthestaircase，snatchingthebunchofkeysfromBaisemeaux，whothoughtthisnewmadmanwasgoingtodashouthisbrainswithoneofthem。？"Ah！"hecried，"M。d\'Herblaydidnotsayawordaboutthat。"

"Givemethekeysatonce！"criedFouquet，tearingthemfromhishand。？"WhichisthekeyofthedoorIamtoopen？"

"Thatone。"

Afearfulcry，followedbyaviolentblowagainstthedoor，madethewholestaircaseresoundwiththeecho。

"Leavethisplace，"saidFouquettoBaisemeaux，inathreateningtone。

"Iasknothingbetter，"murmuredthelatter，tohimself。？"Therewillbeacoupleofmadmenfacetoface，andtheonewillkilltheother，Iamsure。"

"Go！"

repeatedFouquet。？"IfyouplaceyourfootonthisstaircasebeforeIcallyou，rememberthatyoushalltaketheplaceofthemeanestprisonerintheBastile。"

"Thisjobwillkillme，Iamsureitwill，"mutteredBaisemeaux，ashewithdrewwithtotteringsteps。

Theprisoner\'scriesbecamemoreandmoreterrible。？WhenFouquethadsatisfiedhimselfthatBaisemeauxhadreachedthebottomofthestaircase，heinsertedthekeyinthefirstlock。？Itwasthenthatheheardthehoarse，chokingvoiceoftheking，cryingout，inafrenzyofrage，"Help，help！？Iamtheking。"？Thekeyoftheseconddoorwasnotthesameasthefirst，andFouquetwasobligedtolookforitonthebunch。？Theking，however，furiousandalmostmadwithrageandpassion，shoutedatthetopofhisvoice，"ItwasM。Fouquetwhobroughtmehere。？HelpmeagainstM。

Fouquet！？Iamtheking！？HelpthekingagainstM。Fouquet！"？Thesecriesfilledtheminister\'sheartwithterribleemotions。？Theywerefollowedbyashowerofblowsleveledagainstthedoorwithapartofthebrokenchairwithwhichthekinghadarmedhimself。？Fouquetatlastsucceededinfindingthekey。？Thekingwasalmostexhausted;hecouldhardlyarticulatedistinctlyasheshouted，"DeathtoFouquet！deathtothetraitorFouquet！"？Thedoorflewopen。