第32章

"How，"

stammeredhe，"willyoucarryonthedirectionsofthedifferentcorps？"

"Whenyouaregone，monsieur，"repliedthecommanderofthefleet，"itistomethecommandofthewholeiscommitted。"

"Then，monsieur，"rejoinedColbert\'sman，addressingthenewleader，"itisforyouthatthislastorderremittedtomeisintended。？Letusseeyourpowers。"

"Heretheyare，"saidtheofficer，exhibitingtheroyalsignature。

"Hereareyourinstructions，"repliedtheofficer，placingthefoldedpaperinhishands;andturningroundtowardsD\'Artagnan，"Come，monsieur，"

saidhe，inanagitatedvoice（suchdespairdidhebeholdinthatmanofiron），"domethefavortodepartatonce。"

"Immediately！"

articulatedD\'Artagnan，feebly，subdued，crushedbyimplacableimpossibility。

Andhepainfullysubsidedintothelittleboat，whichstarted，favoredbywindandtide，forthecoastofFrance。？Theking\'sguardsembarkedwithhim。？ThemusketeerstillpreservedthehopeofreachingNantesquickly，andofpleadingthecauseofhisfriendseloquentlyenoughtoinclinethekingtomercy。？Thebarkflewlikeaswallow。？D\'ArtagnandistinctlysawthelandofFranceprofiledinblackagainstthewhitecloudsofnight。

"Ah！

monsieur，"saidhe，inalowvoice，totheofficertowhom，foranhour，hehadceasedspeaking，"whatwouldIgivetoknowtheinstructionsforthenewcommander！？Theyareallpacific，aretheynot？and—"

Hedidnotfinish;thethunderofadistantcannonrolledathwartthewaves，another，andtwoorthreestilllouder。？D\'Artagnanshuddered。

"TheyhavecommencedthesiegeofBelle—Isle，"repliedtheofficer。？ThecanoehadjusttouchedthesoilofFrance。

ChapterXLV:

TheAncestorsofPorthos。

WhenD\'ArtagnanleftAramisandPorthos，thelatterreturnedtotheprincipalfort，inordertoconversewithgreaterliberty。？Porthos，stillthoughtful，wasarestraintonAramis，whosemindhadneverfeltitselfmorefree。

"DearPorthos，"saidhe，suddenly，"IwillexplainD\'Artagnan\'sideatoyou。"

"Whatidea，Aramis？"

"Anideatowhichweshalloweourlibertywithintwelvehours。"

"Ah！

indeed！"saidPorthos，muchastonished。？"Letushearit。"

"Didyouremark，inthesceneourfriendhadwiththeofficer，thatcertainordersconstrainedhimwithregardtous？"

"Yes，Ididnoticethat。"

"Well！？D\'Artagnanisgoingtogiveinhisresignationtotheking，andduringtheconfusionthatwillresultfromhisabsence，wewillgetaway，orratheryouwillgetaway，Porthos，ifthereispossibilityofflightforonlyone。"

HerePorthosshookhisheadandreplied:"Wewillescapetogether，Aramis，orwewillstaytogether。"

"Thineisaright，agenerousheart，"saidAramis，"onlyyourmelancholyuneasinessaffectsme。"

"I

amnotuneasy，"saidPorthos。

"Thenyouareangrywithme。"

"I

amnotangrywithyou。"

"Thenwhy，myfriend，doyouputonsuchadismalcountenance？"

"I

willtellyou;Iammakingmywill。"？Andwhilesayingthesewords，thegoodPorthoslookedsadlyinthefaceofAramis。

"Yourwill！"criedthebishop。？"What，then！doyouthinkyourselflost？"

"I

feelfatigued。？Itisthefirsttime，andthereisacustominourfamily。"

"Whatisit，myfriend？"

"MygrandfatherwasamantwiceasstrongasIam。"

"Indeed！"

saidAramis;"thenyourgrandfathermusthavebeenSamsonhimself。"

"No;

hisnamewasAntoine。？Well！hewasaboutmyage，when，settingoutonedayforthechase，hefelthislegsweak，themanwhohadneverknownwhatweaknesswasbefore。"

"Whatwasthemeaningofthatfatigue，myfriend？"

"Nothinggood，asyouwillsee;forhavingsetout，complainingstillofweaknessofthelegs，hemetawildboar，whichmadeheadagainsthim;hemissedhimwithhisarquebuse，andwasrippedupbythebeastanddiedimmediately。"

"Thereisnoreasoninthatwhyyoushouldalarmyourself，dearPorthos。"

"Oh！

youwillsee。？MyfatherwasasstrongagainasIam。？Hewasaroughsoldier，underHenryIII。andHenryIV。;hisnamewasnotAntoine，butGaspard，thesameasM。deColigny。？Alwaysonhorseback，hehadneverknownwhatlassitudewas。？Oneevening，asherosefromtable，hislegsfailedhim。"

"Hehadsuppedheartily，perhaps，"saidAramis，"andthatwaswhyhestaggered。"

"Bah！？AfriendofM。deBassompierre，nonsense！？No，no，hewasastonishedatthislassitude，andsaidtomymother，wholaughedathim，\'WouldnotonebelieveIwasgoingtomeetwithawildboar，asthelateM。duVallon，myfatherdid？\'"

"Well？"

saidAramis。

"Well，havingthisweakness，myfatherinsistedupongoingdownintothegarden，insteadofgoingtobed;hisfootslippedonthefirststair，thestaircasewassteep;myfatherfellagainstastoneinwhichanironhingewasfixed。？Thehingegashedhistemple;andhewasstretchedoutdeaduponthespot。"

Aramisraisedhiseyestohisfriend:"Thesearetwoextraordinarycircumstances，"saidhe;"letusnotinferthattheremaysucceedathird。？Itisnotbecominginamanofyourstrengthtobesuperstitious，mybravePorthos。？Besides，whenwereyourlegsknowntofail？？Neverhaveyoustoodsofirm，sohaughtily;

why，youcouldcarryahouseonyourshoulders。"

"Atthismoment，"saidPorthos，"Ifeelmyselfprettyactive;butattimesIvacillate;Isink;andlatelythisphenomenon，asyousay，hasoccurredfourtimes。？Iwillnotsaythisfrightensme，butitannoysme。？Lifeisanagreeablething。？Ihavemoney;I

havefineestates;IhavehorsesthatIlove;IhavealsofriendsthatIlove:

D\'Artagnan，Athos，Raoul，andyou。"

TheadmirablePorthosdidnoteventakethetroubletodissimulateintheverypresenceofAramistherankhegavehiminhisfriendship。？Aramispressedhishand:"Wewillstilllivemanyyears，"saidhe，"topreservetotheworldsuchspecimensofitsrarestmen。？Trustyourselftome，myfriend;wehavenoreplyfromD\'Artagnan，thatisagoodsign。？Hemusthavegivenorderstogetthevesselstogetherandcleartheseas。？OnmypartIhavejustissueddirectionsthatabarkshouldberolledonrollerstothemouthofthegreatcavernofLocmaria，whichyouknow，wherewehavesooftenlaininwaitforthefoxes。"

"Yes，andwhichterminatesatthelittlecreekbyatrenchwherewediscoveredthedaythatsplendidfoxescapedthatway。"

"Precisely。？Incaseofmisfortunes，abarkistobeconcealedforusinthatcavern;indeed，itmustbetherebythistime。？Wewillwaitforafavorablemoment，andduringthenightwewillgotosea！"

"Thatisagrandidea。？Whats

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