The Three Musketeers (The Modern Library) - Alexandre Dumas [100]
“I too,” Porthos assured the Gascon. “You may count on me,” Aramis chimed in. “Anyhow I am not sorry to be leaving Paris; I need some distraction.”
“You will have distraction aplenty, gentlemen, you may be sure of that,” D’Artagnan promised.
“When are we to leave?” Athos inquired.
“Immediately; we have not a minute to lose.”
Pandemonium broke loose as the young men summoned their lackeys.
“Ho, Grimaud, my boots, properly polished and set out for me!” Athos cried.
“Planchet, home at once to furbish my equipment!” D’Artagnan commanded.
“Mousqueton, I will give you five minutes to get my gear in shape!” Porthos said in lordly fashion.
“Bazin, you know what to do,” Aramis counseled.
“Fetch up our horses from the stables,” D’Artagnan ordered.
When the lackeys were gone, Porthos asked:
“What is our plan of campaign? Point one: where are we bound for?”
“Calais,” said D’Artagnan. “That is the shortest route to London.”
“No one has asked me for my advice,” Porthos said, “but I will volunteer it. A party of four, setting out together, would attract too much attention. I therefore suggest that D’Artagnan give each of us his instructions. I am willing to go by the Boulogne road to blaze the trail; Athos can leave two hours later on the Amiens road, Aramis can follow us along the Noyon road, and D’Artagnan can do as he sees fit. I think it would be wise for D’Artagnan to join us eventually by whatever route he sees fit. And I do advise him to wear Planchet’s livery while Planchet, disguised as a guardsman, impersonates D’Artagnan.”
“To my way of thinking,” Athos observed, “this matter is not one for lackeys. A gentleman may betray a secret by chance, a lackey invariably sells it!”
“The plan suggested by Porthos seems to me unfeasible,” D’Artagnan commented, “if only because I am myself at a loss to tell you what to do. All I can tell you is this: I have a letter to deliver but I cannot make three copies of it, because it is sealed. Therefore in my opinion we should all travel together. The letter is here, in this pocket. . . .”
And he tapped his breast.
“If I am killed,” he went on, “one of you must take it and ride on; if he is killed, a third will take his place, and so on. One thing alone matters: the letter must reach its destination.”
“Bravo D’Artagnan, I agree!” said Athos. “We must be logical about all this. I am supposed to go to the spa of Forges; instead, I shall go to the seaside, for I can choose my place of convalescence. If anyone tries to stop us, I have but to show Monsieur de Tréville’s letter, and you, my friends, your furlough orders; if we are attacked, we fight back; if we are sent up for trial, we will swear we were bound for a holiday at the seaside. Four men, each on his own, are too easily destroyed; four men, shoulder to shoulder, form a troop. We will arm our lackeys with pistols and light muskets; if an army is sent out against us, we shall give battle; and as D’Artagnan said, the survivor will deliver the message. . . .”
“Well spoken, Athos!” Aramis congratulated his friend. “You do not speak often, but when you do, you speak like Saint John of the Golden Mouth. I see eye to eye with Athos and I suggest we adopt his plan. What about it, Porthos?”
“I am with you. Since D’Artagnan bears the letter, he should be in charge of operations. Let him order, we will obey.”
“Very well, I vote for the plan Athos outlined,” D’Artagnan decided. “Let us leave within a half-hour!”
Whereupon four right hands moved toward the money bag, four palms seized seventy-five pistoles each, and four men separated in order to prepare for the forthcoming campaign.
XX
THE JOURNEY
At two in the morning our four adventurers left Paris by the Gate of Saint-Denis. So long as it was night, they exchanged no word, awed as they were by the darkness, and imagining ambushes on every