The Three Musketeers (Translated by Richard Pevear) - Alexandre Dumas [130]
Planchet, it must be said, was more courageous during the day than at night.
However, his natural prudence never abandoned him for a moment. He had forgotten none of the incidents of the first journey, and he took all those he met on the road for enemies. The result was that he constantly had his hat in his hand, which brought him some severe rebukes from d’Artagnan, who feared that, owing to this excessive politeness, he would be taken for a poor man’s valet.
However, either because passersby were in fact touched by Planchet’s urbanity, or because no one lay in wait along the young man’s route, our two travelers reached Chantilly without any mishap, and dismounted at the Grand Saint Martin Hôtel, where they had stopped during their first journey.
The host, seeing a young man followed by a lackey and two saddle horses, stepped respectfully across the threshold. Now, as they had already gone eleven leagues, d’Artagnan thought it appropriate to stop, whether or not Porthos was in the hôtel. Then, too, it was perhaps not prudent to ask questions straight off about what had become of the musketeer. The result of these reflections was that d’Artagnan, without asking for news about anything at all, dismounted, entrusted the horses to his lackey, went into a small room meant for receiving those who wished to be alone, and asked his host for a bottle of his best wine and as fine a meal as he could prepare, a request that further corroborated the good opinion the innkeeper had formed of his traveler at first sight.
Thus d’Artagnan was served with miraculous celerity.
The regiment of the guards was recruited from among the foremost gentlemen of the realm, and d’Artagnan, followed by a lackey and traveling with four magnificent horses, could not fail to cause a sensation, despite the simplicity of his uniform. The host wanted to wait on him himself; seeing which, d’Artagnan had two glasses brought and entered upon the following conversation.
“By heaven, my good host,” said d’Artagnan, filling the two glasses, “I asked you for your best wine, and if you’ve deceived me, you’ll be punished where you sinned, seeing that, as I hate to drink alone, you are going to drink with me. Take this glass, then, and let us drink. Come now, what shall we drink to, so as not to wound any feelings? Let us drink to the prosperity of your establishment!”
“Your Lordship does me honor,” said the host, “and I thank him quite sincerely for his good wishes.”
“But don’t be deceived,” said d’Artagnan, “there is perhaps more egotism than you think in my toast: it is only in prosperous establishments that one is well received. In hôtels that go to seed, everything falls into disorder, and the traveler is the victim of his host’s difficulties. Now, I, who travel a great deal, and above all on this road, would like to see all innkeepers make a fortune.”
“Indeed,” said the host, “it seems to me that this is not the first time I’ve had the honor of seeing Monsieur.”
“Why, I’ve passed through Chantilly maybe ten times, and of those ten times, I’ve stopped with you at least three or four times. Wait, I was here some ten or twelve days ago. I was seeing off some friends, some musketeers, so much so that one of them got into a dispute with a stranger, an unknown man, a man who picked I don’t know what sort of quarrel with him.”
“Ah, yes, indeed,” said the host, “and I recall him perfectly! Is Your Lordship not speaking of M. Porthos?”
“That is precisely the name of my traveling companion. My God, my dear host, tell me, has he suffered some misfortune?”
“Your Lordship must have noticed that he did not continue his journey.”
“In fact, though he promised to rejoin us, we never saw him again.”
“He did us the honor of remaining here.”
“What? He did you the honor of remaining here?”
“Yes, Monsieur, in this hôtel. We’re even rather worried.”
“About what?”
“Certain expenses he has run up.”
“Well, but if he has run up expenses, he’ll pay them.”
“Ah, Monsieur, you are truly pouring balm on my wounds! We have advanced extremely great sums, and this morning again