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By Root 1064 0

at him, impaled himself. However, as he did not fall, as he did not declare himself defeated, but only backed away towards the hôtel of M. de La Trémouille,37 where one of his relations was in service, d’Artagnan, unaware of the gravity of the last wound his adversary had received, pressed him hotly, and would no doubt have finished him off with a third stroke, when, the rumor in the street having reached the tennis court, two of the guard’s friends, who had heard him exchange a few words with d’Artagnan and had seen him leave after those words, rushed sword in hand out of the sporting house and fell upon the victor. But Athos, Porthos, and Aramis appeared at once in their turn, and just as the two guards were attacking their young friend, forced them to turn around. At that moment, Bernajoux fell; and as the guards were only two against four, they started shouting: “To us, hôtel de La Trémouille!” At those shouts, everything that was in the hôtel came out and hurled itself upon the four companions, who for their part began shouting: “To us, musketeers!”

This cry was ordinarily heeded, for the musketeers were known enemies of His Eminence, and they were loved for the hatred they bore the cardinal. And so the guards from other companies than those belonging to the red duke, as Aramis had called him, generally took the side of the king’s musketeers in these sorts of quarrels. Of three guards from the company of M. des Essarts,38 who were passing by, two went to the aid of the four companions, while the third ran to the hôtel of M. de Tréville, crying: “To us, musketeers, to us!” As usual, the hôtel of M. de Tréville was filled with the bearers of that arm, who went running to help their comrades. The melée became general, but the musketeers were the stronger. The cardinal’s guards and M. de La Trémouille’s people withdrew into the hôtel, where they shut the doors just in time to keep their enemies from bursting in along with them. As for the wounded man, he had been carried off at the start and, as we have said, was in a very bad state.

The excitement was at its peak among the musketeers and their allies, and they were debating whether to punish the insolence of M. de La Trémouille’s servants for making a sortie against the king’s musketeers by setting fire to his hôtel. The proposition had been made and greeted with enthusiasm, when fortunately the clock struck eleven. D’Artagnan and his companions remembered their audience, and as they would have been sorry to see such a fine coup brought off without them, they began to calm things down. Men contented themselves with throwing a few cobblestones at the doors, but the doors held. Then they wearied of it. Besides, those who had to be regarded as the leaders of the enterprise had just left the group and set off for the hôtel of M. de Tréville, who was waiting for them, already informed of the escapade.

“Quick, to the Louvre,” he said, “to the Louvre without a moment’s loss, and let’s try to see the king before the cardinal alerts him. We’ll tell him the thing was a follow-up of yesterday’s affair, and the two will go by together.”

M. de Tréville, accompanied by the four young men, set out for the Louvre. But, to the great amazement of the captain of the musketeers, it was announced to him that the king had gone stag hunting in the forest of Saint-Germain.39 M. de Tréville made them repeat this news twice, and each time his companions saw his face darken.

“Had His Majesty already planned this hunt as of yesterday?” he asked.

“No, Your Excellency,” replied the valet, “the king’s master of hounds came this morning to announce that they had rounded up a stag for him last night. He replied at first that he would not go, but then was unable to resist the pleasure that the hunt promised and left after dinner.”

“And did the king see the cardinal?” asked M. de Tréville.

“In all probability,” replied the valet, “for I saw His Eminence’s horses being hitched up this morning, and when I asked where he was going, I was told: ‘To Saint-Germain.’”

“We’ve been forestalled,” said M.