 CHAPTER 30. THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK. CHAPTER 30. THE INVENTORY OF MR. DE BAUFOUR. TO HAVE TALKED OF DARTANGIUM WITH PLANCHET. TO HAVE SEEN PLANCHET QUIT PARIS TO BEARY HIMSELF IN HIS COUNTRY RETREAT, HAD BEEN FOR AUTHOS AND HIS SON LIKE A LAST FAIR WELL TO THE NOISE OF THE CAPITAL TO THEIR LIFE OF FORMER DAYS. WHAT IN FACT did these men leave behind them, one of whom had exhausted the past age in glory, and the other, the present age in misfortune? Evidently, neither of them had anything to ask of his contemporaries. They had only to pay a visit to Monsieur de Beaufort, and arrange with him the particulars of departure. The Duke was lodged magnificently in Paris. He had one of those superb establishments pertaining to great fortunes, the like of which certain old men remembered to have seen in all their glory in the times of wasteful liberality of Henry III's reign. Then, really, several great nobles were richer than the king. They knew it, used it, and never deprived themselves of the pleasure of humiliating his royal majesty when they had an opportunity. It was this egotistical aristocracy Richelieu had constrained to contribute with its blood, its purse, and its duties, to what was from his time styled the king's service. From Louis XI, that terrible mower down of the great, to Richelieu, how many families had raised their heads. How many, from Richelieu to Louis XIV, had bowed their heads, never to raise them again. But Monsieur de Beaufort was born a prince, and of a blood which is not shed upon scaffolds, unless by the decree of peoples, a prince who had kept up a grand style of living. How did he maintain his horses, his people, and his table? Nobody knew, himself less than others. Only there were then privileges for the sons of kings, to whom nobody refused to become a creditor, whether from respect or the persuasion that they would someday be paid. Athos and Roul found the mansion of the duke in as much confusion as that of Plancher. The duke likewise was making his inventory. That is to say, he was distributing to his friends everything of value he had in his house. Owing nearly two millions, an enormous amount in those days, Monsieur de Beaufort had calculated that he could not set out for Africa without a good round sum, and, in order to find that sum, he was distributing to his old creditors plate, arms, jewels, and furniture, which was more magnificent in selling it, and brought him back double. In fact, how could a man to whom ten thousand lever were owing refuse to carry away a present worth six thousand, enhanced in estimation from having belonged to a descendant of Henry IV? And how, after having carried away that present, could he refuse ten thousand lever more to this generous noble? This, then, was what had happened. The duke had no longer a dwelling-house that had become useless to an admiral whose place of residence is his ship. He had no longer need of superfluous arms, when he was placed amidst his cannons. No more jewels, which the sea might rob him of, but he had three or four hundred thousand crowns fresh in his coffers. And throughout the house there was a joyous movement of people who believed they were plundering Monsignor. The prince had, in his supreme degree, the art of making happy the creditors most to be pitied. Every distressed man, every empty purse, found in him patience and sympathy for his position. To some he said, I wish I had what you have, I would give it you. And to others, I have, but the silver o'er it is worth at least five hundred lever. Take it. The effect of which was, so truly is courtesy a current payment, that the prince constantly found means to renew his creditors. This time he used no ceremony. It might be called a general pillage. He gave up everything. The oriental fable of the poor Arab, who carried away from the pillage of palace a kettle at the bottom of which was concealed a bag of gold, and whom everybody allowed to pass without jealousy. This fable had become a truth in the prince's mention. Many contractors paid themselves upon the offices of the duke. Thus the provision department, who plundered the clothes presses and the harness-rooms, attached very little value to things which tailors and saddlers set great store by. Anxious to carry home to their wives presents given them by Monsignor, many were seen bounding joyously along under the weight of earthen jars and bottles, gloriously stamped with the arms of the prince. Monsieur de Beaufort finished by giving away his horses and the hay from his lofts. He made more than thirty happy with kitchen utensils, and thirty more were the contents of his cellar. Still further, all these people went away with the conviction that Monsieur de Beaufort only acted in this manner to prepare for a new fortune concealed beneath the Arab's tents. They repeated to each other while pillaging his hotel, that he was sent to Gisele by the king to reconstruct his lost fortunes, that the treasures of Africa would be equally divided between the admiral and the king of France, that these treasures consisted in mines of diamonds or other fabulous stones, the gold and silver mines of Mount Atlas did not even obtain the honor of being named. In addition to the mines to be worked, which could not be begun till after the campaign, there would be the booty made by the army. Monsieur de Beaufort would lay his hands on all the riches pirates had robbed Christendom of since the Battle of Lepanto. The number of millions from these sources defied calculation. Why then should he, who was going in quest of such treasure, set any store by the poor utensils of his past life? And reciprocally, why should they spare the property of him who spared it so little himself? Such was the position of affairs. Athos, with his piercing practiced glance, saw what was going on at once. He found the admiral of France a little exalted, for he was rising from a table of fifty covers at which the guests had drunk long and deeply to the prosperity of the expedition. At the conclusion of which repass, the remains with the dessert had been given to the servants, and the empty dishes and plates to the curious. The prince was intoxicated with his ruin and his popularity at one and the same time. He had drunk his old wine to the health of his wine of the future. When he saw Athos and Raoul, there is by Ed de Cap being brought to me. He cried, Come hither copped! Come hither v. copped! Athos tried to find a passage through the heaps of linen and plate. Ah, step over, step over! said the duke, offering a full glass to Athos. The latter drank it. Raoul scarcely moistened his lips. Here is your commission, said the prince to Raoul. I had prepared it, you will go before me as far as Antibes. Yes, Monsignor. Here is the order, and de Beaufort gave Raoul the order. Do you know anything of the sea? Yes, Monsignor. I have traveled with Monsieur le Prince. That is well. All these bargers and lighters must be in attendance to form an escort and carry my provisions. The army must be prepared to embark in a fortnight at the very latest. That shall be done, Monsignor. The present order gives you the right to visit and search all the aisles along the coast. You will there make the enrolments and levies you may want for me. Yes, Monsieur le duke. And you are an active man, and will work freely. You will spend much money. I hope not, Monsignor. But I am sure you will. My intended has prepared the orders of a thousand lever drawn upon the cities of the south. He will give you a hundred of them. Now, dear feet comped, be gone. Athos interrupted the prince. Keep your money, Monsignor. War is to be waged among the Arabs with gold as well as lead. I wish to try the contrary, replied the duke, and then you are acquainted with my ideas upon the expedition. Plenty of noise, plenty of fire, and if so it must be, I shall disappear in the smoke. Having spoken thus, Monsieur de Beaufort began to laugh, but his mirth was not reciprocated by Athos and Raoul. He perceived this at once. Ah! said he, with the courteous egotism of his rank and age. You are such a people as a man should not see after dinner. You are cold, stiff, and dry, when I am all fire, suppleness, and wine. No, devil take me. I should always see you fasting, V. comped, and you comped. If you wear such a face as that, you shall see me no more. He said this, pressing the hand of Athos, who replied with a smile. Monsignor, do not talk so grandly because you happen to have plenty of money. I predict that within a month you will be dry, stiff, and cold, in presence of your strongbox, and that then, having Raoul at your elbow, fasting, you will be surprised to see him gay, animated, and generous, because he will have some new crowns to offer you. God grant it may be so! cried the delighted Duke. Comped, stay with me. No, I shall go with Raoul. The mission with which you charge him is a troublesome and difficult one. Alone it would be too much for him to execute. You do not observe Monsignor. You have given him command of the First Order. Bah! And in your naval arrangements too. That may be true, but one finds that such fine young fellows as your son generally do all that is required of them. Monsignor, I believe you will find nowhere so much zeal and intelligence, so much real bravery as in Raoul. But if he failed to arrange your embarkation, you would only meet the fate that you deserve. Huh! You were scolding me then. Monsignor, to provision a fleet, to assemble a flotilla, to enroll your maritime force, would take an admiral a year. Raoul is a cavalry officer, and you allow him a fortnight. I tell you he will do it. He may, but I will go and help him. To be sure you will. I reckoned upon you, and still further believed that when we are once it too long, you will not let him depart alone. Ah! said Athos, shaking his head. Patience, patience! Monsignor, permit us to take our leave. Be gone then, and may my good luck attend you. Adieu. Monsignor, and may your own good luck attend you likewise. Here is an expedition admirably commenced. Said Athos to his son. No provisions, no store for a flotilla. What can be done thus? Huh! murmured Raoul. If all are going to do as I am, provisions will not be wanted. Monsieur, replied Athos sternly, Do not be unjust and senseless in your egotism, or your grief, whatever you please to call it. If you set out for this war solely with the intention of getting killed therein, you stand in need of nobody, and it was scarcely worthwhile to recommend you to Monsieur de Beaufort. But when you have been introduced to the prime commandant, when you have accepted the responsibility of a post in his army, the question is no longer about you, but about all these poor soldiers, who as well as you have hearts and bodies, who will weep for their country and endure all the necessities of their condition. Remember, Raoul, that officers are ministers as useful to the world as priests, and that they ought to have more charity. Monsieur, I know it and have practised it. I would have continued to do so still, but you forget also that you are of a country that is proud of its military glory. Go and die, if you like, but do not die without honour and without advantage to France. Cheer up, Raoul. Do not let my words grieve you. I love you, and wish to see you perfect. I love your reproaches, Monsieur, said the young man, mildly. They alone make cure me, because they prove to me that someone loves me still. And now, Raoul, let us be off. The weather is so fine, the heavens so clear, those heavens which we always find above our heads, which you will see more clear still as you jelly, and which will speak to you of me there, as they speak to me here of God. The two gentlemen, after having agreed on this point, talked over the wild freaks of the Duke, convinced that France would be served in a very incomplete manner, as regarded both spirit and practice in the ensuing expedition. And having summed up the Ducal policy under the one word vanity, they set forward in obedience rather to their will than destiny. The sacrifice was half accomplished. The journey passed off pretty well. Athos and his son traversed France at the rate of fifteen leagues per day, sometimes more, sometimes less, according to the intensity of Raoul's grief. It took them a fortnight to reach Toulon, and they lost all traces of d'Artagnan at Antibes. They were forced to believe that the captain of the musketeers was desirous of preserving an incognito on his route, for Athos derived from his inquiries an assurance that such a cavalier as he described had exchanged his horse for a well-closed carriage on Quitting-Aving-Yon. Raoul was much affected at not meeting with d'Artagnan. His affectionate heart longed to take a farewell and received consolation from that heart of steel. Athos knew from experience that d'Artagnan became impenetrable when engaged in any serious affair, whether on his own account or on the service of the king. He even feared to offend his friend, or thwart him by two pressing inquiries. And yet when Raoul commenced his labour of classing the flotilla and got together the chaland and lighters to send them to Toulon, one of the fishermen told the compt that his boat had been laid up to refit since a trip he had made on account of a gentleman who was in great haste to embark. Athos, believing that this man was telling a falsehood in order to be left at liberty to fish, and so gain more money when all his companions were gone, insisted upon having the details. The fishermen informed him that six days previously a man had come in the night to hire his boat for the purpose of visiting the island of Saint-Anarat. The price was agreed upon, but the gentleman had arrived with an immense carriage-case which he insisted upon embarking in spite of the many difficulties that opposed the operation. The fisherman wished to retract. He had even threatened, but his threats had procured him nothing but a shower of blows from the gentleman's cane which fell upon his shoulders sharp and long. Swearing and grumbling, he had recourse to the syndic of his brotherhood at Antib, who administered justice among themselves and protected each other. But the gentleman had exhibited a certain paper at sight of which the syndic, bowing to the very ground, enjoined obedience from the fishermen and abused him for having been refractory. They then departed with the freight. But all this does not tell us, said Athos, how you injured your boat. This is the way I was steering towards Saint-Anarat as the gentleman desired me, but he changed his mind and pretended that I could not pass to the south of the Abbey. And why not? Because, Messier, there is in front of the square tower of the Benedictines, towards the southern point, the bank of the Mouane. A rock, asked Athos, level with the water, but below water, a dangerous passage, yet one I have cleared a thousand times. The gentleman required me to land it at Saint Marguerites. Well? Well, Messier, cried the fisherman with his Provencal accent. A man is a sailor, or he is not. He knows his course, or he is nothing but a freshwater lover. I was obstinate, and wished to try the channel. The gentleman took me by the collar and told me quietly he would strangle me. My mate armed himself with a hatchet, and so did I. We had the affront of the night before to pay him out for, but the gentleman drew his sword, and used it in such an astonishing rapid manner that we neither of us could get near him. I was about to hurl my hatchet at his head, and I had a right to do so, hadn't I, Messier? For a sailor aboard is master, as a citizen is in his chamber. I was going, then, in self-defense to cut the gentleman in two, when all at once. Believe me or not, Messier, the great carriage-case opened of itself, I don't know how, and there came out of it a sort of a phantom, his head covered with a black helmet and a black mask, something terrible to look upon, which came towards me threatening with its fist. And that was, said Athos, that was the devil, Messier, for the gentleman with great glee cried out on seeing him, ah, thank you, Monsignor! A most strange story, murmured the cop looking at Raoul. And what did you do? asked the latter of the fisherman. You must know, Messier, that two poor men such as we are could be no match for two gentlemen, when one of them turned out to be the devil, we had no earthly chance. My companion and I did not stop to consult one another, we made but one jump into the sea, for we were within seven or eight hundred feet of the shore. Well, and then? Why, and then, Monsignor, as there was a little wind from the south-west, the boat drifted into the sands of Saint Marguerites. Oh, what the travelers! Bah, you need not be uneasy about them. It was pretty plain that one was the devil, and protected the other, for when we recovered the boat after she got afloat again, instead of finding these two creatures injured by the shock, we found nothing, not even the carriage or the case. Very strange, very strange, repeated the cop. But after that, what did you do, my friend? I made my complaint to the governor of Saint Marguerites, who brought my finger under my nose by telling me if I plagued him with such silly stories he would have me flogged. What, did the governor himself say so? Yes, monsieur, and yet my boat was injured, seriously injured, for the prowess left upon the point of Saint Marguerites, and the carpenter asked the 120-lever to repair it. Very well, replied Raoul, you will be exempted from the service. Go. We will go to Saint Marguerites, shall we? said the cop to Brachelon as the man walked away. Yes, monsieur, for there is something to be cleared up. That man does not seem to me to have told the truth. Nor to me either, Raoul. The story of the masked man and the carriage having disappeared may be told to conceal some violence these fellows have committed upon their passengers in the open sea, to punish him for his persistence in embarking. I formed the same suspicion. The carriage was more likely to contain property than a man. We shall see to that, Raoul. The gentleman very much resembles D'Artagnan. I recognize his methods of proceeding. We are no longer the young invincibles of former days. Who knows whether the hatchet or the iron bar of this miserable coaster has not succeeded in doing that which the best blades of Europe, balls and bullets, have not been able to do in forty years. That same day they set out for Saint Marguerites, on board a chasse-marée, come from Toulon under orders. The impression they experienced on landing was a singularly pleasing one. The island seemed loaded with flowers and fruits. In its cultivated part it served as a garden for the governor. Orange, pomegranate, and fig trees bent beneath the weight of their golden or purple fruits. All round this garden, in the uncultivated parts, red partridges ran about in covies among the brambles and tufts of junipers, and at every step of the compte and Raoul a terrified rabbit quitted his thyme and heath to scuttle away to the burrow. In fact, this fortunate isle was uninhabited. Flat, offering nothing but a tiny bay for the convenience of embarkation, and under the protection of the governor, who went shares with them, smugglers made use of it as a provisional entrepot, at the expense of not killing the game or devastating the garden. With this compromise the governor was in a situation to be satisfied with a garrison of eight men to guard his fortress, in which twelve cannons accumulated coats of moldy green. The governor was a sort of happy farmer, harvesting wines, figs, oil, and oranges, preserving his citrons and cintrates in the son of his casemates. The fortress, encircled by a deep ditch, its only guardian, arose like three heads upon turrets connected with each other by terraces covered with moss. Athos and Raoul wandered for some time round the fences of the garden without finding any one to introduce them to the governor. They ended by making their own way into the garden. It was at the hottest time of the day. Each living thing sought its shelter under grass or stone. The heavens spread their fiery veils as if the stifle all noises to envelop all existences. The rabbit under the broom, the fly under the leaf, slept as the wave did beneath the heavens. Athos saw nothing living but a soldier upon the terrace beneath the second and third court, who was carrying a basket of provisions on his head. This man returned almost immediately without his basket and disappeared in the shade of his sentry-box. Athos supposed he must have been carrying dinner to someone, and, after having done so, returned to dine himself. Once they heard someone call out, and, raising their heads, perceived in the frame of the bars of the window something of a white color, like a hand that was waved backwards and forwards, something shining like a polished weapon struck by the rays of the sun. And before they were able to ascertain what it was, a luminous train, accompanied by a hissing sound in the air, called their attention from the donjon to the ground. A second dull noise was heard from the ditch, and Raul ran to pick up a silver plate which was rolling along the dry sand. The hand that had thrown this plate made a sign to the two gentlemen, and then disappeared. Athos and Raul, approaching each other, commenced an attentive examination of the dusty plate, and they discovered, in characters traced upon the bottom of it with a point of a knife, this inscription, I am the brother of the King of France, a prisoner to-day, a madman to-morrow. French gentlemen and Christians, pray to God for the soul and the reason of the son of your old rulers. The plate fell from the hands of Athos whilst Raul was endeavouring to make out the meaning of these dismal words. At the same moment they heard a cry from the top of the donjon. Quick as lightning Raul bent down his head, and forced down that of his father, likewise. A musket barrel glittered from the crest of the wall. A white smoke floated like a plume from the mouth of the musket, and a ball was flattened against a stone within six inches of the two gentlemen. Come on, dear! cried Athos. What? are people assassinated here? Come down, cowards, as you are! Yes, come down! cried Raul, furiously shaking his fist at the castle. One of the assailants, he who was about to fire, replied to these cries by an exclamation of surprise, and, as his companion, who wished to continue the attack, had reseased his loaded musket, he who had cried out threw up the weapon, and the ball flew into the air. Athos and Raul, seeing them disappear from the platform, expected they would come down to them, and waited with a firm demeanor. Five minutes had not elapsed when a stroke upon a drum, called the eight soldiers of the garrison to arms, and they showed themselves on the other side of the ditch with their muskets in hand. At the head of these men was an officer, whom Athos and Raul recognized as the one who had fired the first musket. The man ordered the soldiers to make ready. We are going to be shot! cried Raul. But, sword in hand, at least let us leap the ditch. We shall kill at least two of these scoundrels when their muskets are empty. And, suiting the action to the word, Raul was springing forward, followed by Athos, when a well-known voice resounded behind them. Athos! Raul! D'Artagnan! replied the two gentlemen. Recover arms, mortio! cried the captain to the soldiers. I was sure I could not be mistaken. What is the meaning of this? asked Athos. What! were we to be shot without warning? It was I who was going to shoot you, and if the governor missed you, I should not have missed you, my dear friends. How fortunate it is that I am accustomed to take a long aim. Instead of firing at the instant, I raised my weapon. I thought I recognized you. Ah, my dear friends, how fortunate! And D'Artagnan wiped his brow, for he had run fast, and a motion with him was not feigned. How, said Athos, and is the gentleman who fired at us, the governor at the fortress? In person. And why did he fire at us? What have we done to him? Partier, you received what the prisoner threw to you? That is true. That plate. The prisoner has written something on it, has he not? Yes. Good heavens, I was afraid he had. And D'Artagnan, with all the marks of mortal disquietude, seized the plate to read the inscription. When he had read it, a fearful pallor spread across his countenance. Oh, good heavens, repeated he. Silence, here is the governor. And what will he do to us? Is it our fault? Is it true, then? Said Athos in a subdued voice. Is it true? Silence, I tell you. Silence, if he only believes you can read, if he only suspects you have understood. I love you, my dear friends. I would willingly be killed for you. But, but, said Athos and Raoul, but I could not save you from perpetual imprisonment if I saved you from death. Silence, then. Silence again. The governor came up, having crossed the ditch upon a plank bridge. Well, said he to D'Artagnan. What stops us? You are Spaniards. You do not understand a word of French, said the captain, eagerly to his friends in a low voice. Well, replied he, addressing the governor. I was right. These gentlemen are two Spanish captains acquainted at Ipren. Last year they don't know a word of French. Ah, said the governor sharply. And yet they were trying to read the inscription on the plate. D'Artagnan took it out of his hands, effacing the characters with a point of his sword. How, cried the governor. What are you doing? I cannot read them now. It is a state secret, replied D'Artagnan bluntly. And as you know that, according to the king's orders, it is under the penalty of death anyone should penetrate it. I will, if you like, allow you to read it, and have you shot immediately afterwards. During this apostrophe, half serious, half ironical, Athos and Ruel preserved the coolest, most unconcerned silence. But is it possible, said the governor, that these gentlemen do not comprehend at least some words? Suppose they do. If they do understand a few spoken words, it does not follow that they should understand what is written. They cannot even read Spanish. A noble Spaniard, remember, ought never to know how to read. The governor was obliged to be satisfied with these explanations, but he was still tenacious. Invite these gentlemen to come to the fortress, said he. That I will willingly do. I was about to propose it to you. The fact is, the captain had quite another idea, and would have wished his friends a hundred leagues off, but he was obliged to make the best of it. He addressed the two gentlemen in Spanish, giving them a polite invitation, which they accepted. They all turned towards the entrance of the fort, and the incident being at an end, the eight soldiers returned to their delightful leisure for a moment disturbed by this unexpected adventure. End of chapter. Chapter 32 of The Man in the Iron Mask This LibriVox recording is in the public domain, and is read by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandra Dumas. Chapter 32 Captive and Jailers When they had entered the fort, and whilst the governor was making some preparations for the reception of his guests, "'Come,' said Athos, "'let us have a word of explanation whilst we are alone.' "'It is simply this,' replied the musketeer. "'I have conducted hither a prisoner who the King commands shall not be seen. You came here. He has thrown something to you through the lattice of his window. I was at dinner with the governor. I saw the object thrown, and I saw Raoul pick it up. It does not take long to understand this. I understood it, and I thought you in intelligence with my prisoner. And then?' "'And then you commanded us to be shot.' "'Mafwa!' I admit it. But if I was the first to seize a musket, fortunately I was the last to take aim at you.' "'If you had killed me, D'Artagnan, I should have had the good fortune to die for the royal house of France, and it would be an honour to die by your hand, you its noblest and most loyal defender.' "'What the devil, Athos, do you mean by the royal house?' stammered D'Artagnan. "'You don't mean that you, a well-informed and sensible man, can place any faith in the nonsense written by an idiot.' "'I do believe in it.' "'With so much the more reason, my dear Chevalier, from your having orders to kill all those who do believe in it,' said Raoul. "'That is because,' replied the captain of the musketeers, "'because every calumny, however absurd it may be, has the almost certain chance of becoming popular.' "'No, D'Artagnan,' replied Athos, promptly, "'but because the king is not willing that the secret of his family should transpire among the people, and cover with shame the executioners of the son of Louis XIII.' "'Do not talk in such a childless manner, Athos, or I shall begin to think you have lost your senses. Besides, explain to me how it is possible Louis XIII should have a son in the eel of Saint Marguerite.' "'A son whom you have brought hither, lest in a fishing-boat,' said Athos, "'why not?' D'Artagnan was brought to a pause. "'Oh,' said he, "'whence do you know that a fishing-boat brought you to Saint Marguerite's with the carriage containing the prisoner, with a prisoner whom you styled Monsignor?' "'Oh, I am acquainted with all that,' resumed the compt. D'Artagnan bit his mustache. "'If it were true,' said he, "'that I had brought hither in a boat and with a carriage a masked prisoner, nothing proves that this prisoner must be a prince, a prince of the House of Frats.' "'Ask Aramis such riddles,' replied Athos, coolly.' "'Aremas,' cried the musketeer, quite at a stand. "'Have you seen Aramis?' "'After his discomfiture and vo, yes, well, I have seen Aramis, a fugitive, pursued, bewildered, ruined. An Aramis has told me enough to make me believe in the complaints this unfortunate young prince cut upon the bottom of the plate.' D'Artagnan's head sunk on his breast in some confusion. "'This is the way,' said he, "'in which God turns to nothing that which men call wisdom. A fine secret must be that of which twelve thirteen persons hold the tattered fragments. Athos, curse it be the chance which has brought you face to face with me in this affair. For now?' "'Well,' said Athos, with his customary mild severity, "'is your secret lost because I know it. Consult your memory, my friend. Have I not borne secrets heavier than this?' "'You have never borne one so dangerous,' replied D'Artagnan in a tone of sadness. "'I have something like a sinister idea that all who are concerned with this secret will die and die unhappily.' "'The will of God be done,' said Athos. "'But here is your governor.' D'Artagnan and his friends immediately resumed their parts. The governor, suspicious and hard, behaved towards D'Artagnan with a politeness almost amounting to obsequiousness. With respect to the travellers he contented himself with offering good cheer and never taking his eye from them. Athos and Rahu observed that he often tried to embarrass them by sudden attacks or to catch them off their guard, but neither the one nor the other gave him the least advantage. What D'Artagnan had said was probable if the governor did not believe it to be quite true. They rose from the table to repose awhile. "'What is this man's name? I don't like the looks of him,' said Athos to D'Artagnan in Spanish. "'Does Sammar?' replied the captain. "'He is, then, I suppose, the Princess Jailer. "'Hey, how can I tell? I may be kept at Saint Marguerite forever.' "'Oh, no, not you!' "'My friend, I am in the situation of a man who finds a treasure in the midst of a desert. "'He would like to carry it away, but he cannot. "'He would like to leave it, but he dares not. "'The king will not dare to recall me, "'for no one else would serve him as faithfully as I do. "'He regrets not having me near him from being aware "'that no one would be of so much service near his person "'as myself, but it will happen as it may please God.' "'But,' observed Rahu, "'you're not being certain proves that your situation here is provisional "'and you will return to Paris.' "'Ask these gentlemen,' interrupted the governor, "'what was their purpose in coming to Saint Marguerite?' "'They came from learning there was a convent of Benedictines "'at San Adorat, which is considered curious, "'and from being told there was excellent shooting in the island. "'That is quite at their service, as well as yours,' replied Saint Marr.' D'Artagnan politely thanked him. "'When will they depart?' added the governor. "'Tomorrow,' replied D'Artagnan. "'Monsieur de Saint Marr went to make his rounds "'and left D'Artagnan alone with the pretended Spaniards. "'Oh,' exclaimed the musketeer, "'here is a life in a society that suits me very little. "'I demand this man, and he bores me, Mordeaux. "'Come, let's have a shot or two at the rabbits. "'The walk will be beautiful and not fatiguing. "'The whole island is but a league and a half in length, "'with the breadth of a league, a real park. "'Let us try to amuse ourselves.' "'As you please, D'Artagnan, "'not for the sake of amusing ourselves, "'but to gain an opportunity for talking freely.' "'D'Artagnan made a sign to a soldier "'who brought the gentleman some guns "'and then returned to the fort. "'And now,' said the musketeer, "'answer me the question put to you "'by the black-looking Saint Marr, "'what did you come to do at the Léron Isles?' "'To bid you farewell.' "'Bid me farewell? "'What do you mean by that? "'Is Raoul going anywhere?' "'Yes.' "'Then I will lay a wager. "'It is with Monsieur de Beaufort.' "'With Monsieur de Beaufort it is, my dear friend. "'You always guess correctly.' "'From habit.' "'Whilst the two friends were commencing their conversation, "'Raoul, with his head hanging down "'and his heart oppressed, "'seated himself on a mossy rock, "'his gun across his knees, looking at the sea, "'looking at the heavens, "'and listening to the voice of his soul. "'He allowed the sportsman to attain "'a considerable distance from him.' "'Dartanian remarked his absence.' "'He has not recovered the blow,' "'said he to Athos. "'He has struck to death.' "'Oh, your fears exaggerate, I hope. "'Raoul is of a tempered nature. "'Around all hearts as noble as his "'there is a second envelope that forms a cuirass. "'The first bleeds, the second resists.' "'No,' replied Athos. "'Raoul will die of it.' "'More, Dio,' said Dartanian "'in a melancholy tone, "'and he did not add a word to this exclamation. "'Then, a minute after, "'why do you let him go? "'Because he insists on going. "'And why do you not go with him? "'Because I could not bear to see him die.' "'Dartanian looked at his friend earnestly in the face. "'You know one thing,' returned the compt, "'leaning upon the arm of the captain. "'You know that in the course of my life "'I have been afraid of but few things. "'Well, I have an incessant gnawing "'insurmountable fear that an hour will come "'in which I shall hold the dead body "'of that boy in my arms.' "'Oh,' murmured Dartanian. "'No.' "'He will die, I know. "'I have a perfect conviction of that. "'But I would not see him die.' "'How is this, Athos? "'You come and place yourself "'in the presence of the bravest man. "'You say you have ever seen "'of your own Dartanian, of that man without an equal, "'as you formerly called him, "'and you come and tell him, "'with your arms folded, "'that you are afraid of witnessing the death of your son. "'Who have seen all that can be seen in this world? "'Why have you this fear, Athos? "'Man upon this earth must expect everything "'and ought to face everything.' "'Listen to me, my friend. "'After having worn myself out "'upon this earth of which you speak, "'I have preserved but two religions, "'that of life, friendship, my duty as a father, "'that of eternity, love and respect for God. "'Now, I have within me the revelation "'that if God should decree that my friend or my son "'should render up his last sigh in my presence. "'Oh, no, I cannot even tell you, Dartanian. "'Speak, speak, tell me. "'I am strong against everything, "'except against the death of those I love. "'For that only there is no remedy. "'He who dies gains. "'He who sees others die loses. "'No, this is it. "'To know that I should no more meet on earth, "'him whom I now behold with joy. "'To know that there would nowhere be a Dartanian anymore. "'Nowhere again be I Raul. "'Oh, I am old. "'Look you, I have no longer courage. "'I pray God to spare me in my weakness, "'but if he struck me so plainly "'in that fashion I should curse him. "'A Christian gentleman ought not to curse his God, Dartanian. "'It is enough to once have cursed a king.' "'Sigh, Dartanian. "'A little confused by this violent tempest of grief. "'Let me speak to him, Athos. "'Who knows? "'Try, if you please, "'but I am convinced you will not succeed. "'I will not attempt to console him. "'I will serve him.' "'You will?' "'Doubtless I will. "'Do you think this would be the first time "'a woman had repented of an infidelity? "'I will go to him, I tell you.' "'Athos shook his head and continued his walk alone. "'Dartanian, cutting across the brambles, "'rejoined Raul and held out his hand to him. "'Well, Raul, you have something to say to me?' "'I have a kindness to ask of you,' replied Brajalon. "'Ask it then. "'You will someday return to France.' "'I hope so. "'Aught I to write to Mme Moussel de la Valière?' "'No, you must not. "'But I have many things to say to her. "'Go and say them to her then. "'Never. "'Pray, what virtue do you attribute to a letter "'which your speech might not possess? "'Perhaps you are right.' "'She loves the king,' said Dartanian bluntly, "'and she is an honest girl,' Raul started. "'And you, you whom she abandons, "'she perhaps loves better than she does the king, "'but after another fashion.' "'Dartanian, do you believe she loves the king?' "'Too idolatry. "'Her heart isn't accessible to any other feeling. "'You might continue to live near her "'and would be her best friend.' "'Ah!' exclaimed Raul, "'with a passionate burst of repugnance "'at such a hideous hope.' "'Will you do so?' "'It would be base.' "'That is a very absurd word "'which would lead me to think slightly "'of your understanding. "'Please do understand, Raul, "'that it is never base to do that "'which is imposed upon us by a superior force. "'If your heart says to you, "'go there or die, "'why go, Raul? "'Was she base or brave, "'she whom you loved, "'in preferring the king to you, "'the king whom her heart commanded her "'imperiously to prefer to you? "'No, she was the bravest of women. "'Do, then, as she has done. "'oblize yourself. "'Do you know one thing of which I am sure, Raul? "'What is that? "'Why, that by seeing her closely "'with the eyes of a jealous man, "'well, "'well, you would cease to love her. "'Then I am decided, my dear Dytanian, "'to set off to see her again? "'No, to set off "'that I may never see her again. "'I wish to love her forever.'" "'Ha! I must confess,' replied the musketeer. "'That is a conclusion which I was far from expecting. "'That is what I wish, my friend. "'You will see her again, "'and you will give her a letter which, "'if you think proper, will explain to her "'as to yourself what is passing in my heart. "'Read it. I drew it up last night. "'Something told me I should see you today.' He held the letter out, and Dytanian read, "'Mademoiselle, you are not wrong in my eyes in not loving me. "'You have only been guilty of one fault towards me, "'that of having left me to believe you loved me. "'This error will cost me my life. "'I pardon you, but I cannot pardon myself. "'It is said that happy lovers "'are deaf to the sorrows of rejected lovers. "'It will not be so with you, "'who did not love me, save with anxiety. "'I am sure that if I had persisted in endeavouring "'to change that friendship into love, "'you would have yielded out of a fear "'of bringing about my death "'or lessening the esteem I had for you. "'It is much more delightful to me to die, "'knowing that you are free and satisfied. "'How much then will you love me "'when you will no longer fear "'either my presence or reproaches? "'You will love me because, "'however charming a new love may appear to you, "'God has not made me in anything inferior to him "'you have chosen, "'and because my devotedness, my sacrifice, "'and my painful end will assure me, in your eyes, "'a certain superiority over him. "'I have allowed to escape "'in the candid credulity of my heart, "'the treasure I possessed. "'Many people tell me that you love me enough "'to leave me to hope you would have loved me much. "'That idea takes from my mind all bitterness "'and leads me only to blame myself. "'You will accept this last farewell, "'and you will bless me for having taken refuge "'in the inviolable asylum where hatred is extinguished "'and where all love endures forever.' "'I do, mademoiselle. "'If your happiness could be purchased "'by the last drop of my blood, "'I would shed that drop. "'I willingly make the sacrifice of it to my misery.' "'Signed, Raoul, v'compt de braselon.' "'The letter reads very well,' said the captain. "'I have only one fault to find with it.' "'Tell me what that is,' said Raoul. "'Why it is that it tells everything "'except the thing which exhales "'like a mortal poison from your eyes and from your heart, "'except the senseless love which still consumes you?' "'Raoul grew paler, but remained silent.' "'Why did you not write simply these words? "'Mademoiselle, instead of cursing you, "'I love you and I die.' "'That is true,' exclaimed Raoul "'with a sinister kind of joy. "'And tearing the letter he had just taken back, "'he wrote the following words upon a leaf of his tablets. "'To procure the happiness of once more telling you, "'I love you, I commit the baseness of writing to you, "'and to punish myself for that baseness, I die.' "'And he signed it.' "'You will give her these tablets, captain, will you not?' "'When?' asked the latter. "'On the day,' said Prajalon, pointing to the last sentence, "'on the day when you can place a date under these words.' "'And he sprang away quickly to join Athos, "'who was returning with slow steps.' As they re-edered the fort, the sea rose with that rapid, gusty vehemence which characterizes the Mediterranean, the ill humor of the element became a tempest. Something shapeless and tossed about violently by the waves appeared just off the coast. "'What is that?' said Athos. "'A wrecked boat?' "'No, it's not a boat,' said D'Artagnan. "'Pardon me,' said Raoul. "'There is a bark gaining the port rapidly.' "'Yes, there is a bark in the creek, "'which is prudently seeking shelter here, "'but that which Athos points to in the sand "'is not a boat at all. It is run aground.' "'Yes, yes, I see it.' "'It is the carriage which I threw into the sea "'after landing the prisoner.' "'Well,' said Athos, "'if you take my advice, D'Artagnan, "'you will burn that carriage "'in order that no vestige of it may remain, "'without which the fishermen of Antibes "'who have believed they had to do with the devil "'will endeavor to prove that your prisoner was but a man.' "'Your advice is good, Athos, "'and I will this night have it carried out, "'or rather, I will carry it out myself. "'But let us go in for the rain falls heavily, "'and the lightning is terrific.' As they were passing over the ramparts to a gallery of which D'Artagnan had the key, they saw Monsieur de Sammar directing his steps towards the chamber inhabited by the prisoner. Upon a sign from D'Artagnan they concealed themselves in an angle of the staircase. "'What is it?' said Athos. "'You will see, look, the prisoner is returning from chapel.' And they saw, by the red flashes of lightning against the violet fog which the wind had stamped upon the bankward sky, they saw past gravely, at six paces behind the governor, a man clothed in black and massed by a visor of polished steel, soldered to a helmet of the same nature, which altogether enveloped the whole of his head. The fire of the heavens cast red reflections on the polished surface, and these reflections, flying off capriciously, seemed to be angry looks launched by the unfortunate, instead of implications. In the middle of the gallery the prisoner stopped for a moment to contemplate the infinite horizon, to respire the sulfurous perfumes of the tempest, to drink in thirstily the hot rain, to breathe a sigh resembling a smothered groan. "'Come on, monsieur!' said Samar, sharply to the prisoner, for he already became uneasy at seeing him look so long beyond the walls. "'Monsieur, come on!' "'Say Monsignor!' cried Athos from his corner, with a voice so solemn and terrible that the governor trembled from head to foot. Athos insisted upon respect being paid to fallen majesty. The prisoner turned round. "'Who spoke?' asked Saint Mars. "'It was I,' replied D'Artagnan, showing himself promptly. "'You know that is the order. "'Call me neither monsieur nor Monsignor!' said the prisoner in his turn, in a voice that penetrated to the very soul of Raoul. "'Call me accursed!' he passed on, and the iron door croaked after him. "'There goes a truly unfortunate man,' murmured the musketeer and a hollow whisper, pointing out to Raoul the chamber inhabited by the prince.' End of chapter. CHAPTER 33 OF THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK CHAPTER 33 PROMISES Scarcely had D'Artagnan re-entered his apartment with his two friends when one of the soldiers of the fort came to inform him that the governor was seeking him. The bark which Raoul had perceived at sea and which appeared so eager to gain the port came to Saint Marguerite with an important dispatch for the captain of the musketeers. On opening it, D'Artagnan recognized the writing of the king. "'I should think,' said Louis XIV, "'you will have completed the execution of my orders, Mr. D'Artagnan. Return then immediately to Paris and join me at the Louvre.' "'There is the end of my exile!' cried the musketeer with joy. "'God be praised! I am no longer a jailer!' And he showed the letter to Athos. "'So then you must leave us?' replied the latter in a melancholy tone. "'Yes, but to meet again, dear friend, seeing that Raoul is old enough now to go alone with Monsieur de Beaufort, and will prefer his father going back in company with Monsieur D'Artagnan to forcing him to travel two hundred leagues solitarily to reach home at La Faire. Will you not, Raoul?' "'Certainly,' stammered the latter with an expression of tender regret. "'No, no, my friend,' interrupted Athos. "'I will never quit Raoul till the day his vessel disappears on the horizon. As long as he remains in France, he shall not be separated from me.' "'As you please, dear friend, but we will at least leave Saint-Marguerite together, take advantage of the bark that will convey me back to Antibes. "'With all my heart, we cannot too soon be at a distance from this fort and from the spectacle that shocked us so just now.' The three friends quitted the little isle after paying their respects to the governor, and by the last flashes of the departing tempest they took their farewell of the white walls of the fort. D'Artagnan parted from his friend that same night, after having seen fire set to the carriage upon the shore by the orders of Saint-Mar, according to the advice the captain had given him, before getting on horseback, and after leaving the arms of Athos. "'My friends,' said he, "'you bear too much resemblance to two soldiers who are abandoning their post. Something warns me that Raoul would require being supported by you in his rank. Will you allow me to ask permission to go over into Africa with a hundred good muskets? The king will not refuse me, and I will take you with me.' "'Monsieur D'Artagnan,' replied Raoul, pressing his hand with emotion, "'thanks for that offer, which will give us more than we wish. Either Monsieur Le Comte or I. I, who am young, stand in need of labour of mind and fatigue of body. Monsieur Le Comte wants the profoundest repose. You are his best friend. I recommend him to your care. In watching over him you are holding both our souls in your hands.' "'I must go. My horse is all in a fret,' said D'Artagnan, with whom the most manifest sign of a lively emotion is a change of ideas and conversation. Come, Comte, how many days longer has Raoul to stay here?' "'Three days at most.' "'And how long will it take you to reach home?' "'Oh, a considerable time,' replied Athos. "'I shall not like the idea of being separated too quickly from Raoul. Time will travel too fast of itself to require me to aid it by distance. I shall only make half-stages.' "'And why so, my friend? Nothing is more dull than travelling slowly and hostelary life does not become a man like you.' "'My friend, I came hither on post-horses, but I wish to purchase two animals of a superior kind. Now, to take them home fresh, it would not be prudent to make them travel more than seven or eight leagues a day.' "'Where is Grimaud?' "'He arrived yesterday morning with Raoul's appointments and I have left him to sleep.' "'That is never to come back again,' D'Artagnan suffered to escape him. "'Till we meet again, then, dear Athos, and if you are diligent, I shall embrace you the sooner.' So, saying, he put his foot in the stirrup which Raoul held. "'Fair well,' said the young man, embracing him. "'Fair well,' said D'Artagnan as he got into his saddle. His horse made a movement which divided the cavalier from his friends. This scene had taken place in front of the house chosen by Athos near the gates of Antibes, wither D'Artagnan after his supper had ordered his horses to be brought. The road began to branch off there, white and undulating in the vapors of the night. The horse eagerly respired the salt-sharp perfume of the marshes. D'Artagnan put him to a trot, and Athos and Raoul sadly turned towards the house. All at once they heard the rapid approach of a horse's steps, and first believed it to be one of those singular repercussions which deceived the ear at every turn in a road. But it was really the return of the horsemen. They uttered a cry of joyous surprise, and the captain, springing to the ground like a young man, seized within his arms the two beloved heads of Athos and Raoul. He held them long embraced thus, without speaking a word, or suffering the sigh which was bursting his breast to escape him. Then, as rapidly as he had come back, he set off again with a sharp application of his spurs to the sides of his fiery horse. Halas! said the compt in a low voice. Halas! Halas! An evil omen on his sides said D'Artagnan to himself, making up for lost time. I could not smile upon them. An evil omen. The next day Grimaud was on foot again. The service commanded by Monsieur de Beaufort was happily accomplished. The flotilla, sent too too long by the exertions of Raoul, had set out, dragging after it in little nutshells, almost invisible, the wives and friends of the fishermen and smugglers put in requisition for the service of the fleet. The time so short, that they remained for father and son to live together, appeared to go by with double rapidity, like some swift stream that flows towards eternity. Athos and Raoul returned too long, which began to be filled with the noise of carriages, with the noise of arms, the noise of neighing horses. The trumpeters sounded their spirited marches, the drummers signalized their strength, the streets were overflowing with soldiers, servants, the duke de Beaufort was everywhere, superintending the embarkation with the zeal and interest of a good captain. He encouraged the humblest of his companions, he scolded his lieutenants even those of the highest rank. Artillery, provisions, baggage, he insisted upon seeing all himself. He examined the equipment of every soldier, assured himself of the health and soundness of every horse. It was plain that light, boastful, egotistical in his hotel the gentleman became the soldier again, the high noble, a captain, in the face of the responsibility he had accepted. And yet, it must be admitted that, whatever was the care with which he presided over the preparations for departure, it was easy to perceive careless precipitation and the absence of all the precaution that make the French soldier the first soldier in the world, because in that world he is the one most abandoned to his own physical and moral resources. All things having satisfied, or appearing to have satisfied, the admiral, he paid his compliments to Raoul and gave the last orders for sailing, which was ordered the next morning at daybreak. He invited the compt and his son to dine with him, but they under a pretext of service kept themselves apart. Gaining their hostelry, situated under the trees of the Great Plus, they took their repast in haste and lot those led Raoul to the rocks which dominate the city. Vast grey mountains, whence the view is infinite and embraces a liquid horizon which appears, so remote is it, on a level with the rocks themselves. The night was fine, as it always is in these happy climbs. The moon, rising behind the rocks, unrolled a silver sheet on the cerulean carpet of the sea. In the roadsteads maneuvered silently the vessels which had just taken their rank to facilitate the embarkation. The sea, loaded with phosphoric light, opened beneath the hulls of the barks that transported the baggage and munitions, every dip of the prow plowed up this gulf of white flames from every ore dropped liquid diamonds. The sailors, rejoicing in the gargesses of the admiral, were heard murmuring their slow and artless songs. Sometimes the grinding of the chains was mixed with the dull noise of shot falling into the holds. Such harmonies, such a spectacle, oppressed the heart like fear and dilated like hope. All this life speaks of death. Athos had seated himself with his son upon the moss among the brambles of the promontory. Around their heads passed and repast large bats carried along by the fearful whirl of their blind chase. The feet of Raoul were over the edge of the cliff, bathed in that void which is peopled by Vertigo and provokes to self-annihilation. When the moon had risen to its fullest height, caressing with light the neighboring peaks, when the watery mirror was illumined in its full extent and the little red fires had made the darkness in the black masses of every ship, Athos, collecting all his ideas and all his courage, said, God has made all these things that we see, Raoul. He has made us also, poor atoms mixed up with this monstrous universe. We shine like those fires and those stars. We sigh like those waves. We suffer like those great ships which are worn out by the wind that urges them towards an end, as the breath of God blows us towards a port. Everything likes to live, Raoul, and everything seems beautiful to living things. Monsieur, said Raoul, we have before us a beautiful spectacle. How good D'Artagnan is! interrupted Athos suddenly, and what a rare good fortune it is to be supported during a whole life with a friend as he is. That is what you have missed, Raoul. A friend, cried Raoul, I have wanted a friend. Monsieur de Guiche is an agreeable companion, returned the compt coldly, but I believe, in the times in which you live, men are more engaged in their own interests and their own pleasures than they were in ours. You have sought a secluded life. That is a great happiness, but you have lost your strength thereby. We four, more weaned from those delicate abstractions that constitute your joy, furnished much more resistance when misfortune presented itself. I have not interrupted you, Monsieur, to tell you that I had a friend, and that friend is Monsieur de Guiche. Certis, he is good and generous, and moreover he loves me, I have lived under the guardianship of another friendship, Monsieur, as precious and as strong as that of which you speak, since it is yours. I have not been a friend for you, Raoul, said Athos. Eh, Monsieur, and in what respect not? Because I have given you reason to think that life has but one face, because, sad and severe, alas, I have always cut off for you, without God knows, wishing to do so, the joyous buds that spring incessantly from the fair tree of youth, so that at this moment I repent of not having made of you a more expansive, dissipated, animated man. I know why you say that, Monsieur. No, it is not you who have made me what I am. It was love which took me at the time and inclinations. It is the constancy natural to my character, which with other creatures is but habit. I believe that I should always be as I was. I thought God had cast me in a path quite clear, quite straight, bordered with fruits and flowers. I had ever watching over me your vigilance and strength. I believed myself to be vigilant and strong. Nothing prepared me. Well, once, and that once deprived me of courage for the whole of my life. It is quite true that I wrecked myself. Oh, no, Monsieur, you are nothing in my past but happiness in my future, but hope. No, I have no reproach to make against life such as you made it for me. I bless you, and I love you ardently. My dear Raoul, your words do me good. They prove to me that you will act a little for me in the time to come. I shall only act for you, Monsieur. Raoul, what I have never hitherto done with respect to you, I will henceforward do. I will be your friend, not your father. We will live in expanding ourselves instead of living and holding ourselves prisoners when you come back, and that will be soon, will it not? Certainly, Monsieur, for such an expedition cannot last long. Soon then, Raoul, soon, instead of living moderately on my income, I will give you the capital of my estates. It will suffice for launching you into the world till my death, and you will give me, I hope, before that time the consolation of not seeing my race extinct. I will do all you may command, said Raoul, much agitated. It is not necessary, Raoul, that your duty as Ed de Cap should lead you into two hazardous enterprises. You have gone through your ordeal. You are known to be a true man under fire. Remember that war with Arabs is a war of snares, ambuscades, and assassinations. So it is said, Monsieur, there is never much glory in falling in an ambuscade. It is a death which always implies a little rashness or want of foresight. Often indeed, he who falls in one meets with but little pity. Those who are not pityed, Raoul, have died to little purpose. Still further, the conqueror laughs, and we Frenchmen ought not to allow stupid infidels to triumph over our faults. Do you clearly understand what I am saying to you, Raoul? God forbid I should encourage you to avoid encounters. I am naturally prudent, Monsieur, and I have very good fortune, said Raoul, with a smile which chilled the heart of his poor father. For, the young man hastened to add, in twenty combats through which I have been, I have only received one scratch. There is in addition, Sedathos, the climate to be dreaded. That is an ugly end to die of fever. King Saint Louis prayed God to send him an arrow or the plague rather than the fever. Oh, Monsieur, with sobriety, with reasonable exercise, I have already obtained from Monsieur de Beaufort a promise that his dispatches shall be sent off every fortnight to France. You, as is said to camp, will be charged with expediting them to ensure not to forget me. No, Monsieur, said Raoul, almost choked with emotion. Besides Raoul, as you are a good Christian and I am one also, we ought to reckon upon a more special protection of God and his guardian angels. Promise me that if anything evil should happen to you, on any occasion, you will think of me at once. Oh, yes, Monsieur, and will call upon me instantly. You dream of me sometimes, do you not, Raoul? Every night, Monsieur, during my early youth I saw you in my dreams calm and mild, with one hand stretched out over my head and that it was which made me sleep so soundly, formerly. We love each other too dearly, said the copte, that from this moment in which we separate a portion of both our souls should not travel with one and the other of us and should not dwell wherever we may dwell. Whenever you may be sad, Raoul, I feel that my heart will be dissolved in sadness and when you smile on thinking of me, be assured you will send me from however remote a distance the isolation of your joy. I will not promise you to be joyous, replied the young man, but you may be certain that I will never pass an hour without thinking of you, not one hour, I swear, unless I shall be dead. Athos could contain himself no longer. He threw his arm round the neck of his son and held him embraced with all the power of his heart. The moon began to be now eclipsed a golden band surrounded the horizon announcing the approach of the day. Athos threw his cloak over the shoulders of Raoul and led him back to the city where burdens and porters were already in motion, like a vast ant hill. At the extremity of the plateau which Athos and Brajalan were quitting they saw a dark shadow moving uneasily, backwards and forwards, as if an indecision or a shame to be seen. It was Grimaud who in his anxiety had tracked his master and was there awaiting him. Oh, my good Grimaud! cried Raoul. What do you want? You are come to tell us it is time to be gone, have you not? Alone, said Grimaud, addressing Athos and pointing to Raoul in a tone of reproach which showed to what an extent the old man was troubled. Oh, you are right! No, Raoul shall not go alone. No, he shall not be left alone in a strange land without some friendly hand to support him, some friendly heart to recall to him all he loved. I? said Grimaud. You! Yes, you! cried Raoul, touched to the innmost heart. Alas! said Athos. You are very old, my good Grimaud. So much the better! replied the latter with an inexpressible depth of feeling and intelligence. But the embarkation is begun, said Raoul, and you are not prepared. Yes, said Grimaud, showing the keys of his trunks mixed with those of his young master. But, again, objected Raoul, you cannot leave Monsieur Le Compt thus alone, Monsieur Le Compt whom you have never quitted. Grimaud turned his diamond eyes upon Athos and Raoul as if to measure the strength of both. The Compt uttered not a word. Monsieur Le Compt prefers my going, said Grimaud. I do, said Athos by an inclination of the head. At that moment the drums suddenly rolled, and the clarions filled the air with their inspiring notes. The regiments destined for the expedition of the city. They advanced to the number of five, each composed of forty companies. Royals marched first, distinguished by their white uniform, faced with blue. The Ordinance colors, quartered crosswise, violet and dead leaf, with a sprinkling of gold and fleur-de-lis, left the white-colored flag with its fleur-de-lis cross to dominate the whole. Musketeers at the wings and their muskets on their shoulders, pikemen in the center with their lances, fourteen feet in length, marched gaily towards the transports which carried them in detail to the ships. The regiments of Picardy, Navarre, Normandy, and Royal Vaisseau followed after. M. before had known well how to select his troops. He himself was seen closing the march with his staff. It would take a full hour until he could reach the sea. Raoul with Athos turned his steps slowly towards the beach in order to take his place when the prince embarked. Grimaud, boiling with the ardor of a young man, superintended the embarkation of Raoul's baggage in the admiral's vessel. Athos, with his arm passed through that of the sun he was about to lose, absorbed in melancholy meditation, was deaf to every noise around him. An officer came quickly towards them to inform Raoul that M. before was anxious to have him by his side. Have the kindness to tell the prince, said Raoul, that I request he will allow me this hour to enjoy the company of my father. No, no," said Athos. An ed to camp ought not thus to quit his general. Pleased to tell the prince, monsieur, that the V. copped will join him immediately. The officer set off at a gallop. Whether we part here or part there, added the compt, it is no less a separation. He carefully brushed the dust from his son's coat and passed his hand over his hair as they walked along. But Raoul, said he, you want money. Monsieur de Beaufort's train will be splendid and I am certain it will be agreeable to you to purchase horses and arms which are very dear things in Africa. Now, as you are not actually in the service of the king or monsieur de Beaufort and are simply a volunteer, you must not reckon upon either pay or largesse. But I should not like you to want for anything at Jigeli. Here are two hundred pistolis. If you would please me, Raoul, spend them. Raoul pressed the hand of his father and at the turning of a street they saw Monsieur de Beaufort mounted on a magnificent white genet which responded by graceful curvets to the applause of the women of the city. The duke called Raoul and held out his hand to the compt. He spoke to him for some time with such a kindly expression that the heart of the poor father even felt a little comforted. It was, however, evident to both father and son that their walk amounted to nothing less than a punishment. There was a terrible moment. That at which, on quitting the sands of the shore, the soldiers and sailors exchanged the last kisses with their families and friends. A supreme moment in which, notwithstanding the clearness of the heavens, the warmth of the sun, of the perfumes of the air, and the rich life that was circulating in their veins, everything appeared black, everything bitter, everything created doubts of providence, nay, at the most, of God. It was customary for the admiral and his suite to embark last. The cannon waited to announce with its formidable voice that the leader had placed his foot on board his vessel. Athos, forgetful of both the admiral and the fleet, and of his own dignity as a strong man, opened his arms to his son and pressed him convulsively to his heart. "'Acompney us on board,' said the Duke, very much affected. "'You will gain a good half-hour.' "'No,' said Athos. "'My farewell has been spoken. I do not wish to voice a second.' "'Then, V. Compt, embark! Embark quickly!' added the Prince, wishing to spare the tears of those two men whose hearts were bursting. And paternally, tenderly, very much as Porthos might have done, he took Raul in his arms and placed him in the boat, the oars of which, at a signal, he immediately were dipped in the waves. He himself, forgetful of ceremony, jumped into his boat and pushed it off with a vigorous foot. "'I do!' cried Raul.' Athos replied only by a sign, but he felt something burning on his hand. It was the respectful kiss of Grimoire, the last farewell of the faithful dog. This kiss given, Grimoire jumped from the step of the Mole upon the stem of a two-ord yaw which had just been taken in tow by a shaland, served by twelve galeors. Athos seated himself on the Mole, stunned, deaf, abandoned. Every instant took from him one of the features, one of the shades of the pale face of his son. With his arms hanging down, his eyes fixed, his mouth open, he remained confounded with Raul, in one same look, in one same thought, in one same stupor. The sea, by degrees, carried away boats and faces to that distance at which men become nothing but points. Loves nothing but remembrances. Athos saw his son ascend the ladder of the admiral's ship. He saw him lean upon the rail of the deck and place himself in such a manner as to be always an obstacle in the eye of his father. In vain the cannon thundered, in vain from the ship sounded the long and lordly tumult, responded to by immense acclamations from the shore. In vain did the noise deafen the ear of the father, the smoke obscured the cherished object of his aspirations. Raul appeared to him to the last moment, when the imperceptible atom, passing from black to pale, from pale to white, from white to nothing, disappeared for Athos, disappeared very long after to all the eyes of the spectators, had disappeared both gallant ships and swelling sails. Towards midday, with the sun devoured space and scarcely the tops of the masks dominated the incandescent limit of the sea, Athos perceived a soft aerial shadow rise and vanish as soon as seen. This was the smoke of a cannon which M. de Beaufort ordered to be fired as a last salute to the coast of France. The point was buried in its turn beneath the sky, and Athos returned with slow and painful step to his deserted hostelry. End of chapter. Chapter 34 This lever-box recording is in the public domain and is read by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexander Dumas. Chapter 34. Among Women D'Artagnan had not been able to hide his feelings from his friends so much as he would have wished. The stoical soldier, the impassive man at arms, overcome by fear and sad presentiments, had yielded for a few moments to human weakness. When therefore he had silenced his heart and calmed the agitation of his nerves, turning towards his lackey, a silent servant, always listening in order to obey them more promptly, Rabaud said he, Mind, we must travel thirty leagues a day. At your pleasure, Captain! replied Rabaud. And from that moment D'Artagnan, accommodating his action to the pace of the horse, like a true centaur, gave up his thoughts to nothing. That is to say, to everything. He asked himself why the king had sent for him back, why the Iron Mask had thrown the silver plate at the feet of Raoul. As to the first subject, the reply was negative. He knew right well that the king's calling him was from necessity. He still further knew that Louis XIV must experience an imperious desire for a private conversation with one whom the possession of such a secret placed on a level with the highest powers of the kingdom. But as to saying exactly what the king's wish was, D'Artagnan found himself completely at a loss. The musketeer had no doubts, either, upon the reason which had urged the unfortunate Philippe to reveal his character and birth. Philippe, buried forever beneath a mask of steel, exiled to a country where the men seemed little more than slaves of the elements. Philippe, deprived even of the society of D'Artagnan, who had loaded him with honors and delicate attentions, had nothing more to see than odious specters in this world, and, despair beginning to devour him, he poured himself forth in complaints, in the belief that his revelations would raise up some avenger for him. The manner in which the musketeer had been near killing his two best friends, the destiny which had so strangely brought Athos to participate in the great state secret, the farewell of Raoul, the obscurity of the future which threatened to end in a melancholy death, all this threw D'Artagnan incessantly back on lamentable predictions and forebodings, which the rapidity of his pace did not dissipate as it used formally to do. D'Artagnan passed from these considerations to the remembrance of the proscribed Porthos and Aramis. He saw them both fugitives, tracked, ruined, laborious architects of fortunes they had lost, and as the king called for his man of execution in hours of vengeance and malice, D'Artagnan trembled at the very idea of receiving some commission that would make his very soul bleed. Sometimes ascending hills, when the winded horse breathed hard from his red nostrils and heaved his flanks, the captain, left to more freedom of thought, reflected on the prodigious genius of Aramis, a genius of acumen and intrigue, a match to which the frowned in the Civil War had produced but twice. Soldier, priest, diplomat, gallant, avaricious cunning, Aramis had never taken the good things of this life except as stepping-stones to rise to gittier ends. Generous in spirit, if not lofty in heart, he never did ill but for the sake of shining even more brilliantly. Towards the end of his career, at the moment of reaching the goal, like the patrician Fuscus, he had made a false step upon a plank and had fallen into the sea. But Porthos! Good, harmless Porthos! To see Porthos hungry, to see Muscaton without gold lace, in prison, perhaps, to see Pierre Fond, brassieux, raised to the very stones, dishonored even to the timber. These were so many poignant griefs for D'Artagnan and every time that one of these griefs struck him he bounded like a horse at the sting of a gadfly beneath the vaults of foliage where he had sought shady shelter from the burning sun. Never was the man of spirit subjected to ennui if his body was exposed to fatigue. Never did the man of healthy body fail to find life light if he had something to engage his mind. D'Artagnan, riding fast, thinking as constantly, alighted from his horse in power, fresh and tender in his muscles as the athlete preparing for the gymnasium. The king did not expect him so soon and had just departed for the chase toward Moudin. D'Artagnan, instead of riding after the king as he would formally have done, took off his boots, had a bath, and waited till his majesty should return dusty and tired. He occupied the interval of five hours in taking, as people say, the air of the house and in arming himself against all ill chances. He learned that the king during the last fortnight had been gloomy, that the queen mother was ill and much depressed, that Messier, the king's brother, was exhibiting a devotional turn, that Madame had the vapours, and that Messier de Guiche was gone to one of his estates. He learned that Messier Colbert was radiant, that Messier Fouquette consulted a fresh physician every day who still did not cure him, and that his principal complaint was one which physicians do not usually cure, unless they are political physicians. The king, D'Artagnan was told, behaved in the kindest manner to Messier Fouquette, and did not allow him to be ever out of his sight. But the Surin attendant, touched to the heart, like one of those fine trees a worm has punctured, was declining daily, in spite of the royal smile, that son of court trees. D'Artagnan learned that mademoiselle de la Falière had become indispensable to the king, that the king, during his sporting excursions, if he did not take her with him, wrote to her frequently, no longer verses, but, which was much worse, prose, and that whole pages at a time. Thus, as the political pliad of the day said, the first king in the world was seen descending from his horse with an ardor beyond compare, and on the crown of his hat, scrawling bombastic phrases, which Messier de Saint-Dagnan, ed to camp in perpetuity, carried to la Falière at the risk of foundering his horses. During this time, deer and pheasants were left to the free enjoyment of their nature, hunted so lazily that, it was said, the art of venery ran great risk of degenerating at the court of France. D'Artagnan then thought of the wishes of poor Raoul, of that desponding letter destined for a woman who passed her life in hoping, and, as D'Artagnan loved to philosophize a little occasionally, he resolved to profit by the absence of the king to have a minute's talk with mademoiselle de la Falière. This was a very easy affair. While the king was hunting, Louise was walking with some other ladies in one of the galleries in Palais Royale, exactly where the captain of the musketeers had some guards to inspect. D'Artagnan did not doubt that, if he could but open the conversation on Raoul, Louise might give him grounds for writing a consolatory letter to the poor exile, and hope, or at least consolation for Raoul, in the state of heart in which he had left him, was the son, was life to two men who were very dear to our captain. He directed his course, therefore, to the spot where he knew he should find mademoiselle de la Falière. D'Artagnan found la Falière the center of the circle. In her apparent solitude the king's favorite received, like a queen, more perhaps than the queen, an homage of which madame had been so proud, when all the king's looks were directed to her, and commanded the looks of the courtiers. D'Artagnan, though no squire of dames, received nevertheless civilities and attentions from the ladies. He was polite, as a brave man always is, and his terrible reputation had conciliated as much friendship among the men as admiration among the women. On seeing him enter, therefore, they immediately accosted him, and, as is not unfrequently the case with fair ladies, opened the attack by questions. Where had he been? What had become of him so long? Why had they not seen him, as usual, make his fine horse curvette in such a beautiful style to the delight and astonishment of the curious from the king's balcony? He replied that he had just come from the land of oranges. This said all the ladies laughing. Those were times in which everybody travelled, but in which, notwithstanding, a journey of a hundred leagues was a problem often solved by death. From the land of oranges, cried Madame Housel de Tone Charente, from Spain? Hey, hey, said the musketeer. From Malta, echoed Montelet, ma foie, you are coming very near, ladies. Is it an island? asked Lavalier. Madame Housel, said d'Artagnan, I will not give you the trouble of seeking any further. I come from the country where Monsieur de Beaufort is, at this moment, embarking for Algiers. Have you seen the army? asked several war-like fair ones. As plainly as I see you, replied d'Artagnan. And the fleet? Yes, I saw everything. Have we any of us any friends there? said Madame Housel de Tone Charente, coldly, but in a manner to attract attention to a question that was not without its calculated aim. Why? replied d'Artagnan. Yes, there were Monsieur de la Guillotière, Monsieur de Manchie, Monsieur de Brajelon. Lavalier became pale. Monsieur de Brajelon, cried the perfidious Athenée. Eh, what? Is he gone to the wars? Montelet trod on her toe, but all in vain. Do you know what my opinion is? continued she, addressing d'Artagnan. No, Madame Housel, but I should like very much to know it. My opinion is, then, that all the men who go to this war are desperate, desponding men whom love is treated ill, and who go to try if they cannot find jet-complexioned women more kind than fair ones have been. Some of the ladies laughed. Lavalier was evidently confused. Montelet coughed loud enough to waken the dead. Madame Housel interrupted d'Artagnan. You are in error when you speak of black women at Giselli. The women there have not jet-faces. It is true they are not white. They are yellow. Yellow! exclaimed the bevy of fair beauties. Eh? Do not disparage it. I have never seen a finer color to match with black eyes and a coral mouth. So much the better for Monsieur de Brasilon! said Madame Housel de Tonnet Charette with persistent malice. He will make amends for his loss, poor fellow. A profound silence followed these words, and d'Artagnan had time to observe and reflect that women, mild doves, treat each other more cruelly than tigers. But making Lavalier pale did not satisfy Athene. She determined to make her blush likewise. Resuming the conversation without pause. Do you know, Louise? said she, that there is a great sin on your conscience. What sin, Madame Housel? Stammered the unfortunate girl looking round her for support without finding it. Eh? Why? continued Athene. The poor young man was affianced to you. He loved you. You cast him off. Well, that is a right which every honest woman has, said Montelet, in an affected tone. When we know we cannot constitute the happiness of a man it is much better to cast him off. Cast him off? Or refuse him? That's all very well, said Athene. But that is not the sin that Lavalier has to reproach herself with. The actual sin is sending Port Brajalon to the wars and to wars in which death is so very likely to be met with. Louise pressed her hand over her icy brow. And if he dies continued her pitiless tormentor you will have killed him. That is the sin. Louise, half dead, caught at the arm of the captain of the musketeers whose face betrayed unusual emotion. You wish to speak with me, Mr. D'Artagnan? said she in a voice broken by anger and pain. What had you to say to me? D'Artagnan made several steps along the gallery holding Louise on his arm. Then when they were far enough removed from the others. What I had to say to you, Madame Waselle? replied he. The charente has just expressed roughly and unkindly it is true but still in its entirety. She uttered a faint cry. Pierced to the heart by this new wound she went her way like one of those poor birds which struck unto death seek the shade of the thicket in which to die. She disappeared at one door at the moment the king was entering by another. The first glance of the king was directed towards the empty seat of his mistress, not perceiving Lavalier. A frown came over his brow but as soon as he saw D'Artagnan who bowed to him, Ah, Monsieur! cried he. You have been diligent. I am much pleased with you. This was the superlative expression of royal satisfaction. Many men would have been ready to lay down their lives for such a speech from the king. The maids of honour and the courtiers in a respectful circle round the king on his entrance drew back on observing he wished to speak privately with his captain of the musketeers. The king led the way out of the gallery after having again, with his eyes, sought everywhere for Lavalier whose absence he could not account for. The moment they were out of the reach of curious ears. Well, Monsieur D'Artagnan said he, the prisoner is in his prison sire. What did he say on the road? Nothing, sire. What did he do? There was a moment at which the fisherman who took me in his boat to Saint Marguerite revolted and did his best to kill me. The prisoner defended me instead of attempting to fly. The king became pale. Enough, said he and D'Artagnan bowed. Louis walked about his cabinet with hasty steps. Were you at Antibes, said he, when Monsieur de Beaufort came there? No, sire, I was setting off when Monsieur Leduc arrived. Ah! Which was followed by a fresh silence. Whom did you see there? A great many persons, said D'Artagnan, coolly. The king perceived he was unwilling to speak. Ah! I have sent for you, Monsieur le Capitaine, to desire you to go and prepare my lodgings at Nantes. At Nantes, cried D'Artagnan. In Britannia. Yes, sire, it is in Britannia. Will your majesty make so long a journey as to Nantes? The states are assembled there, replied the king. I have two demands to make of them. I wish to be there. When shall I set out? said the captain. This evening, tomorrow, tomorrow evening, for you must stand in need of rest. I have rested, sire. That is well, then between this and tomorrow evening when you please. D'Artagnan bowed as if to take his leave, but, perceiving the king very much embarrassed, will your majesty, said he, taking two paces forward, take the court with you? Certainly I shall. Then your majesty will, doubtless, want the musketeers, and the eye of the king sank beneath the penetrating glance of the captain. Take a brigade of them, replied Louis. Is that all? Has your majesty no other orders to give me? No. Ah. Yes. I am all attention, sire. At the castle of Nantes, which I hear is very ill arranged, you will adopt the practice of placing musketeers at the door of each of the principal dignitaries I shall take with me. Of the principal? Yes. For instance, at the door of Monsieur de Lyon? Yes. And that of Monsieur Le Tellier? Yes. Of Monsieur de Brienne? Yes. And of Monsieur Le Surintendant? Without doubt. Very well, sire. By tomorrow I shall have set out. Oh, yes. But one more word, Monsieur D'Artagnan. At night you will meet with Monsieur Le Duc de Ghezvre, captain of the guards. Be sure that your musketeers are placed before his guards arrive. Precedence always belongs to the first-comer. Yes, sire. And if Monsieur D'Ghezvre should question you? Question me, sire. Is it likely that Monsieur D'Ghezvre would question me? And the musketeer, turning cavalierly on his heel, disappeared. To not, said he to himself, as he descended from the stairs, why did he not dare to say from thence to Bel-Eel? As he reached the great gates, one of Monsieur Brienne's clerks came running after him, exclaiming, Monsieur D'Artagnan, I beg your pardon. What is the matter, Monsieur Ariste? The king has desired me to give you this order. Upon your cash-box? asked the musketeer. No, monsieur. On that of Monsieur Fouquette. D'Artagnan was surprised, but he took the order, which was in the king's own writing in Epistolis. What, thought he, after having politely thanked Monsieur Brienne's clerk, Monsieur Fouquette is to pay for the journey then. Mordio, that is a bit of pure Louis XI. Why was not this order on the chest of Monsieur Colbert? He would have paid it with such joy. And D'Artagnan, faithful to his principle of never letting an order