ed, and then darted like an eel up
the side entrance.

"The Abbe's man," said D'Arcy; "the poor fellow our friend here half
murdered."

Raoul became excited. "A messenger either to or from Henri de
Lalande!" he exclaimed, and was about to dart across the road when I
pulled him back roughly, saying, "Be still! You will spoil everything.
Let us stay here and follow when he returns."

"Good advice!" agreed D'Arcy. "We may learn something. Hola! What an
uproar! Something serious the matter one would imagine. Here comes
D'Artagnan with his musketeers! The fellow rides as if Paris belongs
to him. See how he sweeps the _canaille_ out of his path!"

"The crowd is closing up," said Humphreys, "and the musketeers will
have hard work to force a way. Ah! there's one fellow down.
D'Artagnan is a fine rider. See how he manages his horse! He would
have done good work in our ranks at Naseby. And a sworder, too!
There's a stroke!"

"Smother him!" laughed D'Arcy; "we shall have the rabble here in a
minute. Be quiet, my dear fellow; I warrant D'Artagnan is no better
fencer than yourself."

"Hang D'Artagnan!" cried Raoul excitedly. "Look, there goes the little
man."

"And a man in a gray cloak behind him! Is that Peleton?"

"No," said I, "it is my cousin. Quick, let us follow and see where
they go."

While the squabble progressed in the narrow street, and the air was
filled with threats and cries of terror, while steel rang against
steel, and from more than one quarter came the sounds of firing, we ran
swiftly in the wake of my cousin and his henchman. Pillot surprised us
by the rapidity of his movements. Though so short of stature he ran at
a tremendous pace, and had the man in the gray cloak been able to keep
pace with him, we must soon have been thrown off. As it was, we kept
the second of the fugitives well in view; and so the chase continued
almost without a stop, save when Pillot halted from motives of prudence.

The noise of the strife behind us died away; we were in a labyrinth of
narrow streets, and had need of caution, though Humphreys suggested
overtaking my cousin, and forcing him at the point of the sword to
speak.

"No, no," I exclaimed, panting, "that will never do. A fight here
would bring the people out in hundreds. Besides, my cousin is no
coward, and we should obtain nothing from him by force."

So we ran on, maintaining the interval between us and the gray mantle,
till at length Pi