ng's presence, and threw the pieces at his
feet, I presume that will dispense with the necessity of delivering it
over to you."

"You are quite right; and besides that, what the deuce do you suppose I
could do with your sword?"

"Am I to walk behind, or before you?" inquired Athos, laughing.

"You will walk arm-in-arm with me," replied D'Artagnan, as he took the
comte's aim to descend the staircase; and in this manner they arrived at
the landing. Grimaud, whom they had met in the anteroom, looked at them,
as they went out together in this manner, with some little uneasiness;
his experience of affairs was quite sufficient to give him good reason
to suspect that there was something wrong.

"Ah! is that you, Grimaud?" said Athos, kindly. "We are going--"

"To take a turn in my carriage," interrupted D'Artagnan, with a friendly
nod of the head.

Grimaud thanked D'Artagnan by a grimace, which was evidently intended
for a smile, and accompanied both the friends to the door. Athos entered
first into the carriage; D'Artagnan followed him, without saying a word
to the coachman. The departure had taken place so quietly that it
excited no disturbance or attention even in the neighborhood. When the
carriage had reached the quays, "You are taking me to the Bastille, I
perceive," said Athos.

"I?" said D'Artagnan, "I take you wherever you may choose to go; nowhere
else. I can assure you."

"What do you mean?" said the comte, surprised.

"Why, surely, my dear friend," said D'Artagnan, "you quite understand
that I undertook the mission with no other object in view than that of
carrying it out exactly as you liked. You surely did not expect that I
was going to get you thrown into prison like that, brutally, and without
any reflection. If I had not anticipated that, I should have let the
captain of the guards undertake it."

"And so--?" said Athos.

"And so, I repeat again, we will go wherever you may choose."

"My dear friend," said Athos, embracing D'Artagnan, "how like you that
is."

"Well, it seems simple enough to me. The coachman will take you to the
barrier of the Cours-la-Reine; you will find a horse there which I have
ordered to be kept ready for you; with that horse, you will be able to
do three posts without stopping; and I, on my side, will take care not
to return to the king, to tell him that you have gone away, until the
very moment it will be impossible to overtake you. In the meantime you
will have reache