preceding Saint-Aignan.

"Do you, Saint-Aignan, send Manicamp to me, before the physician can
possibly have spoken to him." And Saint-Aignan left in his turn.

CHAPTER XXIII.

SHOWING IN WHAT WAY D'ARTAGNAN DISCHARGED THE MISSION WITH WHICH THE
KING HAD INTRUSTED HIM.

While the king was engaged in making these last-mentioned arrangements
in order to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without losing a second,
ran to the stable, took down the lantern, saddled his horse himself, and
proceeded toward the place which his majesty had indicated. According to
the promise he had made, he had neither seen nor met any one; and, as we
have observed, he had carried his scruples so far as to do without the
assistance of the helpers in the stables altogether. D'Artagnan was one
of those who in moments of difficulty pride themselves on increasing
their own value. By dint of hard galloping, he in less than five minutes
reached the wood, fastened his horse to the first tree he came to, and
penetrated to the broad open space on foot. He then began to inspect
most carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand, the whole
surface of the Rond-point, went forward, turned back again, measured,
examined, and after half an hour's minute inspection, he returned
silently to where he had left his horse, and pursued his way in deep
reflection and at a foot-pace to Fontainebleau. Louis was waiting in his
cabinet; he was alone, and with a pencil was scribbling on paper certain
lines which D'Artagnan at the first glance recognized as being very
unequal and very much scratched about. The conclusion he arrived at was,
that they must be verses. The king raised his head and perceived
D'Artagnan. "Well, monsieur," he said, "do you bring me any news?"

"Yes, sire."

"What have you seen?"

"As far as probability goes, sire," D'Artagnan began to reply.

"It was certainty I requested of you."

"I will approach it as near as I possibly can. The weather was very well
adapted for investigations of the character I have just made; it has
been raining this evening, and the roads were wet and muddy--"

"Well, the result, M. d'Artagnan?"

"Sire, your majesty told me that there was a horse lying dead in the
cross-road of the Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the
roads. I say the roads, because the center of the cross-road is reached
by four separate roads. The one that I myself took was the only one that
presented any fresh trace