thos, we can take leave,
calmly, of two friends at a time not free from danger to you and
Aramis?"

"No," answered Athos; "embrace me, my son."

"Zounds!" said Porthos, sobbing, "I believe I'm crying; but how foolish
all this is!"

Then they embraced. At that moment their fraternal bond of union was
closer than ever, and when they parted, each to take the route agreed
on, they turned back to utter affectionate expressions, which the echoes
of the Dunes repeated. At last they lost sight of each other.

"Sacrebleu! D'Artagnan," said Porthos, "I must out with it at once, for
I can't keep to myself anything I have against you; I haven't been able
to recognize you in this matter."

"Why not?" said D'Artagnan, with his wise smile.

"Because if, as you say, Athos and Aramis are in real danger, this is
not the time to abandon them. For my part, I confess to you that I was
all ready to follow them and am still ready to rejoin them, in spite of
all the Mazarins in the world."

"You would be right, Porthos, but for one thing, which may change the
current of your ideas; and that is, that it is not those gentlemen who
are in the greatest danger, it is ourselves; it is not to abandon them
that we have separated, but to avoid compromising them."

"Really?" said Porthos, opening his eyes in astonishment.

"Yes, no doubt. If they are arrested they will only be put in the
Bastile; if we are arrested it is a matter of the Place de Greve."

"Oh! oh!" said Porthos, "there is quite a gap between that fate and the
baronial coronet you promised me, D'Artagnan."

"Bah! perhaps not so great as you think, Porthos; you know the proverb,
'All roads lead to Rome.'"

"But how is it that we are incurring greater risks than Athos and
Aramis?" asked Porthos.

"Because they have but fulfilled the mission confided to them by Queen
Henrietta and we have betrayed that confided to us by Mazarin; because,
going hence as emissaries to Cromwell, we became partisans of King
Charles; because, instead of helping cut off the royal head condemned by
those fellows called Mazarin, Cromwell, Joyce, Bridge, Fairfax, etc., we
very nearly succeeded in saving it."

"Upon my word that is true," said Porthos; "but how can you suppose,
my dear friend, that in the midst of his great preoccupations General
Cromwell has had time to think----"

"Cromwell thinks of everything; Cromwell has time for everything; and
believe me, dear friend, we ought not to lose ou