pleasure of making us cool our hearts off in his
ante-chamber?"

"My dear friend, we must take people as we find them. The coadjutor is
at this moment one of the seven kings of Paris, and has a court. Let us
send in our names, and if he does not send us a suitable message we
will leave him to his own affairs or those of France. Let us call one of
these lackeys, with a demi-pistole in the left hand."

"Exactly so," cried Aramis. "Ah! if I'm not mistaken here's Bazin. Come
here, fellow."

Bazin, who was crossing the ante-chamber majestically in his clerical
dress, turned around to see who the impertinent gentleman was who thus
addressed him; but seeing his friends he went up to them quickly and
expressed delight at seeing them.

"A truce to compliments," said Aramis; "we want to see the coadjutor,
and instantly, as we are in haste."

"Certainly, sir--it is not such lords as you are who are allowed to
wait in the ante-chamber, only just now he has a secret conference with
Monsieur de Bruy."

"De Bruy!" cried the friends, "'tis then useless our seeing monsieur the
coadjutor this evening," said Aramis, "so we give it up."

And they hastened to quit the palace, followed by Bazin, who was lavish
of bows and compliments.

"Well," said Athos, when Aramis and he were in the boat again, "are you
beginning to be convinced that we should have done a bad turn to all
these people in arresting Mazarin?"

"You are wisdom incarnate, Athos," Aramis replied.

What had especially been observed by the two friends was the little
interest taken by the court of France in the terrible events which
had occurred in England, which they thought should have arrested the
attention of all Europe.

In fact, aside from a poor widow and a royal orphan who wept in the
corner of the Louvre, no one appeared to be aware that Charles I. had
ever lived and that he had perished on the scaffold.

The two friends made an appointment for ten o'clock on the following
day; for though the night was well advanced when they reached the door
of the hotel, Aramis said that he had certain important visits to make
and left Athos to enter alone.

At ten o'clock the next day they met again. Athos had been out since six
o'clock.

"Well, have you any news?" Athos asked.

"Nothing. No one has seen D'Artagnan and Porthos has not appeared. Have
you anything?"

"Nothing."

"The devil!" said Aramis.

"In fact," said Athos, "this delay is not natural; they to