hen he heard that the cardinal was going to pay
him a visit this very evening----"

"Ah!" cried D'Artagnan, "the cardinal is about to visit the Comte de la
Fere?"

"Yes; and the count desired me to tell you that he should take advantage
of this visit to plead for you and for himself."

"Ah! our dear count!" said D'Artagnan.

"A fine thing, indeed!" grunted Porthos. "A great favor! Zounds!
Monsieur the Comte de la Fere, whose family is allied to the Montmorency
and the Rohan, is easily the equal of Monsieur de Mazarin."

"No matter," said D'Artagnan, in his most wheedling tone. "On
reflection, my dear Du Vallon, it is a great honor for the Comte de la
Fere, and gives good reason to hope. In fact, it seems to me so great
an honor for a prisoner that I think Monsieur de Comminges must be
mistaken."

"What? I am mistaken?"

"Monsieur de Mazarin will not come to visit the Comte de la Fere, but
the Comte de la Fere will be sent for to visit him."

"No, no, no," said Comminges, who made a point of having the facts
appear exactly as they were, "I clearly understood what the cardinal
said to me. He will come and visit the Comte de la Fere."

D'Artagnan tried to gather from the expression of his eyes whether
Porthos understood the importance of that visit, but Porthos did not
even look toward him.

"It is, then, the cardinal's custom to walk in his orangery?" asked
D'Artagnan.

"Every evening he shuts himself in there. That, it seems, is where he
meditates on state affairs."

"In that case," said D'Artagnan, "I begin to believe that Monsieur de la
Fere will receive the visit of his eminence; he will, of course, have an
escort."

"Yes--two soldiers."

"And will he talk thus of affairs in presence of two strangers?"

"The soldiers are Swiss, who understand only German. Besides, according
to all probability they will wait at the door."

D'Artagnan made a violent effort over himself to keep his face from
being too expressive.

"Let the cardinal take care of going alone to visit the Comte de la
Fere," said D'Artagnan; "for the count must be furious."

Comminges began to laugh. "Oh, oh! why, really, one would say that you
four were anthropaphagi! The count is an affable man; besides, he is
unarmed; at the first word from his eminence the two soldiers about him
would run to his assistance."

"Two soldiers," said D'Artagnan, seeming to remember something, "two
soldiers, yes; that, then, is why I hear two men cal