I am expecting some one, a friend of Athos."

"A friend!" exclaimed the count.

"And here he comes, by Jupiter! galloping through the bushes."

"The count! the count!" cried a young voice that made Athos start.

"Raoul! Raoul!" he ejaculated.

For one moment the young man forgot his habitual respect--he threw
himself on his father's neck.

"Look, my lord cardinal," said Aramis, "would it not have been a pity
to have separated men who love each other as we love? Gentlemen," he
continued, addressing the cavaliers, who became more and more numerous
every instant; "gentlemen, encircle his eminence, that you may show him
the greater honor. He will, indeed give us the favor of his company;
you will, I hope, be grateful for it; Porthos, do not lose sight of his
eminence."

Aramis then joined Athos and D'Artagnan, who were consulting together.

"Come," said D'Artagnan, after a conference of five minutes' duration,
"let us begin our journey."

"Where are we to go?" asked Porthos.

"To your house, dear Porthos, at Pierrefonds; your fine chateau is
worthy of affording its princely hospitality to his eminence; it is,
likewise, well situated--neither too near Paris, nor too far from it;
we can establish a communication between it and the capital with great
facility. Come, my lord, you shall be treated like a prince, as you
are."

"A fallen prince!" exclaimed Mazarin, piteously.

"The chances of war," said Athos, "are many, but be assured we shall
take no improper advantage of them."

"No, but we shall make use of them," said D'Artagnan.

The rest of the night was employed by these cavaliers in traveling
with the wonderful rapidity of former days. Mazarin, still sombre and
pensive, permitted himself to be dragged along in this way; it looked a
race of phantoms. At dawn twelve leagues had been passed without drawing
rein; half the escort were exhausted and several horses fell down.

"Horses, nowadays, are not what they were formerly," observed Porthos;
"everything degenerates."

"I have sent Grimaud to Dammartin," said Aramis. "He is to bring us five
fresh horses--one for his eminence, four for us. We, at least, must keep
close to monseigneur; the rest of the start will rejoin us later. Once
beyond Saint Denis we shall have nothing to fear."

Grimaud, in fact, brought back five horses. The nobleman to whom he
applied, being a friend of Porthos, was very ready, not to sell them, as
was proposed, but to lend them. T