hats have; the lace, even, had nothing particular in it."

"Did the man with the hat through which the bullet had passed fire a
second time?"

"Oh, sire, he had already fired twice."

"How did you ascertain that?"

"I found the waddings of the pistol."

"And what became of the bullet which did not kill the horse?"

"It cut in two the feather of the hat belonging to him against whom it
was directed, and broke a small birch at the other end of the open glade."

"In that case, then, the man on the black horse was disarmed, whilst his
adversary had still one more shot to fire?"

"Sire, while the dismounted rider was extricating himself from his horse,
the other was reloading his pistol.  Only, he was much agitated while he
was loading it, and his hand trembled greatly."

"How do you know that?"

"Half the charge fell to the ground, and he threw the ramrod aside, not
having time to replace it in the pistol."

"Monsieur d'Artagnan, this is marvellous you tell me."

"It is only close observation, sire, and the commonest highwayman could
tell as much."

"The whole scene is before me from the manner in which you relate it."

"I have, in fact, reconstructed it in my own mind, with merely a few
alterations."

"And now," said the king, "let us return to the dismounted cavalier.  You
were saying that he walked towards his adversary while the latter was
loading his pistol."

"Yes; but at the very moment he himself was taking aim, the other fired."

"Oh!" said the king; "and the shot?"

"The shot told terribly, sire; the dismounted cavalier fell upon his
face, after having staggered forward three or four paces."

"Where was he hit?"

"In two places; in the first place, in his right hand, and then, by the
same bullet, in his chest."

"But how could you ascertain that?" inquired the king, full of admiration.

"By a very simple means; the butt end of the pistol was covered with
blood, and the trace of the bullet could be observed, with fragments of a
broken ring.  The wounded man, in all probability, had the ring-finger
and the little finger carried off."

"As far as the hand goes, I have nothing to say; but the chest?"

"Sire, there were two small pools of blood, at a distance of about two
feet and a half from each other.  At one of these pools of blood the
grass was torn up by the clenched hand; at the other, the grass was
simply pressed down by the weight of the body."

"Poor De Guiche!" exclaimed the king.

"Ah! it was M. de Guiche, then?" said the musketeer, quietly.  "I
suspected it, but did not venture to mention it to your majesty."

"And what made you suspect it?"

"I recognized the De Gramont arms upon the holsters of the dead horse."

"And you think he is seriously wounded?"

"Very seriously, since he fell immediately, and remained a long time in
the same place; however, he was able to walk, as he left the spot,
supported by two friends."

"You met him returning, then?"

"No; but I observed the footprints of three men; the one on the right and
the one on the left walked freely and easily, but the one in the middle
dragged his feet as he walked; besides, he left traces of blood at every
step he took."

"Now, monsieur, since you saw the combat so distinctly that not a single
detail seems to have escaped you, tell me something about De Guiche's
adversary."

"Oh, sire, I do not know him."

"And yet you see everything very clearly."

"Yes, sire, I see everything; but I do not tell all I see; and, since the
poor devil has escaped, your majesty will permit me to say that I do not
intend to denounce him."

"And yet he is guilty, since he has fought a duel, monsieur."

"Not guilty in my eyes, sire," said D'Artagnan, coldly.

"Monsieur!" exclaimed the king, "are you aware of what you are saying?"

"Perfectly, sire; but, according to my notions, a man who fights a duel
is a brave man; such, at least, is my own opinion; but your majesty may
have another, it is but natural, for you are master here."

"Monsieur d'Artagnan, I ordered you, however - "

D'Artagnan interrupted the king by a respectful gesture.  "You ordered
me, sire, to gather what particulars I could, respecting a hostile
meeting that had taken place; those particulars you have.  If you order
me to arrest M. de Guiche's adversary, I will do so; but do not order me
to denounce him to you, for in that case I will not obey."

"Very well!  Arrest him, then."

"Give me his name, sire."

The king stamped his foot angrily; but after a moment's reflection, he
said, "You are right - ten times, twenty times, a hundred times right."

"That is my opinion, sire: I am happy that, this time, it accords with
your majesty's."

"One word more.  Who assisted Guiche?"

"I do not know, sire."

"But you speak of two men.  There was a person present, then, as second."

"There was no second, sire.  Nay, more than that, when M. de Guiche fell,
his adversary fled without giving him any assistance."

"The miserable coward!" exclaimed the king.

"The consequence of your ordinances, sire.  If a man has fought well, and
fairly, and has already escaped one chance of death, he naturally wishes
to escape a second.  M. de Bouteville cannot be forgotten very easily."

"And so, men turn cowards."

"No, they become prudent."

"And he has fled, then, you say?"

"Yes; and as fast as his horse could possibly carry him."

"In what direction?"

"In the direction of the chateau."

"Well, and after that?"

"Afterwards, as I have had the honor of telling your majesty, two men on
foot arrived, who carried M. de Guiche back with them."

"What proof have you that these men arrived after the combat?"

"A very evident proof, sire; at the moment the encounter took place, the
rain had just ceased, the ground had not had time to imbibe the moisture,
and was, consequently, soaked; the footsteps sank in the ground; but
while M. de Guiche was lying there in a fainting condition, the ground
became firm again, and the footsteps made a less sensible impression."

Louis clapped his hands together in sign of admiration.  "Monsieur
d'Artagnan," he said, "you are positively the cleverest man in my
kingdom."

"The identical thing M. de Richelieu thought, and M. de Mazarin said,
sire."

"And now, it remains for us to see if your sagacity is at fault."

"Oh! sire, a man may be mistaken; _humanum est errare_," said the
musketeer, philosophically. (1)

"In that case, you are not human, Monsieur d'Artagnan, for I believe you
are never mistaken."

"Your majesty said that we were going to see whether such was the case,
or not."

"Yes."

"In what way, may I venture to ask?"

"I have sent for M. de Manicamp, and M. de Manicamp is coming."

"And M. de Manicamp knows the secret?"

"De Guiche has no secrets from M. de Manicamp."

D'Artagnan shook his head.  "No one was present at the combat, I repeat;
and unless M. de Manicamp was one of the two men who brought him back - "

"Hush!" said the king, "he is coming; remain, and listen attentively."

"Very good, sire."

And, at the very same moment, Manicamp and Saint-Aignan appeared at the
threshold of the door.


Chapter XVII:
The Encounter.

The king signified with an imperious gesture, first to the musketeer,
then to Saint-Aignan, "On your lives, not a word."  D'Artagnan withdrew,
like a sentinel, to a corner of the room; Saint-Aignan, in his character
of a favorite, leaned over the back of the king's chair.  Manicamp, with
his right foot properly advanced, a smile upon his lips, and his white
and well-formed hands gracefully disposed, advanced to make his reverence
to the king, who returned the salutation by a bow.  "Good evening, M. de
Manicamp," he said.

"Your majesty did me the honor to send for me," said Manicamp.

"Yes, in order to learn from you all the details of the unfortunate
accident which has befallen the Comte de Guiche."

"Oh! sire, it is grievous indeed."

"You were there?"

"Not precisely, sire."

"But you arrived on the scene of the accident, a few minutes after it
took place?"

"Sire, about half an hour afterwards."

"And where did the accident happen?"

"I believe, sire, the place is called the Rond-point du Bois-Rochin."

"Oh! the rendezvous of the hunt."

"The very spot, sire."

"Good; give me all the details you are acquainted with, respecting this
unhappy affair, Monsieur de Manicamp."

"Perhaps your majesty has already been informed of them, and I fear to
fatigue you with useless repetition."

"No, do not be afraid of that."

Manicamp looked round him; he saw only D'Artagnan leaning with his back
against the wainscot - D'Artagnan, calm, kind, and good-natured as usual
- and Saint-Aignan whom he had accompanied, and who still leaned over the
king's armchair with an expression of countenance equally full of good
feeling.  He determined, therefore, to speak out.  "Your majesty is
perfectly aware," he said, "that accidents are very frequent in hunting."

"In hunting, do you say?"

"I mean, sire, when an animal is brought to bay."

"Ah, ah!" said the king, "it was when the animal was brought to bay,
then, that the accident happened?"

"Alas! sire, unhappily it was."

The king paused for a moment before he said: "What animal was being
hunted?"

"A wild boar, sire."

"And what could possibly have possessed De Guiche to go to a wild boar-
hunt by himself; that is but a clownish idea of sport, only fit for that
class of people who, unlike the Marechal de Gramont, have no dogs and
huntsmen, to hunt as gentlemen should do."

Manicamp shrugged his shoulders.  "Youth is very rash," he said,
sententiously.

"Well, go on," said the king.

"At all events," continued Manicamp, not venturing to be too precipitate
and hasty, and letting his words fall very slowly one by one, "at all
events, sire, poor De Guiche went hunting - all alone."

"Quite alone? indeed? - What a sportsman!  And is not M. de Guiche aware
that the wild boar always stands at bay?"

"That is the very thing that really happened, sire."

"He had some idea, then, of the beast being there?"

Other sites:

db3nf.com screen-capture.net floresca.net simonova.net flora-source.com flora-source.com sourcecentral.com sourcecentral.com geocities.com