Twenty-five men jumped from the upper rocks into the first compartment of the grotto, and having taken their ground, began to fire.

The echoes shrieked and barked, the hissing balls seemed actually to rarefy the air, and then opaque smoke filled the vault.
"To the left! to the left!" cried Biscarrat, who, in his first assault, had seen the passage to the second chamber, and who, animated by the smell of powder, wished to guide his soldiers in that direction.

The troop, accordingly, precipitated themselves to the left--the passage gradually growing narrower.

Biscarrat, with his hands stretched forward, devoted to death, marched in advance of the muskets.

"Come on! come on!" exclaimed he, "I see daylight!" "Strike, Porthos!" cried the sepulchral voice of Aramis.
Porthos breathed a heavy sigh--but he obeyed.