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..