CHAPTERONE

D'ArtagnanBeginsHisAdventures

OnthefirstMondayofApril,1625,thetownofMeungwasinastateofexcitement.Peoplerusheddownthestreets,wavingtheirswordsandshouting.Thisoftenhappenedin thosedaysbecause therewere lotsofwarsandbattles.Oncetheexcitementbegan,itgrewautomaticallyuntilitwasoutofcontrol.AllthepeoplerushedtotheJollyMillerInn.

Here, theydiscoveredthat thecauseofthedisturbancewasayoungmanwho stood near the main gate. He was eighteen years old and was tall andhandsome,andheknewit.Hisclotheswerefadedandwornout.Hehadalongfacewith a strong jaw,whichwas typical for people from theGascon areaofFrance.Helookedateveryoneinachallengingmanner,asiftosay'I'masgoodasyouare,and ifyoudon'tbelieve it, Iwill fightyou!'He lookedabit likeafarmer'sson,but ifyoulookedcarefully,youwouldnoticethelongswordthathungfromhisshoulderstrapanddangledagainsthiscalves.HestoodinfrontoftheJollyMillerInn,onehandonhishipandtheotherholdinghishorse'sbridle.His head was held high, his legs apart, and his back to the wall, against theworld.

Hishorse,unfortunately,lookedridiculous.Infact,itwasthehorsewhichhadfirstattractedtheattentionofthecrowd.Itlookedabouttwelveorfourteenyearsoldandhadataillikearat'stail,aswellassoresonitsfeet.Itwasmoreyellowthanbrown.Itwalkedalongslowlywithitsheadhungsolowbetweenitsfrontkneesthatitalmostdraggedalongtheroad.WhenitarrivedinthetownofMeung,peoplelaughed,pointingattheridiculoushorse.ItsownerandriderwasD'Artagnan,theyoungmanwhonowstoodattheJollyMillerInn.Herealizedthathedidnotcutafinefigureonthishorseandhadgroanedinwardlywhenhisfatherhadgivenittohimasapartinggift,althoughheknewthatitwasworthatleastsevencrownsandthatthewordsofwisdomthatcamewithitwerebeyondprice.

"Myson,"thisoldmanhadsaidinhisGasconaccent,"thishorsewasborninyourfather'sstablesandhaslivedhereall itslife.It'sagoodhorse,sodon'teverthinkofsellingit,buttreatitwithkindnessandrespect."

Hegavehis son a lotmore advice.He toldhim to livedangerously andfightwhenever he could.Thenhegavehim fifteen crowns,whichwas all the

moneyhehad,andabottleofspecialointmentthathismotherhadmadeandthatwould cure every disease orwound very efficiently. He gave him a letter forMonsieurdeTreville,whohadoncebeenaneighborbutwasnowtheheadofthemusketeers,thepersonalarmyoftheKingofFrance.

"Havealongandhappylife,son!Goodbye!"D'Artagnanhadsetout to findhis fameandfortune,makingfirst for the

little town ofMeung,where he nowwas. People along the road smiledwhentheysawhim,andwhenhearrivedatMeung,nobodyofferedtoholdhishorseor help him dismount. As he dismounted, he saw a tall distinguished-lookinggentleman through the window. He was talking to some other people, wholistenedtohimcarefullyandthenburst intolaughter.D'Artagnanassumedthatthemanwastalkingabouthim,andhewasalmostrightbecausehewasactuallytalking about his horse. D'Artagnan, naturally, was extremely angry when heheard this happening, but before challenging theman to a duel, he decided tohaveagoodlookathim.Hewasaboutforty-fiveyearsold,haddarkhairandawell-trimmedblackmoustache.Healsohadasmallscaronhischeek.

Thestrangermadeanothercleverobservationabout the ridiculoushorse,whichmade his appreciative audience laugh louder than ever.D'Artagnan feltthathewasinsultedandshoutedattherudestranger.

"Hey,you!What'sthejoke?!"The stranger came out of the inn and stood looking at the horse and,

ignoring D'Artagnan, made another insulting remark about its yellow color.D'Artagnandrewhisswordandthreatenedthestranger,whoalsodrewhisswordand prepared to defend himself. However, the innkeeper and some othersattackedD'Artagnanwith sticks.D'Artagnandroppedhis sword,whichoneofthemenbrokewithaheavystick.Thenhewashiton theheadandfell to theground.The innkeeper brought him to the kitchen, and the stranger alsowentbackintotheinn.

"Howistheyounglunatic?"heaskedtheinnkeeper."Ihopeyouarenothurt,YourExcellency,"hereplied.TheinnkeeperhadfoundD'Artagnan'sletterforMonsieurdeTrevilleand

mentioned it to the stranger, who was surprised and a little worried. HewonderedwhetherMonsieurdeTrevillehadsenttheyounglunatictotryandkillhim.Hewashereonimportantbusinessandwasexpectingayoungladycalled

Milady to arrive at any moment. He did not want the young lunatic to seeMilady. However, this is exactly what happened. Milady arrived and wasspeakingtothestrangerwhenD'Artagnancameoutandsawthem.Healsoheardthem.

"TheCardinalwants you to return toEngland immediately,Milady, andtelluswhentheDukeleavesLondon.Allyourinstructionsareinthisbox,"saidthestranger."I'mreturningtoParis."

D'Artagnan rushedout andwanted to fight, butMilady told the strangerthat hemust not delay, and he galloped away.D'Artagnan tried to follow butfaintedontheroad.Milady'scarriagespedawayintheoppositedirection.

It wasn't until the next day that D'Artagnan noticed that his letter toMonsieurdeTrevillewasmissing.Hesearchedforitandfinallyrealizedthatthestrangerhadstolenit.

"I'lltellMonsieurdeTreville,"hethought,"andhewilltelltheKing!"HerodetoParisasquicklyashecouldonhisyellowhorse.Therehesold

thehorseforthreecrownsandfoundacheaproom.Hesleptverywellthatnight.

CHAPTERTWO

MonsieurdeTreville

The next day, D'Artagnan rose late and went to Monsieur de Treville'shouse, intending tomeet theCaptain of themusketeers.Monsieur de Trevillehimself had come to Paris as a young man, much like D'Artagnan, and hadworked hard and faithfully to achieve the rank of Captain of theMusketeers.D'Artagnan's father considered him to be the third most important man inFrance,aftertheKingandtheCardinal.KingLouisXIIIwasstillayoungman,andheandtheolderCardinalRichelieuruledFrancetogether,althougheachhadtheirownarmyofmusketeers.AlthoughtheKingandtheCardinalplayedchesstogethermostevenings,theirbodyguardsoftenfoughteachother.Sometimesthefights were brawls and sometimes they were duels, although these had beenoutlawed.Dueling,however,wasstillapopularwayofsolvingdifferences,andD'Artagnanwaseagertofightasmanyduelsashecould,inaccordancewithhisfather'sadvice.

When D'Artagnan arrived atMonsieur de Treville's house, the hall wascrowded with musketeers and other people waiting for an audience with theCaptain. D'Artagnan had never seen anything like this before and was veryimpressed.However,hewasnotafraidandmovedintothemiddleofthecrowd.There was a group of four musketeers sword-fighting on the stairs, andD'Artagnan gasped when he realized that they were using real swords andactuallyscratchingeachotherwiththem.Onthelandingofthestairs,heheardsome musketeers telling love stories that made him blush and others tellingstoriesabouttheCardinal'sprivatelifewhichmadehimafraid,sincehisfatherhad taught him to respect the Cardinal. He did not dare to join in theseconversations.

He introduced himself to a servant and requested an audience withMonsieur de Treville. While he waited, he noticed one of the musketeerswearingabeautifulshoulder-belt.Onlythefrontwasvisible,however,becausehealsoworearedcape.Everybodywasadmiringhisshoulder-belt.Hetriedtoignorethem,buttheyalllaughedathim.

"YougotitfromthatwomanIsawyouwithlastnight,Porthos,"saidone."I bought it myself," replied Porthos. "I have to spend my money on

something,afterall.Itcosttwelvepistoles.Isn'tthattrue,Aramis?"

Aramiswasmuchyounger and smaller thanPorthos and saidvery little.However,allhehadtodowasnod,andeverybodybelievedhim.ThenAramistoldastoryabouttheCardinal'sprivatespy,Rochefort,pretendingtobeamonkin Brussels. He went on to speak about the Queen, and Porthos thought heinsultedher.Thetwomenwereabouttofight,whenthedoorsuddenlyopenedandaservantcalledout,"MonsieurdeTrevilleawaitsMonsieurD'Artagnan!"

D'Artagnan entered the room to findMonsieur de Treville looking veryangry.HegreetedD'Artagnan,pleasedtoberemindedofhisownGasconyouth.However, itwasclear thathewas still thinkingaboutwhateverhadmadehimangry.Hesuddenlywenttothedoorandcalledout,"Athos!Porthos!Aramis!"

D'Artagnan, of course, already knew two of thesemen, who now camequicklyintotheroom.MonsieurdeTrevillewasfurious.

"TheKingisangrybecausetheCardinaltoldhimthatsomeofhisguardshadtoarrestsomeofyoumusketeersfordisturbingthepeace!BothofyouwerethereandsowasAthos.WhereisAthos?"

"Athosisill,"repliedPorthos."Idon'tbelievethat!Heisprobablywoundedorevendead.Nobodytells

meanything!YoumuststopthisstupidbehaviorandbemoreliketheCardinal'sguards.Theywouldnotallowthemselvestobearrested!Sixguardsarrestedsixmusketeers!Howisthatpossible?"

Porthosexplained."Theycaughtusbysurpriseandkilledtwoofusbeforewehadtimetodrawourswords.Athoswasbadlywoundedandcouldnotfight,andwehadtosurrender.I'msorry,Sir,butwecan'twineverybattle!"

"I stabbed a couple of themwith their own swords after I brokemine,"addedAramis.

Monsieur de Treville seemed a littlemore pleasedwith this news. "TheCardinalmusthavebeenexaggerating,"hesaid.

Therewasaknockatthedoor,andAthoscamein.Hewasverypalebutpretendedthathewasnotwounded.MonsieurdeTrevillecomplimentedhimonhis courage, but then the wounded musketeer fainted. Monsieur de Trevillecalledadoctor,whosaidtheproblemwasmerelylossofblood.

MonsieurdeTrevillethenturnedhisattentiontoD'Artagnanandinquiredabouthisfatherandhisvillage.Hepromisedthathewouldhelphimbecomeamusketeerbutthathehadtoservetwoyearsinanotherregimentfirst,unlesshe

couldprovehimselfinsomeotherway.D'Artagnantoldhimabouttheletterofintroduction that had been stolen from him in Meung. Monsieur de Trevillebecame very interested in this storywhenD'Artagnanmentioned the name ofMilady.HeaskedD'Artagnanforadetaileddescriptionofthestranger.

"IthoughthewasstillinBrussels,"saidMonsieurdeTrevilletohimself."Ifyoueverseehimagain,"hesaidtoD'Artagnan,"keepoutofhisway.Heisverydangerous."

Atthatverymoment,however,D'ArtagnanlookedoutofthewindowandsawthemanwhohadstolenhisletterinMeung.

"Hewon'tescapemethistime!"heshouted,asherushedoutoftheroom.

CHAPTERTHREE

HowtoMakeFriendswithMusketeers

AsD'Artagnanhurrieddownthestairs,heaccidentallybumpedintoAthos,whowas justonhiswayhome.Heapologizedandwanted tokeepgoing,butAthossaidhehadpoormanners.D'Artagnanfelt insultedandwanted to fight.Theyagreedtofightaduelneartheconventattwelveo'clock.

D'Artagnan hurried out of the house, still looking for themanwho hadstolen his letter. In the doorway, he bumped intoPorthos and before long hadagreedtofightaduelwithhimatoneo'clock.

Bynow,themanhewaslookingforhaddisappeared.D'Artagnanrushedupanddownthestreetlookingforhim,buthewasnowheretobefound.ThenhesawAramistalkingtosomeguards.Aramishadhisfootonahandkerchief,soD'Artagnan,tryingtobepolite,pulleditoutforhimandgaveittohim.Itwasabeautifulhandkerchief,butAramiswasembarrassedwhenD'Artagnangaveittohim.The guardswere all laughing at himbecause they recognized the initialsandcoatofarmsofabeautifulandwealthy,marriedladyonthehandkerchief.Aramis denied that it was his, and when the guards had gone, he tookD'Artagnan to task and soon another duel was arranged, this time for twoo'clock.

Bythistime,itwasalmosttwelveo'clock,andD'Artagnanhurriedtowardthe convent, where the first of his three duels was to be fought. He had nofriends inParis, sohecouldnot find seconds to assisthim.Hewouldhave totrust themusketeers' friends to act as seconds for him.Hewasworried aboutduelingwithAthosbecauseAthoswas alreadywounded. If hebeatAthos, hewould get no credit for fighting awoundedman.On the other hand, itwouldlookverybadifhewasbeatenbyawoundedman.

HefoundAthossittingaloneandwaitingforhisseconds.Theytalkedastheywaited,andD'ArtagnanofferedAthossomeofhismother'sointmentforhiswound, suggesting that theymightputoff theirdueluntilAthos'swoundshadhealed.Athoswasgratefulfortheofferbutdeclined.

"Peoplewillfindoutaboutitandstoptheduel,"hesaid,"butitisagallantoffer.IfIdonotkillyou,Ihopeweshallbefriends."

ThenPorthosandAramisarrived,andeachwassurprisedtofindthattheir

opponent was also dueling with their best friends. None of them wanted toconfess the reasons for their duels to the others, and D'Artagnan was gallantenoughnottorevealthem.Heapologizedtothem.

"If Athos kills me, I will not be able to honor my agreement to fightPorthosorAramis,"hesaid.Withthat,hedrewhisswordandpreparedtofight.Athos also drew his sword, but at that very moment, some of the Cardinal'sguardssawthemandtriedtopreventtheduelfromgoingahead.

"Youknowthat it is illegal," theysaidandtriedtoarrest themall.Therewerefiveguards,andD'Artagnanthrewinhislotwiththemusketeers.Theninemen fought. D'Artagnan was very excited and fought ferociously. He circledJussac, the leader of the guards, at least ten times and changed his stance ahundred times. Jussac became impatient and began to make mistakes so thateventually,D'Artagnandrovehisswordintohisbody,andhefelltotheground.He then helped Athos in his fight against Cahusac, one of the Cardinal'sfavorites,andsoondisarmedhim.AthosputhisswordthroughCahusac'sthroat.One of the other guards had also been killed.Only Porthoswas still fighting.Jussac was recovering and called out to Porthos's opponent, Bicarat, that heshouldsurrender.Bicaratagreed,and the fightwasover.Themusketeerswon.One of the five guards was dead, one surrendered, and the other three werewounded.

The musketeers and D'Artagnan walked arm in arm along the street toMonsieurdeTreville'shousetotellhimwhathadhappened.

WhenMonsieurdeTrevilleheardthestory,heknewthathehadtogototheKingimmediately.First,however,heprivatelycongratulatedhismusketeersontheirvictory,thoughhecomplainedabouttheirbehaviorinpublic.However,whenhearrivedatthepalace,hewastoolate.TheCardinalhadalreadytoldtheKing his version of the event, and the King was annoyed with his Captain.MonsieurdeTrevilletoldtheKinghisversionofthestory.

"Athos,Porthos,andAramisweretakingtheiryoungfriendforlunch,"hesaid,"whenyourguardssawthemneartheconvent.Idon'tknowwhytheguardswere there.Theyhadprobablygone there to fight a duel.When they sawmymusketeers, theydropped their ownplans and fought againstmymen instead.Therewerefiveagainstthree,buttheyoungmanjoinedin,andeventually,mymusketeers won the fight. The young man fought very well and woundedJussac."

TheKingwas very impressed. "Itwas a great victory! Imustmeet thisyoungman!Bringhimheretomorrow,togetherwiththeothers."

MonsieurdeTrevillewasverypleasedbecauseitwasnoteasytopersuadetheyoungKingtoactagainsttheCardinal.HereturnedtohishouseandtoldthefouradventurersoftheirappointmentwiththeKing.

D'Artagnanwas very excited. Early nextmorning, he arrived at Athos'sdoor. The appointment was not until twelve, and Athos had arranged to playtenniswithAramisandPorthos.HeinvitedD'Artagnantocometothegame.

D'Artagnanhadneverplayedtennisbefore,andhewassoonafraidthattheballwouldhithimandbruisehisface.Hedidn'twantthistohappenjustbeforehisaudiencewiththeKing,sohestoodasideandwatchedAramisandPorthosplay.OneoftheCardinal'sguardswasalsowatchingthegame.Hehadheardthestory of the fight near the convent and wanted to take revenge against themusketeers,sowhenhesawD'Artagnanwatchinginsteadofplaying,hecalledhimacoward.Ofcourse,D'Artagnanchallengedhimtoaduel,and theywentoutside to fight. The guard was Bernajoux, one of the fiercest fighters in theCardinal'sguards,andhethoughtitwouldbeeasytodefeatD'Artagnan.Therewas nobody in the street just then, so they began their duel immediately.D'Artagnan scored a lucky hit on Bernajoux's shoulder. Then Bernajouxstumbledandfell intoD'Artagnan'ssword,stabbinghimselfandalmost fallingtotheground.HeretreatedtowardthehouseoftheDucdelaTremouille,wherehehadfriends.

TwoofBernajoux'scompanionscametohelphim.Themusketeersheardthe fightandcame runningoutonto the streetaswell.Soon therewasquiteabrawl.Othermusketeersandguardsjoinedin.Bernajouxescapedintothehouse,and the musketeers considered burning it down. However, since it was noweleveno'clock, themusketeershadtopreparefortheiraudiencewiththeKing,andtheyleftthesceneofthefight.

TheywenttoMonsieurdeTreville'shouse,andhewentwiththemtothepalace.

"Hurry!"hesaid."Wemust tellhimourversionof thismorning'seventsbefore the Cardinal does. We'll just tell him that it was a continuation ofyesterday'sfight."

CHAPTERFOUR

TheLandlord'sWife

MonsieurdeTrevilleandthefourcomradeshurriedtothepalacetoseetheKing but were disappointed when they arrived. The King had decided to gohuntingintheforest!

MonsieurdeTrevillespenttheafternoonvisitingDucdelaTremouilleandensuring that he had a good understanding of the cause of the brawl. In theevening, the King returned from his hunt, which had been unsuccessful, andMonsieurdeTrevillewenttoseehim.HepersuadedtheKingtoseeDucdelaTremouille andhearhis opinion about thebrawl,which theKingdid thenextmorning.WhenMonsieurdeTrevillereturnedtothepalace,hebroughtthethreemusketeers and D'Artagnan with him. The King asked D'Artagnan to tell hisversion of the story andwas soon convinced that themusketeers were not atfault. He rewarded them with forty pistoles, which they shared among them.However, he did give them awarning about the number of guards theywereputtingoutofaction.

"I think one or two occasionally is enough," he said, "but seven in twodaysistoomany!"

D'Artagnan's three new companions helped him decide how he shouldspend hismoney. First, they had awonderfulmeal. Then,D'Artagnan hired aservant,whose namewasPlanchet.Each of themusketeers had a servant thatreflected their own personality. Athoswas a quietmanwho rarely spoke. Heneverspokeatalltohisservant,Grimaud,anddidnotallowGrimaudtospeaktohim.Hecommunicatedwithsignsandbeathimifhemisunderstood.Onthoseoccasions,hesometimesspokeafewwords.

Porthos, on the other hand, loved to talk and show off, and his servant,Mousqueton,didthesame.Porthoslivedinalarge,veryimpressivebuildingbutneverallowedanyoneintohisroomsandwasneverhomewhenanybodycametovisithimunexpectedly.

Thethirdmusketeer,Aramis,wasscholarlyandwantedtobeapriestoneday,andhisservant,Bazin,wasalwaysreadingbooks.Hewasaveryquietandloyalservant.

D'ArtagnandiscoveredthatAthos,Porthos,andAramiswerenot thereal

namesofhisfriends,buthecouldnotfindoutwhat theirrealnameswere.Heaskedeachof themquestionsabout themselvesandabouteachother,but theywouldtellhimnothing.

The threemusketeers taughtD'Artagnan how to live in the city, and thefourofthembecameinseparable.D'Artagnanwasnotamusketeer,buthehelpedwith guard duties and was soon well known by all the other musketeers.Meanwhile,MonsieurdeTrevillehadnotbeenidle.Oneday,theKingorderedthe Captain of the guards,Monsieur des Essarts, to accept D'Artagnan in hiscompany.D'Artagnanwouldhavepreferredtobeamusketeerimmediately,butMonsieur deTreville said that he should serve two years in another companyfirst.

"Of course," he said, "this period might become shorter if you dosomethingspecialtoproveyourselftobeworthy."

Afterawhile,themoneythattheKinghadgivenD'Artagnanwasallspent.Themusketeers took it in turns to provide somemoney and get invitations todinnerwiththeirfriends.Whenonewasinvitedtodinner,theotherthreecamealongandsodid theirservants.TheygotasmalladvanceontheirwagesfromMonsieurdeTreville,andthishelpedforawhile,buttheyweresoonpooragain.D'Artagnanbegantowonderwhyfoursuchbraveandcleveryoungmen,whocouldaccomplishanythingtheyagreedtodotogether,werepoor.

Whilehewasthinkingaboutthisoneday,hehadavisitfromhislandlord.Hedidnotrecognizehimbecausehehadnotpaidanyrentforthreemonths.Thelandlord was a timid but wealthy draper called Bonacieux, and he wantedD'Artagnantohelphim.Hesaidthathewouldoverlooktheunpaidrent.Infact,hepromisedthathewouldneverchargehimrentagainandthathewouldalsogivehimfiftypistoles.Ofcourse,D'Artagnanwasveryinterested.

"My wife is one of the Queen's maids," said Bonacieux. "Yesterdaymorning, shewas kidnapped. Four days ago, she toldme that theQueenwasafraidbecausetheCardinalwaspersecutingher.YouknowabouttheSarabandincident,ofcourse?"

"Yes, of course," repliedD'Artagnan.Heknew that theKing andQueendidnotlikeeachotherandthattheCardinaldidnotliketheQueeneither,buthedidn'tknowanythingabouttheSarabandincident.However,hedidn'twantthelandlordtoknowthathedidn'tknow.

"Sincethen,"continuedBonacieux,"theCardinalhasbeenworse.Now,he

wants revenge. The Queen thinks that they have written to the Duke ofBuckinghaminhernameandtrickedhimintocomingtoParis.YouknowthattheDukeisafriendoftheQueen.Iamsuretheywillsetsomesortoftrapforhim.Ithinktheywillforcemywifetoactasakindofspyforthem."

"Doyouhaveanyideasaboutwhokidnappedher?"askedD'Artagnan."I think I know him. He is the Cardinal's private spy. I don't know his

name,butIhaveseenhim.Heisaboutforty-fiveyearsold,hasdarkhairandawell-trimmed,blackmoustache.Healsohasasmallscaronhischeek."

"Ascaronhischeek?!Iknowhim!Doyouknowwherehelives?""No,Idon't.Igotthisletter."HegaveD'Artagnanaletter.D'Artagnantookittothewindowtoreadit."Donottrytofindyourwife.Wewillgiveherbacktoyouwhenweare

finishedwithher."Thelandlordcametothewindowtooandsuddenlycriedout."Look!There!Thatmaninthedoorwayacrossthestreet!"D'Artagnan lookedoutof thewindowand sawwhat the landlord saw. It

washim!ThemanfromMeung!Theletterstealerandwifekidnapper!D'Artagnandrewhisswordandrushedoutoftheroom.Onthestairs,he

metPorthosandAthoswhowerejustcomingtovisithim."It'sthemanfromMeung!"heshouted.Theylethimgo.Theyhadheard

thestoryandknewthatD'Artagnanwantedtofightthisman."He'llbebacksoon,"theytoldeachother.Theywent upstairs to his room. It was empty because the landlord had

decidedthatitwassafertoleave.D'Artagnanrushedupanddownthestreetswithhisdrawnswordbutcould

not find theman fromMeung.He returned to the house across the street andknockedonthedooruntiltheneighborsputtheirheadsoutoftheirwindowsandtoldhimthatthehousehadbeenemptyforsixmonths.Hereturnedtohisownroom,whereAramishadmeanwhile turnedupaswell.Hetoldthemusketeersthelandlord'sstory.ThenAramistoldthemhisstory.

"Last night, Iwas visiting a friendwho has a niece. Iwas escorting theniece toher carriage,whenaman,whocouldwellbeyourman fromMeung,

approachedusandtoldustogetintohiscarriage.Hehadaboutfiveorsixmentohelphim."

"HemistookyoufortheDukeofBuckingham!Andyourfriend'sniecefortheQueen!"saidD'Artagnan.

"I think that might be true. He addressedme as 'Duke' andmy friend'snieceas'Madame,'anditwasverydark."

As the four friends were considering this, they heard hurried footstepsoutsidethedoor,andinthenextmoment,Bonacieuxburstintotheroom.

"Help!"heshouted."Fourpolicemenaretryingtoarrestme!"The musketeers drew their swords, ready to fight the policemen, but

D'Artagnan told themtoput themaway.Thepolicemenentered the roomand,muchtotheamazementofthelandlordandthemusketeers,D'Artagnanhelpedthemtoarrestthelandlord.Heevenofferedthepolicemensomeofthewinehehadobtainedfromthelandlord.

When they had gone, Porthos and Aramis turned on D'Artagnan andcomplainedaboutwhathehaddone.

"Youletthepolicearrestyourfriend!"Athosdisagreedwiththem."D'Artagnan,you'reagenius!"Theotherswereastonishedbutagreedtostickwiththeirmotto:Oneforall

andallforone.D'Artagnanwas taking the leadand told themtheyshouldallgo to their

ownhomes."WehavedeclaredwarontheCardinalhimself!"hesaid.

CHAPTERFIVE

TheDukeofBuckingham

WhydidAthos think thatD'Artagnanwasageniuswhenheallowed thepolicementoarrestBonacieuxandtakehimaway?ItwassimplybecauseheandD'Artagnanguessed that thepolicewoulduseBonacieux asbait for a trap, astheyoftendidinthosedays.Theywouldtakethevictimawayinsecret,andthenarresteveryonewhocame to thehouse.That isexactlywhathappenedon thisoccasion.

The threemusketeerswent out to search forMadameBonacieux.AthosquestionedMonsieurdeTreville,whocould tellhimonly thathehadseen theKing, the Queen, and the Cardinal the previous evening. The King was notcomfortable, the Cardinal looked worried, and the Queen had red eyes fromeithercryingornotsleeping.MonsieurdeTrevilleurgedAthostobeloyaltotheKingandQueen.

While the musketeers were out searching, D'Artagnan was busy in hisroom, which was directly above Bonacieux's room. Through his window, hecouldseeeverybodywhocametothehouse,andbyputtinghisearonthefloor,hecouldhearmostofwhat thepoliceandBonacieux'svisitorsweresaying intheroombelow.EachvisitorwasaskedwhetherMonsieurBonacieuxhadevergiven them anything to pass on to Madame Bonacieux, or whether MadameBonacieux had ever given them anything to pass on toMonsieur Bonacieux.ThentheywereaskedwhethereitherMonsieurorMadameBonacieuxhadevertoldthemasecret.

D'Artagnanthoughtaboutthesequestionsanddecidedthatthepoliceweretrying to findoutwhether theDukeofBuckinghamwas inParis andabout tomeetwiththeQueen.Ontheeveningofthesecondday,anothervisitorarrivedatthe house, and D'Artagnan soon heard screams and moans coming from theroombelow.

"IamMadameBonacieux,"heheard,"andIworkfortheQueen!"Thenheheard a struggle, and there was a loud crash as something fell to the floor.D'Artagnanwasworried that theywould takeheraway, sohe toldPlanchet torunandget themusketeers.D'Artagnanhimself rusheddownstairswith sworddrawnand confronted theunarmedpolicemen.They soon ran from thehouse,leaving D'Artagnan alone with Madame Bonacieux. He looked at her and

immediatelyfellinlovewithher.Shewasabouttwenty-fiveyearsoldandhaddarkhair,blueeyes,andbeautiful,whiteteeth.ShesawD'Artagnanandfainted.Onthefloorbyherfeetlayabeautifulwhitehandkerchief.D'Artagnanpickeditupandsawthesameinitialsandcoatofarmsashehadseenonthehandkerchiefthat caused him so much trouble with Aramis. He put it into MadameBonacieux'sdresspocket.

When Madame Bonacieux recovered, she smiled at D'Artagnan andthankedhimforrescuingher.D'Artagnanfellinloveagain.

"Whowere thosemen?" she asked. "What did theywant?Where ismyhusband?"

D'Artagnan explained that the men were policemen working for theCardinalandthatherhusbandhadbeenarrested.

"My husband, arrested? But he is as innocent as the day!" she said.D'Artagnan noticed a smile flicker across her face. He told her what hadhappened.

"Yes,"sheagreed,"Iwaskidnapped,butIdon'tknowwhodiditorwhy.Doyouknow?"

D'ArtagnantoldheraboutthemanfromMeung."That'shim!"shesaid."Butwhoishe?"D'Artagnancouldnotanswerthisquestion,althoughhewishedwithallhis

heartthathecould."Howdidyouescape?"heasked."Theywerecareless.Theyleftmealone,andIclimbedoutofawindow.I

camestraightheretofindmyhusband.""Willheprotectyou?""No,heisaniceman,butheisnotcapableoffighting.Iwantedtogive

himamessage.Itisasecret."Suddenly,D'Artagnan realized that thepolicemencould return andbring

morepolicewiththem.HeandMadameBonacieuxrushedoutofthehouseanddownthestreet.

"Ineedtofindoutifitissafeformetoreturntothepalace,"saidMadameBonacieux."Myhusbandcouldfindout,butnowheisnothere."

D'Artagnanvolunteeredtohelp,soshetoldhimwheretogo.ShetoldhimapasswordandsaidheshouldaskforMonsieurdeLaporteandtellhimtocometoher.Inthemeantime,D'ArtagnantookhertoAthos'sroom,andshepromisedtowaittherewhilehewasatthepalace.

Monsieur de Laporte warned him that he might need an alibi for theevening,soD'ArtagnanwenttovisitMonsieurdeTreville.WhilehewaitedfortheCaptain to arrive, he turned back the clock.When theCaptain arrived, hemade sure that he noticed the time, and then spoke with him about someunimportantmattersforawhile.WhentheCaptainleft,D'Artagnanputtheclockbacktothecorrecttime.Nowhehadanalibi.

He went back onto the street and began to wander about aimlessly,thinkingofthebeautifulMadameBonacieux.Hewasinlove.Itgrewdark,andD'ArtagnanrealizedthathewasclosetoAramis'shouse,sohedecidedtovisithimandexplainwhathadhappened.Asheapproachedthehouse,however,henoticed a young woman ahead of him. He watched as she went to Aramis'shouseandknockedonthewindow.Itopened,andtheyoungwomanspoketoawoman inside, and the two women exchanged handkerchiefs. Until now,D'Artagnan had not seen the faces of either of the women, but as the youngwomanwalkedawayfromthehouse,hesawthatitwasMadameBonacieux.Hebegantofollowher,butshenoticedhimandbegantorun.Whenhecaughther,she was afraid, but when she realized that it was D'Artagnan, she was calmagain.SheclaimedthatshedidnotknowanybodycalledAramis,althoughshehadknockedonhiswindow,andshewouldnottellD'Artagnanthenameofthewoman he had seen through the window. She was very alarmed whenD'Artagnanmentionedthehandkerchiefandmadehimpromisenevertomentionitagain.

D'Artagnan toldMadame Bonacieux that he loved her, and she allowedhimtoescorther toherdestinationoncondition thathedidnotstay thereandwaitforhertocomeout.D'Artagnanwasreluctanttopromisethis,butatlast,heagreed.

Whenhereturnedhome,Planchet toldhimthatAthoshadbeenarrested.The police had found him in D'Artagnan's room and mistaken him forD'Artagnan.Athosdidnotpointouttheirmistake.

"If the police think they have captured D'Artagnan," he told Planchet,"theywillstoplookingforhim,andhecanoperatemorefreely."

Planchet had not been able to find Porthos or Aramis, so D'Artagnandecided he should go to Monsieur de Treville's house and report what hadhappened.Ontheway,hewaswalkingbehindanotheryoungwoman,whowaswithamaninmusketeeruniform.D'ArtagnanthoughtitwasAramis.Hegotinfrontofthemandbarredtheirway.ThenherealizedthatitwasnotAramisandthat the young ladywasMadameBonacieux again!He had to explain that hewasnotbreakinghispromisetoMadameBonacieuxbuthadcomeacrossthemmerelybyaccident.ThemangrewimpatientandtriedtopushD'Artagnanoutoftheway.D'Artagnanimmediatelydrewhisswordandwasreadytofight.

"Don'tfight,YourGrace!"criedMadameBonacieux.That's howD'Artagnanmet theDuke of Buckingham.He apologized to

him, and theDuke allowedhim to followhim andMadameBonacieux to thepalaceasakindofguard.

CHAPTERSIX

TheQueenandtheCardinal

When they arrived at the palace, Madame Bonacieux led the Duke ofBuckingham through some narrow passages, up and down some stairs, into asmallroomwheresheaskedhimtowait.TheDukeknewthathewaswalkinginto a trap set by the Cardinal, but he did not care. He loved adventure anddanger.Hewas thirty-fiveyearsold andwasconsidered tobe thehandsomestman in England. He was also very powerful, being King Charles's PrimeMinister.However,hedidnotwant theCardinal toknow thathewasmeetingwith theQueen.TheCardinaldisliked theQueen.ShewasknownasAnneofAustria, although shewas born in Spain.King LouisXIII hadmarried her tomake his alliance with Spain strong. The Cardinal, however,wanted to fightagainst Spain, and he saw Queen Anne as an obstacle to his ambitions. Hewanted the King to divorce or execute her, and if he knew that the Duke ofBuckinghamwasvisitingher,hewould tell theKingandachievehisgoal.HehadalreadymanagedtomakerelationsbetweentheKingandQueenverybad.

QueenAnnecameintotheroom.Shewasabouttwenty-sixyearsoldandaverybeautiful, thoughunhappy,woman.TheQueensaidshewasnothappytoseehimandrejectedhisdeclarationoflove.However,theDukedidnotgiveupand cleverlymanaged tomake it seem that she did at least care for him. Hespoke about the previous times they had met. She reminded him of all thetrouble those previous visits had caused, with all her friends being dismissedfromthepalacesothatshewasnowverylonely.SheonlyhadoneSpanishmaidleft. He replied that he was planning an alliance with the Protestants at LaRochelle,whichwouldleadtoawaragainstFrance,justsothathecouldseeheragain.

"Thousandswilldieformyhappiness,"hesaid,"butIdonotcare.NomaneverlovedawomanmorethanIloveyou!"

TheQueenurgedhimtoleave,buthewouldnotgountilshegavehimapresent.Shegavehimasmallwoodenboxwithtwelvediamondsinit.Hekissedherhandandleft.

Monsieur Bonacieux,meanwhile,was having a difficult time.When thepolice arrested him, they took him to a cell in the Bastille. He was veryfrightened.Twoguardstookhimtoamagistratewhotoldhimthathewasbeing

chargedwith treason and sent him back to his cell.Monsieur Bonacieuxwassurethathewouldbeexecutedandcouldnotsleepthatnight.Thenextday,hewastakenbacktothemagistrate.

"The Cardinal may forgive you if you confess everything," said themagistrate.ThenhetoldhimthathiswifehadescapedandwasthenabductedbyD'Artagnan.

"However,"hesaid,"wehavearrestedD'Artagnan,andheisinprison."Monsieur Bonacieuxwould not believe him, and themagistrate ordered

D'Artagnan to be brought to the room. When the guards returned with theirprisoner,MonsieurBonacieuxwasquickly able to tell them that theman theyheldwasnotD'Artagnanatall.

It was Athos, whom the police had captured in D'Artagnan's rooms,believinghimtobethemantheywanted.Themagistraterealizedthatthepolicehadmadeamistakeandorderedtheguardstoputbothmenbackintheircells.

MonsieurBonacieuxsatinhiscellallday,cryinglikeachild."Theyaregoingtokillme!"hecried.Late that night, the guards took him out of his cell and put him into a

carriage.Hewassoafraidthathewoulddiethathefainted.Whenthecarriagestopped,theguardscarriedhimintoaroomandlefthimonacouch.Whenherecovered, hewas taken to another room andwas questioned by theCardinalhimself. TheCardinal asked aboutMadameBonacieux and soon realized thatMonsieurBonacieuxwas too timid to be an enemy.TheCardinal sent for hisprivate spy, Count de Rochefort. When he entered the room, Bonacieuxrecognizedhimasthemanwhohadkidnappedhiswife.

Bonacieux was immediately taken back to his cell. The Count deRocheforttoldtheCardinalthattheDukeofBuckinghamhadvisitedtheQueen.Oneofthemaidsinthepalacehadseenthemandhadalsorealizedthatthesmallwoodenboxwith thediamondswasmissing.TheCountdeRochefort thoughttheQueenhadgiventhemtotheDukeofBuckingham,andtheCardinalagreed.

The Count de Rochefort left, and the Cardinal brought Bonacieux backintohisroom.Hegavehimabagwiththreehundredpistolesinit,muchtothesurprise ofMonsieurBonacieux.TheCardinalwas pleased tomakeMonsieurBonacieux his friend because he would do anything the Cardinal asked. Hewouldevenspyagainsthisownwife.

TheCardinalthenturnedtoalargemapofLaRochellethathehadonhistableandstudied it fora fewminutes.When theCountdeRochefort returned,theCardinalsatdownandwrotealetter.

"Call Vitray," he told the Count. "He must take this letter to Londonimmediately."

Thisiswhatthelettersaid:

Milady,WhentheDukeofBuckinghamnextattendsaball,youmustgothere.He

willbewearingtwelvediamondsonhisjacket.Youmustsomehowgetneartohimand cut twoof the diamonds off his jacket.Letmeknowas soon as youhavethem.

CHAPTERSEVEN

TheKeeperoftheSeals

MonsieurdeTrevillewasworriedaboutAthos.Aramishadaskedforsomeleave tovisithisfamily inRouen,soPorthosandD'ArtagnanreportedAthos'sarrest to Monsieur de Treville. Athos had been examined again. He told themagistrate that he was not D'Artagnan, that he had never met Monsieur orMadameBonacieux,andthathewashavingdinnerwithMonsieurdeTrevilleatthe time when D'Artagnan fought the policemen and abducted MadameBonacieux.Thenhewas taken tosee theCardinal.However, theCardinalwasvisiting the King. He told the King that one of the Queen's closest friends,MadamedeChevreuse,whomtheKinghadbanished,wasinParis.

"Wewere about to arrestMadame deChevreuse's accomplice," he said,"when one of the musketeers fought against four policemen and rescued theaccomplice."

TheKingwasfurious.At that verymoment,MonsieurdeTreville arrived.Hehad failed toget

AthosreleasedandintendedtoasktheKingtointervene.TheKingaccusedthemusketeersofhinderingtheworkoftheCardinal,butMonsieurdeTrevillewasable to prove that Athos and D'Artagnan were innocent of the attack on thepolicemen.

"Athoshaddinnerwithme,andD'Artagnancametovisitmeatthattime,too.IrememberthetimeclearlybecauseitwasearlierthanIhadthought."

The Cardinal insisted that Athos be charged and taken to court, buteventually,heconcededdefeat,andtheKingwrotealetterreleasingAthosfromprison.MonsieurdeTrevilletookthelettertoprisonandcameoutwithAthos.ThenhesentamessengertofindD'Artagnanandtellhimtocometohishouse.

"You'd better be careful," he warned them. "The Cardinal is plottingagainstus,andyoucouldendupintrouble."

AssoonasMonsieurdeTrevillehadleftthepalace,theCardinaltoldtheKingabouttheDukeofBuckingham'svisittoParis.Whenheheardthisnews,theKingturnedwhitewithanger.

"Whatwashedoinghere?"heshouted.

"He was probably plotting something with the Protestants," replied theCardinal.

"No,I'msurehewas trying to insultmebyvisiting theQueen,"said theKing.Hewasmuchmoreworriedaboutthispersonal insult thanhewasaboutanywarsorotheraffairsofstate.

"I hate to think that what you are suggesting might be true," said theCardinal,"butitremindsmeofsomething.OneofthemaidssaidthattheQueenhardlysleptlastnightandspentalmostthewholedaywritingletterstoday."

"Thatprovesit!ShewasobviouslywritingtotheDukeofBuckingham.Imusthavethoselettersbeforeshegivesthemtoamessenger!"

"ButSir,youcannot take theQueen's letters,"protested theCardinal.Ofcourse, thiswasexactlywhathewantedtheKingtodo.TheKingfell intotheCardinal'strap.

"Areyouplottingagainstme,too,Cardinal?Areyouontheirside?Iwillhavethoseletters!"

TheCardinaltoldhimthatonlytheKeeperoftheSealswasallowedtoaskforlettersfromtheQueenandsearchherrooms.

"However,"headded,"theQueenmaynotbelievethatheisactingonyourorders."

"Iwillgoinandtellhermyself!"shoutedtheKing.TheQueenwassittingwithherladiesinwaitingwhentheKingburstinto

the room.Hewalkedangrily to theQueenand toldher that theKeeperof theSealswascomingtopayheravisitandthatshewastoobeyhiseveryrequest.HewasactingontheKing'sauthority.

"Whatcanhedothatyoucannotdoyourself?"askedtheQueen.TheKingdidnotanswerbutturnedonhisheelandlefttheroomasangrily

ashehadenteredit.Asheleft,theKeeperoftheSealsarrived.HecommandedtheQueen to give him her keys. TheQueenwas insulted and very angry butgave him the keys. He searched through all the desk drawers but found noletters.

"TheKingknowsthatyouwrotealetteryesterdayandthatyouhavenotgiven it to amessengeryet," he said, "so Imust search for it and find it."HecameclosertotheQueen,stretchingouthisarmtowardher.Itwasclearthathe

intendedtosearchtheQueen."HowcanyoudaretosearchtheQueen?"askedtheQueen."ImustdoastheKinghascommanded,"herepliedandtookafewsteps

closer."Verywell,"shesaid."Ididwritealetter,andIstillhaveit.""If you do not give it tome,YourHighness, Iwill have to take it from

you.""TheKinghasorderedyoutotouchyourQueen!?""Forgiveme,YourHighness,IamonlyfollowingtheKing'sorders."TheQueen'seyesfilledwithtearsofangerastheKeeperoftheSealstook

anothertwostepstowardher.Suddenly,sheputherhandintoherdressandpulledoutaletter."Here'syourletter,Sir!Takeitandgo!"TheKeeperof theSeals took itandwent straight to theKing.TheKing

quicklytoreitopenandreadit.ItwasnotaloveletterbutalettertotheQueen'sbrother, suggesting that he should declare war on France and get rid of theCardinal.TheKingwasdelightedwiththeletterandshowedittotheCardinal.

"Look,"hesaid,"Iwaswrong,andyouwereright.ThereisnomentionofloveorofBuckinghamintheletter.Itisjustaplottogetridofyou!"

TheCardinal,ofcourse,wasnotquiteashappyastheKing.Heofferedtoresign, knowing that the King would never allow him to do that. Then heconvincedtheKingthathehadwrongedtheQueenandoughttodosomethingtopleaseher.Atfirst, theKingrefused,but thenheagreedtoholdaball forher.TheKinghatedballs,buttheQueenlovedthem.

"AsktheQueentowearthetwelvediamondsyougaveher,"suggestedtheCardinal.

TheKingwent tovisit theQueenon the followingday,andalthoughhedidn't apologize toher,hewas friendlyand toldher thathewouldholdaballsoon. Thiswas such a rare event in the poorQueen's life that it immediatelycheered her up, and she began to ask theKing for the date onwhich the ballwouldbeheld.Hedidnotgiveheradate,however,butcontinuallytoldherthatitwouldbesoon.ThetruthwasthathewaswaitingfortheCardinaltosetadate,

andtheCardinalwaswaitingforaletterfromMilady.A week after the Keeper of the Seals visited the Queen, the Cardinal

receivedaletterfromLondon.Thisiswhatitsaid:Ihavethem,butIcannotleaveLondon,asIhavenomoney.Pleasesend

mefivehundredpistoles,andIwillbeinParisinfourorfivedays.

Thenext time theKingasked theCardinalwhetherhehadsetadate fortheball,theCardinalcountedthedaysonhisfingersashethought.

"She said she can be here in four or five days, and it will take themessengerfourorfivedaystogetthere.Weshouldaddacoupleofdaysbecausethingsneverworkexactlyasyouplanthem,sothatmakesabouttwelvedays."

Thenhe turned to theKingandsaid, "TheCityCouncillorsaregivingaballonthethirdofOctober,andIthinkyouandHerMajestycouldgotoit."

Then he paused before adding, "Don't forget to ask her to wear thosetwelvediamondsyougaveher,butdon'taskheruntilthenightbeforetheball."

CHAPTEREIGHT

WhoWillGotoLondon?

The King wondered why the Cardinal had reminded him about thediamondsagain,sohedecidedtovisittheQueenandseewhetherhecouldfindout what was happening. He opened the conversation as he usually did. Hecriticizedherfriendsandcomplainedaboutthethingsthattheydidinthepalace,and the Queen listened quietly because she was used to these complaints.Eventually, however, she grew tired of it. She became annoyed and asked theKingtostopcomplainingandtellherwhathewanted.TheKingwassurprisedbyherangerandtoldherthattherewassoontobeaball,andhewantedhertowearthediamondshehadgivenher.Becausehehimselfwasnowannoyed,heforgot that theCardinal had asked him not tomention the diamonds until thenightbeforetheball.

TheQueenwasdismayedandalmostfaintedwithterror.SheimaginedthattheCardinalkneweverythingandthathehadtoldtheKingaboutthevisitoftheDukeofBuckinghamandthefactthatshehadgivenhimthediamondsbeforeheleft.Shewentverypaleandsupportedherselfbyleaningonasmalltable.TheKing saw that she was badly affected by his question and enjoyed it withoutknowingthereasonforit.

"Whenistheballtobeheld?"sheaskedweaklyandinatremblingvoice."Iamnotsure,"repliedtheKing,"butIwillasktheCardinal.""DidtheCardinalproposetheball?"sheasked,hereyeswideninginfear."Well,yes,hedid,"repliedtheKing."AnddidhealsosuggestthatIshouldwearthediamonds?""Sowhat if itwas? It is no crime for him to suggest that youwear the

diamonds,isit?"TheQueenalmostfaintedwithfearastheKinglefttheroom.Assoonas

thedoorwasclosed,shesatdownandbegantocry."TheCardinal knows everything, and hewill tell theKing soon, and he

willdestroyme,andIhavenofriendstohelpme,andIdon'tknowwhattodo,"she sobbed. She knelt down by a chair and began to pray and then to weepuncontrollably.

"IsthereanythingIcandotohelpYourMajesty?"TheQueenwassurprisedandafraidwhensheheardthisvoiceandlooked

around to seewhere it came from since she thought that shewas alone in theroom. She saw Madame Bonacieux but did not recognize her immediatelythrough the tears in her eyes. Madame Bonacieux had been hanging somedresses in thecupboardwhen theKinghadentered the room,andshehadnotdared to comeoutwhile hewas there.Consequently, she hadheard the entireconversationandnowassuredtheQueenthatshewasherfriendandwasreadytodoanythingshecouldtohelpher.

"YougavethosediamondsthattheKingwastalkingabouttotheDukeofBuckingham,didn'tyou?"

WhentheQueenrealizedthatsomebodyelseknewallaboutthediamonds,shebegan to trembleagain,butMadameBonacieuxassuredheragain thatshewasafriendandthatshewoulddowhatevershecouldtogetthediamondsback.

"Weneed to send amessage to theDukeofBuckinghamas soon aswecan,"shesaid,"andaskhimtoreturnthediamondsasquicklyaspossible."

"Yes, but I have nobody to send to London because the King and theCardinalhavesentallmyfriendsaway."

"Your Highness, you can trust me to find a messenger for you. Myhusband is averygoodman,andhewilldoanything I askhim todowithoutaskinganyquestions."

TheQueendecidedtotrustherandwrotealetterforMonsieurBonacieuxtodeliver to theDukeofBuckingham.Shegave it toMadameBonacieuxandalsogaveher a valuable ringwhichhadbeengiven toher byher brother, theKing of Spain, so that shewould have somemoney to pay for her husband'sjourneytoLondon.

MadameBonacieuxhid the letter inherdress,and tenminutes later, shewashome.

There,shefoundherhusbandpatientlywaitingforher.ShedidnotknowthathehadseentheCardinalandhadbecomeoneofhismostloyalsupporters,sowhenshetoldhimthathecouldearnalotofmoneybydeliveringalettertoLondon, she was surprised that he did not immediately agree. MonsieurBonacieux thoughtof himself as a friendof theCardinalwhodidnotneed toearnmoney by doing such difficult tasks. He began to boast about being the

greatCardinal'spersonalfriendandshowedhiswifethebagwithmoneythattheCardinalhadgivenhim.

MadameBonacieuxpersisted inaskinghim to take the letter toLondon,butherefused.Shethreatenedhim,sayingthatshewouldgettheQueentoarresthimandputhimintheBastille,buthewasmoreafraidoftheCardinalthanoftheQueen,andhecontinuedtorefuse.However,hesuddenlyrememberedthattheCardinalandCountdeRocheforthadaskedhimtogetasmuchinformationfromhiswifeaspossible.Hetriedtofindoutmoreabouttheletter,butassoonas he began to ask questions,MadameBonacieux became suspicious and toldhimnomore.MonsieurBonacieuxleftthehouse,sayinghehadtovisitafriend.

MadameBonacieuxsatintheroom,wonderingwhattodonext.ShehadpromisedtheQueenthatherhusbandwoulddoit.Asshesatthere,sheheardavoice from the ceiling. It was D'Artagnan, who had been listening to theconversationwithhiseartothefloor.

"MadameBonacieux,pleaseletmeintoyourroom,andIwillhelpyou!"

CHAPTERNINE

AMessagefortheDuke

D'ArtagnanhadheardtheconversationbetweenhislandlordandMadameBonacieux and soon convinced Madame Bonacieux to give him the letter todelivertoLondon.Hewasveryexcited.MadameBonacieuxgavehimthebagofmoney that theCardinal hadgivenher husband.Ashewas about to leave,they heard voices outside. It was Monsieur Bonacieux and the Count deRochefort!When D'Artagnan saw the Count de Rochefort, he recognized theman from Meung and wanted to go and fight him. Madame BonacieuxconvincedhimtostayoutofsightbecausehewasonamissionfortheQueen.TheyquicklyrantoD'Artagnan'sroomandhidthere.

Theyheard theCountdeRochefort tellMonsieurBonacieux thathehadbeenfoolishtolettheopportunityslip,andMonsieurBonacieuxsaidhewouldgotothepalaceandfindhiswife.Hewassurethatshewouldstillgivehimtheletter if he promised to take it to London.Of course, hewould give it to theCount de Rochefort instead. The Count de Rochefort left, and thenMonsieurBonacieuxdiscovered thathismoneyhaddisappeared.Hehowledvery loudlyand ran down the street. This gave D'Artagnan the opportunity to leave thehouse,too,andhewentstraighttoMonsieurdeTreville'shousetotellhimthathehadtoleaveforLondonimmediatelyonamissionfortheQueen.Monsieurde Treville did not question him about it but insisted that he take the threemusketeerswithhim.

D'ArtagnanwenttoAramis'shouseandfoundhimworriedabouttheladywhowasno longer there.D'Artagnanrealized thatshewas theQueen's friend,MadamedeChevreuse,andtoldAramisthatshehadleft.Heshouldnotworryabout her. Then theywent to Athos's and Porthos's houses, and soon all fouryoungmenwere ready for the trip to London. D'Artagnan told them that theletterwasinhisjacketpocketandthatifhewaskilled,oneofthemshouldtakethe letter and bring it toLondon. If that personwas killed, anothermusketeershouldtaketheletter.ItwasveryimportantthattheletterreachLondon,andtheCardinalwassuretotryandstopthem.

Itwas twoo'clock in themorningwhen the four young adventurers andtheirfourservantsleftParisontheirhorses.TheyrodetoChantilly,wheretheyhadsomebreakfast.Anothertravellerwasdiningthere,andheproposedatoast

totheCardinal.ThenPorthosproposedatoasttotheKing,butthetravellerdidnotliketheKing,andsoonhechallengedPorthostoaduel.Theothersdecidednottowaitforhim.

"Finishhimoff,andcomeafterus,"saidAthos.AtBeauvais,theywaitedtwohoursforPorthos,buthedidnotcome.The

horseswererested,andtheycontinuedontheirway.AboutamilepastBeauvais,theroadbecamenarrowandsomeworkmenhadblockedit.Astheadventurerstriedtopassthem,theworkmenbegantothrowstonesandevenshootatthem.Aramiswasinjured,andhisservantfelloffhishorse.Aramismanagedtorideon, but the servant could not get back on his horse. They rode on, but atCrevecoeur,Aramisdeclaredthathecouldgonofurther.Theylefthimandoneof the servants at an inn there, which meant that there were now only twomasters and two servants. They rode on to Amiens, which they reached atmidnight,andstayedattheGoldenLilyInn.

Theysleptwell,butinthemorning,theywereattackedbytheinnkeeperand his friends, who accused them of passing false money. D'Artagnan andPlanchetmanaged toescapebystealing twohorsesandgallopingaway.Athoswouldhavetolookafterhimself.D'ArtagnanandPlanchetrodeontoSt.Omer,wheretheyrestedtheirhorsesbeforecontinuingtoCalais.

They went to the harbor and found another man who wanted to sail toEngland.AnofficialwastellinghimthattheCardinalmadeanewrulerequiringtravellerstoEnglandtohaveapermit.

"IamtheCountdeWardes,andIhaveapermitformyselfandmyservantLubin!"saidtheman.

"Good.ThenyouwillneedtogetitsignedbytheGovernorofthePort.Helivesoverthere."Theofficialpointedtoahousealittledistanceaway.

They began to walk toward the Governor's house with D'Artagnan andPlanchet following them. Before they got to the house, D'Artagnan attackedCountdeWardesandstolehispermitwhilePlanchetattackedLubin.ThentheytiedthemupandlefttheminaditchandtookthepermittotheGovernor.

"IamtheCountdeWardes,andIhaveapermitformyselfandmyservantLubintotraveltoEngland,"hetoldtheGovernor,whobelievedhimandsignedthepermit.

"The Cardinal is trying to stop one particular person from going to

England,"saidtheGovernor."Yes,Iknow,"repliedD'Artagnan."HisnameisD'Artagnan."Hegavethe

GovernoradescriptionofCountdeWardesandtoldhimtoarresthimifhesawhim.

D'Artagnan andPlanchet returned to theharbor andwere just in time toboard the ship thatwas sailing toEngland that evening.D'Artagnan had beeninjuredinthefightforthepermit,andhewaspleasedtorestandsleepthatnight.Theshiparrived inDoverearly thenextmorning,and from there,D'Artagnanand Planchet made their way to London. They could not speak English butmanagedtofindwheretheDukeofBuckinghamlivedbywritinghisnameonapieceofpaperandshowingittopeople.Unfortunately,theDukeofBuckinghamwasouthuntingwiththeKing,nearWindsorcastle.D'Artagnanwentthereandgavethelettertohim.TheDukereadtheletterandturnedwhite.

"This is terrible! It is very serious!" he cried. "We must go to Parisimmediately!"

He told his servant to apologize to theKing and tell him that he had toreturntoLondonurgentlyonamatteroflifeanddeath.ThenheandD'ArtagnangallopedawaytoLondonatbreakneckspeed.

OnthewaytoLondon,D'ArtagnantoldtheDukeofBuckinghamallabouthis journey. When the two speeding horsemen reached London, the Duke ofBuckingham did not slow down but continued at breakneck speed down thecrowdedstreets,knockingpeopleoverandneverlookingtoseewhetherornottheywereinjured.

WhentheyreachedtheDuke'shouse,D'Artagnanhadtroublekeepingupwith his new friend as they walked quickly through the passages and rooms.D'Artagnanwasveryimpressedwiththequalityofthemagnificentfurnitureintherooms.Theycametoabedroomandpassedthroughitintoasmallerroom,wheretheDukeofBuckinghamhadalargepictureofQueenAnne.Onashelfunderneathittherewasasmallwoodenboxwhichcontainedablueribbonwiththediamondspinnedtoit.AshewasshowingittoD'Artagnan,herealizedthattwoofthediamondsweremissing,whichmadehimveryalarmed.Wherecouldthey be? Itwas clear that they had been stolen because they had been cut offwithapairofscissors.

"I'veonlyworn themonce," he said toD'Artagnan, "and thatwas at theball atWindsor lastweek. I am sure thatLadydeWinter took them.Shewas

very friendly to me, and I was surprised because we had had an argumentrecently. Not only that, she is a great admirer of the Cardinal and would doanythingforhim."

Theball inPariswas still fivedays away, and theDukeofBuckinghamcalled his jeweller and commanded him to cut two more diamonds to matchthoseonhisblue ribbon.Thenhecalledhis secretaryandcommanded thatnoships should leave England until further notice. If theChancellor or theKingwantedtoknowthereasonforthis,hewastotellthemthathewaspreparingforwaragainstFrance.D'Artagnanwasastonishedthatamancouldhavesomuchpower anduse it ashepleased, even to the extentofdeclaringwar so thathecouldmakesurethattheQueenwouldreceiveherdiamondsintimefortheball.

CHAPTERTEN

TheCouncillors'Ball

Two days later, the replacement diamonds were ready, and they wereperfect. Itwas impossible to see that theywerenot theoriginaldiamonds thathadbeenstolen.TheDukeofBuckinghamgaveD'ArtagnanthediamondsandtoldhimhowtogettoFranceandwhereheshouldgoinFrancetoobtaingoodhorses. He told D'Artagnan the password that would ensure that the Duke'sfriendswouldhelphimgetbacktoParisasquicklyaspossible.

"What about thebox?" askedD'Artagnan. "Am I to return thediamondswithoutthebox?"

"Yes,"saidtheDukeofBuckingham."Iwanttokeepthebox,becauseitisallIhaveleftnow,andIamsurethatsimplywearingthediamondstotheballwillsatisfytheKinganddismaytheCardinal."

D'Artagnanmadehiswayback toFrance.Ashisship left theharbouratDover,hethoughthesawawomanhehadseenbefore,sittingonanothershipwhichwaswaitingforpermissiontoleave.HethoughtitwasthewomanhehadseeninthecarriageatMeung,towhomhisenemyhadspoken.

WhenhearrivedinFrance,hefoundthatusingthepasswordgiventohimbytheDukeofBuckinghammadehisjourneybacktoParismucheasierthanthejourneytoLondonhadbeen.Therewerefreshhorseswaitingforhimateverystop. As soon as he arrived in Paris, he went to seeMonsieur de Treville toreportonhissafereturn.

The next day was the day of the Councillors' Ball, when all the mostimportant people in Paris, and even people who merely thought they wereimportant,putontheirbestclothesandwenttotheTownHall.

Itwasalready latewhen theKingarrivedat theball,but theQueenwasevenlater.Assoonasshearrived,theKingnoticedthatshewasnotwearingherdiamonds.Heapproachedheranddemandedthatshetellhimwhyshewasnotwearingthediamondsthathehadaskedhertowear.Shetoldhimthatshewasafraidshemightlosethembutthatshecouldsendforthemandputthemonifheinsisted.TheCardinal,ofcourse,waswatchingallthisverycloselyandseemedto be very happy.Hegave the twodiamonds thatMiladyhad stolen from theDukeofBuckinghamtotheKing.

"Ifshecomesbackwearingthediamonds,whichIdoubt,youwillnoticethat two of them are missing," he said. "Give her these, and ask her if sherememberswhostolethem."

TheKingwassurprisedbut just then, theQueenreturned,andhehadnotimetoquestiontheCardinalaboutthetwodiamonds.HelookedattheQueenandnoticed that shewaswearingher diamonds.Hewasverypleased, but theCardinal scowled. The Queen was dancing and kept moving around, so thatneithertheKingnortheCardinalcouldcountthenumberofdiamondsshewaswearing. Were there twelve or only ten? At the end of the dance, the KingapproachedherandgaveherthetwodiamondstheCardinalhadgivenhim.

"Iunderstandthatyouhavelost twodiamonds,"hesaid,"soIamgivingyoutwonewones."

"ButthenIwillhavefourteen!"exclaimedtheQueen.TheKingcountedthediamondsandsawthatthereweretwelve."Whydidyougivemethesetwodiamonds?"heaskedtheCardinal.The

Cardinalwasreadywithhisanswer."I wanted to give the Queen a present and thought this might be an

amusingwaytodoit."TheQueensmiledathimverypolitely."Thankyou,YourEminence!Iam

surethatthesetwodiamondsmusthavecostyoualot!"Later that night, Madame Bonacieux took D'Artagnan to the Queen's

privatedressingroom.There,theQueengavehimaringandallowedhimtokissher hand. She did this by putting her hand through the door to a dark room,whereD'Artagnanwaswaiting.TheQueendidnotseeD'Artagnanorspeaktohim,butheknewthatshewasgrateful.

D'ArtagnanwassurethatMadameBonacieuxwouldalsobeverykindtohimsincehewasnowquitesurethatshelovedhim.However,allshetoldhimwasthattherewouldbealetterforhimathishome.HerushedhometofindthatPlanchetwaswaitingforhim.

"Yourroomwaslocked,"hetoldD'Artagnan,"butthisletterfounditswayin.Ithinkitisadangerousletterbecauselettersdon'tcomeintolockedroomsallbythemselves."

D'Artagnan,however,readtheletterandlaughedatPlanchet.

"This is a very nice letter," he said. "It is the best letter I have everreceived!"ItwasfromMadameConstanceBonacieuxandinvitedhimtomeetherthatnightatteno'clockneartheSummerhouseatSt.Cloud.ItwasthefirsttimeD'Artagnanhadreceivedaloveletter,andhewasveryexcitedandhappy.HedidnotcareaboutPlanchet'swarning.

As he left the house later that morning, he saw Monsieur Bonacieuxstandingnearthedooranddecidedtogoandspeaktohim.Heboastedabouthisloveletterandhismeetingthatnightwithout,ofcourse,tellinghimthathewasmeetingwithMadameBonacieux!Hethoughtitwasanexcellentjoke.Thenhewent to visit Monsieur de Treville and discovered that none of the threemusketeershadreturnedtoParisyet.MonsieurdeTrevillesawtheringthattheQueenhadgivenD'Artagnanandwarnedhimtobeverycarefulwithit.

"Infact,"headded,"youshouldtakeittoajewellerimmediatelyandsellit.Itistoodangeroustowear!"

ButD'ArtagnanwouldnotthinkaboutsellingtheringthattheQueenhadgiven him.Monsieur de Treville wanted D'Artagnan to go and find the threemusketeers,andhepromisedthathewouldbeginthenextday.

"Ihaveanimportantmeetingtonight,"hesaid."Iwillgotomorrow."Monsieur de Treville guessed that it was a love meeting and warned

D'Artagnantobeverycareful."TheCardinaloftenuseswomentotraphisenemies,"hewarned.However, D'Artagnan was not worried, although he did ask Planchet to

comewithhimandtohavehisgunsready.

CHAPTERELEVEN

Kidnapped!

D'Artagnandidnotreturntohishousethatdayuntilnineo'clock.Thenhefound that Planchet had prepared everything according to his instructions andwasreadytoaccompanyhimtoSt.Cloud.Planchetwasstillunhappyabouttheletterandagaintriedtowarnhismaster.However,D'Artagnanwouldnotlisten,andtheyrodeoninthedarkness.Theycametoalittlevillage,whereD'ArtagnantoldPlanchet to stopwith thehorses andwait for him to return.Hegavehimsome money so that he could stay at an inn, and Planchet went off, stillcomplainingabouttheletter.

D'Artagnan walked through the forest to St. Cloud and soon found thesummerhousementionedinMadameBonacieux'letter.Hewaited.Heheardtheclock strike ten o'clock,whichwas the time of themeeting, and hewas veryexcited.However,nothinghappened,andnobodycame.Hewaitedanhourandthen looked into the summerhouse.Hewas surprised to findbroken furniture,brokendishes,sometornpiecesofclothing,andevensomebloodstains.Therehadbeenastrugglethererecently,andD'Artagnanwasworried.Hefoundoneoftheneighbors,averyoldandtimidman,whotoldhimthataladyhadcometothesummerhouseandthatsoonafterward,somemencameonhorsesandwithacarriage.Theywent into the summerhouse, and he heard the lady scream andshout.Eventually,shestopped,andhesawthemencarryheroutandputherintothe carriage before riding away. He described the men for D'Artagnan, whorealizedthatoneofthemwastheCountdeRochefort,theagentoftheCardinalandhisenemyfromMeung.

D'Artagnandidnotknowwhattodo.HewentbacktothevillagetolookforPlanchetbutcouldnotfindhim,andheendedupsleepinginoneoftheinns.Earlyinthemorning,hefoundPlanchet,andtheyrodebacktoParis.D'ArtagnanwascertainthatitwasMadameBonacieuxwhohadbeenabductedbythemen,and he decided to tell Monsieur de Treville the whole story and ask for hisadvice.

MonsieurdeTreville thoughtforamomentandthenadvisedD'ArtagnantoleaveParisassoonaspossible.

"I'lltelltheQueenaboutthekidnapping,"hesaid,"butyouhadbettergoandfindthethreemusketeers."

AsD'Artagnanwalkedbacktohishouse,hesawMonsieurBonacieuxandsuddenlyrealizedthathislandlordhadhelpedtheCardinal'smenkidnaphisownwife.Hewentuptohisroom,wherePlanchettoldhimthatMonsieurdeCavois,the Captain of the Cardinal's guards, had visited the house looking forD'Artagnan. He had left a message with Planchet: "Tell your master that HisEminencetheCardinalthinkshighlyofhimandwouldliketomeethim."

Planchet had told him thatD'Artagnanwas not at home because he hadgonetoTroyes.

"That'sexcellentwork,Planchet!"saidD'Artagnan.Hedidn'twanttoseethe Cardinal. Hewas sure that the Cardinal would arrest him and put him inprison.

"And nowwe are leaving Paris because Iwould like to knowwhat hashappenedtothethreemusketeers."

TheDuke ofBuckinghamhad allowedD'Artagnan to keep the beautifulhorseshehadusedonhisreturnjourneyfromLondon,andnowheandPlanchettookthosehorseswiththemintheirsearchforthemusketeers.D'Artagnanalsotook with him a letter which had arrived for Aramis. It was scented andaddressedinaneleganthand.

Theyrode toChantilly,where theyhad leftPorthosduelingwithanothertraveller on their journey to London. D'Artagnan talked to the innkeeper anddiscovered thatPorthoshadbeen injured in theduelandwasstill inhis room,tryingtorecover.ThelandlordwasnotveryhappyaboutitbecausePorthoshadnot paid for his accommodation, and all his requests for payment had beenignored.Porthoshadlostallhismoneygamblingandhadwrittentoaduchessaskinghertosendhimsomemoney.Theinnkeeperhadaskedoneofhisstafftodeliver the letter personally, and so, had discovered that the lady was not aduchessatallbut thefifty-year-oldwifeofa lawyer.Whensheread the letter,she flew into a rage, claiming that Porthos had been injured in a fight overanotherwoman.Shehadrefusedtosendhimanymoney.Thetravellerwhohadinjured Porthos, the innkeeper recalled, was really looking for a man calledD'Artagnan.

D'ArtagnandiscoveredallthisbeforehewenttoPorthos'sroom.Therehefoundtheinvalidandhisservant,whohadbeenstealingfoodtosupplementthesmallmeals the landlordwould give them. Porthos pretended that he had notbeenwoundedintheduelbuthadfallenandhurthiskneeandthathewasonly

waiting for money from his friend, the duchess. He wanted to hear all aboutD'Artagnan's adventures, of course, andD'Artagnan told him about the trip toLondonbutdidnotmentionanythingaboutwhathadhappenedinParis.ThenhewentbacktotheinnkeeperandpaidPorthos'saccount.HeleftoneofthehorsesattheinnforPorthosbeforesettingofftofindAramis.

Aramis,ofcourse,hadbeenwoundedby theworkmenat thesideof theroad,andD'ArtagnanhadlefthimatCrevecoeurtorecover.NowherodetherewithPlanchetandthesparehorses.Asherodealong,hebegantoworryaboutMadameBonacieuxandwonderedwhathadhappenedtoher.

WhenhearrivedatCrevecoeur,hesoonfoundthatAramiswasstillattheinnwheretheyhadlefthim.However,hewasverybusytalkingtotwopriests,and he toldD'Artagnan that hewas leaving theworld and becoming amonk.D'Artagnanwasamazedandcouldn'tbelievehisears.WouldAramisreallygiveupbeingamusketeerandbecomeamonkinstead?Itseemedtobetruebecausethe twopriestsweregivinghimadviceabout the thesisheshouldwritebeforeentering the monastery. D'Artagnan tried to reason with him and change hismind,butAramiswouldnot listen.ThenD'Artagnanrealized thecauseof thissuddendecisiontoenterthemonasteryandknewhowtofixtheproblem.

"Well, let's not talk anymore about your wish to be a monk," saidD'Artagnan."NowIcanburnthisletterthatwasforyou."

"Whatletter?"criedAramis,eagerly."It must be from some heartbroken, beautiful young woman," replied

D'Artagnan.Hepulledthescentedletterthathehadbroughtwithhimfromhispocket,

gaveittoAramis,andstoodbacktoseewhatwouldhappen.Hedidn'thavetowaitfor long.AramiswasveryhappybecausetheletterwasfromMadamedeChevreuse.Whenhehadread it,AramishuggedD'Artagnanandtoldhimthathehadchangedhismindaboutbecomingamonk.

"Shestilllovesme!"heexclaimed."Isn'tlifewonderful?"However,hisshoulderwasstilltoosoreforhimtorideahorse,thoughhe

wasverygratefulwhenhesaw the finehorse thatD'Artagnanhadbrought forhim.Ofcourse,D'Artagnanhad to tellhimall abouthis adventures,whichhedidwhiletheyhadasplendidmealtogether.

CHAPTERTWELVE

TheMusketeersReunite

The next morning, D'Artagnan set out for Amiens. Aramis wanted toaccompanyhimbutwasstilltooilltorideahorse.Hehadnosoonermountedhisnewhorsethanhefelloffitagain,palewithpain.HesaidhewouldstayinCrevecoeur and write poetry for his mistress, Madame de Chevreuse.D'Artagnan promised to return on his way back to Paris and set off withPlanchet.

D'ArtagnanwasquiteworriedaboutAthosbecausehewasoftensadanddepressed, especially when he had been drinking. He knew that Athos was agoodfighterandhadprobablybeatenthemenwhohadaccusedthemofpassingfalsemoney, but he thought itwas very strange thatAthos had not caught upwithhim,norreturnedtoeitherAramisorPorthos.Hadhebeeninjuredorevenkilled this time?D'Artagnan did not like to think about it becauseAthos hadbecomehisbestfriend.WhenhearrivedatAmiens,hewentimmediatelytotheinnwheretheyhadstayed.Heconfrontedtheinnkeeper,whorememberedhim,anddemandedtoknowwhathadhappenedtoAthos.

The innkeeperapologized forattacking them."Someofficials toldusweshould look out for men who were passing false money. They gave usdescriptionsofthesemen,andwerecognizedyou,sowehadtoarrestyou."

D'Artagnancouldguesswhotheseofficialswere,but thisdidnotanswerhisimportantquestion."WhereisAthos?"herepeated.

The innkeeper told him about the fight. "Athos shot two men with hismusketsandthenkepttheothersatbaywithhissword,whileheretreatedtothecellar.Thedoorwasopen,andhedartedinandclosedthedoorbehindhim,andthenheevenbarricadedit.Weknewhecouldnotescapefromthere,sowelefthimthere.IwenttotheGovernortotellhimwhathadhappened,buthedidn'tknowanythingaboutit.HetoldmeIhadcapturedthewrongman.Iwentbackto the prisoner in the cellar, but he would not come out unless I allowed hisservanttocomeinwithhimfirst.Wewereonlytoohappytoallowthis.Whentheservantwentin,hebarricadedthedooragain,andheisstilltherenow!"

"You'vekepthimlockedinthecellarallthistime?!"roaredD'Artagnan."No,hehaskepthimselfinthecellar.Ihopeyoucanmakehimcomeout!

Allmygoodwineis inthere,andalotofgoodfood, too,andhewon't letmehave it. I cannot servemyguests, and I am losingmoney.Please get himoutbeforeIamruined!"

Suddenly, theyheard a lot of noise.TwoEnglishguests had arrived andwantedsomewine.Whentheyweretoldthatthewinewasinthecellarbutcouldnotbebroughtout,theydecidedtogetitthemselvesbybreakingdownthecellardoor.D'Artagnanwasreadytofightthembutthenspoketothemreasonablyandconvinced them towait in their roomswhileheobtainedsomewine for them.ThenheconvincedAthostoopenthedoor.Thecellarwasamess!Therewerepoolsofwineandcookingoilonthefloor.Piecesofbonesandfatfloatedinthepools.TheseweretheremainsofthehamsandsausagesAthosandGrimaud,hisservant, had eaten. Therewere empty and brokenwine bottles everywhere.Abarrelofwinestoodinthemiddleofthecellar,withwineflowingfromitsopentapontotheground.Theinnkeepercriedoutindespairandwantedtofight,butAthosorderedsomewine.HeandGrimaudwereverydrunk.

Thatnight,D'ArtagnantoldAthosabouthisloveforConstanceBonacieuxandhis fears for her safety.Athoswas still very drunk and toldD'Artagnan aterriblestory.

"Myfriendwasanimportantmaninasmallvillage.Anewpriestcametothevillagewithhisyoungandbeautiful sister.The importantman fell in lovewiththegirlandmarriedher,althoughshewaspoor.Notlongafterthewedding,hediscovered thatshehadbeenbrandedon theshoulder.Shewasa thief,andmyfriendsoonfoundoutthatthepriestwasnotherbrotherbutherlover.Theyhad tricked him, and he was so angry that he hanged the girl, but the priestescaped.Thatiswhathappenswhenyoufallinlovewithawoman!"

AsAthoscontinued to talkabout it,D'Artagnan realized thathewasnottalking about a friend but about himself! D'Artagnan was appalled. The nextmorning, Athos woke him up andwanted to know if he could remember thestory.

"ItellsomeverystrangestorieswhenIamdrunk,"hesaid."Iwillnevergetdrunkagain."

It was clear from the way he looked at D'Artagnan, however, that herealizedhehadsaidtoomuchandthatD'Artagnanknewhissecret.Hechangedthesubject.

"Thanks for the wonderful horse you brought for me," he said.

"Unfortunately, I saw the Englishmen early this morning and gambled withthem,andIamafraidIlostthehorse."

D'Artagnanwasveryannoyed,butAthoshadnotfinishedhisstoryyet."Itriedtogetmyhorsebackbyholdingyourswithastake,butIlostthat

too!"NowD'Artagnanwasangry.Hecouldn'tbelievethatanybodycouldbeso

stupidandwassurethatAthoswasjoking.Athos continued. "I tried to get both horses back by staking your ring,

whichtheEnglishmenhadnoticedandconsideredveryvaluable."D'Artagnanturnedwhite."Ilostthattoo,"saidAthos,"andthenIstakedGrimaud.TheEnglishmen

thought hewas a good servant andwanted to have him. Fortunately,my luckchanged,andIwonbackthering."

D'Artagnanbegantolaugh,butAthoshadstillnotcometotheendofhisstory.

"Ithoughtmyluckhadchanged,soIstakedtheringagain,andIwonbacktheharnessesandthenboththehorses,butthenIlostthemallagain,exceptthering,andintheendIwonbacktheharnessesbutnotthehorses."

"What'stheuseoftheharnesseswithoutthehorses?"criedD'Artagnan."I have a plan for that. I think you should stake the harnesses for your

horse."AtfirstD'Artagnanrefused,butAthosfinallypersuadedhimtotry."Ifyoulose,youonlylosetheharnesses,andasyousaidyourself,they're

ofnousewithoutthehorsestoputthemon."They went to find the Englishmen, who agreed to the bet, and they

gambled. D'Artagnan won, but Athos persuaded him to take one hundredpistolesinsteadofthehorse.

Athos andD'Artagnan leftAmiens, riding their servants' donkeys,whilethetwoservantswalked,carryingtheharnesses.AtCrevecoeur,theyfoundthatAramishadsoldhishorsetopayhisdebts.However,Aramiswaswellenoughtotravel,andtheywentontoChantillytopickupPorthos.

Porthoshadalsorecoveredandwas justsittingdowntodinnerata table

set for four. He welcomed them cheerfully and explained that he had invitedsomeguestswhohadjustsentamessagetosaytheywerenotabletocome.Itwasawonderfulmeal,andtheywereallenjoyingitwhenAthossuddenlysaid,"Doyouallknowwhatyouareeating,gentlemen?"

"Veal,"saidD'Artagnan,"anditisdelicious!""Lamb,"saidPorthos,"anditisexcellent!""Chicken,"saidAramis,"anditiswonderful!Enjoyit,everybody!""Youareallwrongbecauseyouarealleatinghorse,"saidAthos.Of course, the meat was not horse meat, but Porthos understood what

Athosmeantandconfessedthathehadsoldhiswonderfulnewhorse.Nownoneofthemhadahorse,althoughallofthemhadkepttheirharnessesandsaddles.Theyaddedup themoney thateachof themhadanddiscovered that theyhadfourhundredandsixtyfivelivreswiththem.

When they arrived inParis, eachof themhad a letter fromMonsieur deTreville, telling them that the King was beginning a military operation, or acampaign, atLaRochelle on the first ofMay and that they all needed to buytheir equipment as soon as they could. This equipmentwould cost about twothousandlivresforeachmusketeer.

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

PorthosandD'ArtagnanGotoChurch

D'Artagnanwasworriedbecausehehadtogetenoughmoneytobuysomegood equipment for the campaign, but he was also worried about MadameBonacieux because nothing had been heard about her yet. Athos was notworried,althoughhehadnoequipmentormoney.Hewasdeterminedtostayinhisroomandletthemoneyandequipmentcometohim.

"Ifitdoesn'tcome,"hesaid,"IwillgoandpickaquarrelwithfourorfiveoftheCardinal'sguardsorEnglishmen.IfIfightfourorfiveofthematonce,Iam sure tobekilled, and then everybodywill praisemebecause I died in theKing'sservice.Iwillhavedonemyfightingwithoutbuyinganyequipment."

PorthosandAramistriedtomakesomeplans,andwithD'Artagnan,theywalkedthestreetsofParislookingforwaysofgettingsomemoney.

Oneday,D'Artagnan sawPorthosgoing towarda churchanddecided tofollowhim.Porthoswentintothechurchwherethepriestwasdeliveringalongsermon. Porthos leaned against a wall in the church, quite close to where awomanwassitting.Thiswomanlookedaboutfiftyyearsoldandworeablackdress, and D'Artagnan guessed that she was the wife of the lawyer that hadrefusedtosendPorthosmoneywhenhewaslaidupinChantilly.Porthoslookedatthiswomanfromthecornerofhiseyeandthenbegantolookearnestlyatallthe younger and more beautiful women in the church. He was particularlyinterestedinabeautifulyoungladywhohadalittleboytocarryhercushionandamaidtocarryherbag.ThewomanintheblackdresskeptlookingatPorthos,but he pretended not to see her. Eventually, she coughed so loudly thateverybodyinthechurchturnedtolookather,exceptPorthos.

D'Artagnanwas surprised to recognize thebeautifulyoung ladywith thecushion.ItwastheladywhowasinthecarriageatMeung,whomthemanwiththescarhadcalledMiladyandwhomhehad laterseenonashipready tosailfromEnglandtoFrance.

Attheconclusionofthesermon,Porthosgreetedthebeautifulyounglady,andshesmiledathim.D'ArtagnanunderstoodthatPorthos'splanwastomakethe lawyer's wife jealous, and it worked. She came up behind Porthos andgreetedhiminanannoyedvoice.Porthospretendedtobesurprised.

"Well,well,fancyseeingyouhere.Whatasurprise!HowisyourhusbandMadameCoquenard?Whydidn'tIseeyouinthechurch?

"Youdidn'tseemeinthechurchbecauseyouweretoobusylookingatallthebeautifulyoungladies,especiallyoneofthem!"

"Ah,soyounoticed.Thatyoungladyhasaveryjealoushusband,andshecomestothischurchjusttogetawayfromhimandtoseeme.Sheisaduchess."

"Youareverymuchtheladies'man,aren'tyou,MonsieurPorthos?""Itisonlynaturalthatsomebodywithmygoodlooksshouldenjoyagood

measureofsuccessinthatdirection.""Howquicklymenforget!""Not as quickly as the ladies," replied Porthos. "You forgot me quickly

enoughwhenIwasinjuredinChantillyandneededsomemoney,despitethefactthatIhavedonesomuchforyouinthepast!"

NowMadameCoquenardwasashamed,whichwasexactlywhatPorthoswanted.

"Itwasmy husband's fault because hewould not allowme to have thatmuchmoney."

"Iwrotetoyoufirstbecauseofthelettersyouhadwrittentome.Icouldhavewrittentomyfriend,theduchess,andshewouldhavegivenmethemoneyimmediately."

"I amsorry,MonsieurPorthos. I hope thatyouwill askmeagain if youneedmoneyonanotheroccasion,andIwilldobetter.Ipromise."

ButPorthoswasnotfinished.HecontinuedtotalktoMadameCoquenardandmakeherfeelguilty.Thenhetoldherthathewasgoingonacampaignsoonandmaybekilled.Thismadeherfeelevenworse.

"I am soon going to visitmy family in Brittany," he said, "to get somemoneyforthecampaign,andthatbeautifulyoungduchessyousawmelookingatinthechurchistravellingwithmebecausesheisaneighborofours,anditismorepleasanttotraveltogetherthantotravelalone."

Eventually,poorMadameCoquenardwassoafraid,jealous,andashamedthatsheinvitedPorthostocomeandhavedinnerwithherandherhusbandthenextday,andPorthosaccepted.Hethoughthisplanwasworkingwell.Shetoldhimtosaythathewasheraunt'sson.

D'Artagnan,meanwhile,hadfollowedMiladyoutofthechurchandheardhertellthecoachdrivertogotoSaint-Germain.ThenhewentbacktohisownroomandtoldPlanchettogettwohorsesfromthestables.WhilePlanchetwasaway,D'ArtagnanwenttoseeAthosandtoldhimaboutPorthosandthelawyer'swife. Planchet arrived with the two horses, and Athos wanted to know whyD'ArtagnanwasgoingtoSaint-Germain.D'ArtagnantoldhimthathehadseenMiladyandwantedtofollowher.

"SonowyouloveherasmuchasyoulovedpoorMadameBonacieuxonlyafewdaysago!"saidAthos."Actually,youareprobablydoingtherightthing.It's awaste of time to look for awomanwhohas beenkidnapped. It ismucheasiertofindanotherone!"

D'ArtagnanassuredhimthathedidnotloveMiladyashelovedMadameBonacieuxbutthathedidwanttofindoutmoreabouther.

D'ArtagnanandPlanchetrodeouttoSaint-Germain.Theysawahouseonabendintheroadandnoticedamanstandingnearthegate.Planchetrecognizedhim.ItwasLubin, theservantof theCountdeWardes,whosepermit theyhadstolenatCalais,soD'ArtagnantoldPlanchettogoandtalktohimandfindoutwhetherhismasterwasdeadornot.LubindidnotrecognizePlanchetandsoonthetwomenwerechattingnearthegate.AsD'ArtagnanwaitedforPlanchettoreturn,acarriagearrived,andhesawMiladyinsideitwithhermaid.

The maid, a pretty girl of about twenty years old, jumped out of thecarriagewith an envelope. Just then,Lubinwas called away, leavingPlanchetstandingalonenearthegate.Themaidcameandgavehimtheenvelope.

"Foryourmaster,"shesaid.Planchetwas surprised but took the letter, and the girlwent back to the

carriage,whichdroveaway.PlanchetbroughtthelettertoD'Artagnan,whosoondiscoveredthatitwasaloveletterfortheCountdeWardes.

"Somebodywho is interested inyouwould like toknow if you arewellenoughtogoforawalkintheforest."

Thenittoldhimhowtosendareply."SotheCountisalive!"saidD'Artagnan,andthiswasquicklyconfirmed

byPlanchet.D'ArtagnanandPlanchetfollowedthecoachandsooncaughtupwithit.It

had stoppedon the road, and awell-dressedmanonhorsebackwas talking to

Miladythroughthewindow.Miladylookedannoyed,butthegentlemanlaughed,whichonlymadeherangrier.

D'Artagnan interrupted their conversation,which annoyed the gentlemanonhorseback,andsoontheyagreedtofightaduel.ThegentlemantoldhimthathisnamewasLorddeWinterandthatMiladywashissister.Theysetatimeandplacefortheirduel.

"IsupposeyouhavesomeEnglishfriendsinPariswhowouldliketotakeyourside,"suggestedD'Artagnan.

Theyagreedon three friendseach,andD'Artagnanrodeback toParis toenlisttheaidofthemusketeers.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

AFight,aFeast,andaFriendlyMaid

LorddeWinterandhisthreeEnglishfriendsarrivedandannouncedtheirnames. Two of themwere the EnglishmenwithwhomAthos had gambled inAmiens.ThemusketeersannouncedtheirnamesasAthos,Porthos,andAramis.

LorddeWintersaid that theycouldnot fightmenwhodidnothaverealnames."Thesearejust thenamesofmythicalshepherds,"hesaid,"andwearegentlemenwhocanonlyfightothergentlemen."

The musketeers admitted that these were not their real names. TheEnglishmeninsistedthatthemusketeersrevealtheirtruenames,soeachofthemtook one Englishman aside and whispered his name to him. The Englishmenwere satisfied, but Athos toldhis opponent that he should not have asked hisname.

"NowIwillhave tokillyou,"hesaid."Iamsupposed tobedead,andIhavegoodreasonsfornotlettinganybodyknowthatIamalive."

Theeightmenbegan to fight,and itwasn't longbeforeAthoshadkilledhisman.Porthoswoundedhismaninthethigh,andAramis'smansurrendered.D'Artagnan disarmed Lord deWinter, who then fell over. D'Artagnan put hisswordagainsttheEnglishLord'sthroat.

"Icouldkillyounow,"hecried,"butIwillspareyouforyoursister'ssakebecauseIloveher!"

Thedeadmanhadaheavypurseattachedtohisbelt,andPorthosgaveittoLorddeWintertogivetotheman'sfamily.

"Theywon'twant it," he said, "because they are alreadyvery rich.Whydon'tyougiveittoyourservants?"

Athos, however, had a different idea and gave it to the Englishmen'sservantsinstead.Everybody,exceptofcoursethemusketeers'servants,thoughtthiswasaverygenerousact.LorddeWinterpromisedtointroduceD'Artagnantohissisterthatevening.

D'ArtagnanwasveryexcitedattheprospectofmeetingMiladyandtalkedtoAthosaboutit.

"HaveyouforgottenMadameBonacieuxsoquickly?"askedAthos.

"I loveMadame Bonacieux with my heart, and I loveMilady with myhead,"repliedD'Artagnan.

AthoswarnedhimthatshewasanagentoftheCardinalandthatheshouldnottrusther.However,LorddeWinterarrivedandtookD'Artagnantomeethissister,whoreceivedhimgraciously.WhenLorddeWintertoldherthestoryofthefight,sheseemeddelighted,butD'Artagnannoticedthatshetappedthefloorwith her foot, which showed that she was actually very angry. She toldD'ArtagnanthatLorddeWinterwasactuallyherbrother-in-lawratherthanherbrother.Shehadmarriedhisyoungerbrother,whohaddiedandleftherawidowwith one child. If Lord deWinter did not marry, this child would inherit thefamilyfortune.FromthewaythatshespokeFrench,D'ArtagnanwascertainthatshewasnotEnglish.ShewasFrench.

Atlast,itwastimeforhimtoleave.Attheheadofthestairs,hesawtheprettymaidwhohadbeen in the coachwithMilady.Sheaccidentallybrushedagainsthisarmandapologized.

The next day, D'Artagnan called on Milady again, and she was muchfriendlierthistime.SheaskedhimalotofquestionsabouthispastandwhetherornothelikedtheCardinal.D'ArtagnanrememberedwhatAthoshadtoldhim,sohe toldMilady thathe thoughtveryhighlyof theCardinalandwouldhaveenteredhisservicehaditnotbeenforthefactthatheknewMonsieurdeTrevilleandhadthereforedecidedtojointhemusketeersassoonashecould.

HevisitedMiladyeveryday,andeveryday,hesawtheprettymaidwhoseemedtomakesurethatshesmiledathimortouchedhimaccidentally.

Porthos, meanwhile, was very pleased with himself. He looked forwardeagerly tovisitingMadameCoquenardatherhome.He thought thathewouldgetthemoneyheneededfortheequipment,andthatasarelative,hewouldbeinvitedtodinnereverydayuntilthecampaign.MadameCoquenardhadtoldhimthatherhusbandwasseventy-fiveyearsold,sohewasalsohopingthatthisoldmanmightdiesoonand thathecould thenmarryMadameCoquenardandgethishandsonhermoney.However,hewasgoingtobedisappointed.

Thehousewasinadark,narrowstreet,andthedoorwasopenedbyatallclerkwithapalefaceanddirtyhair.Behindhimstoodashortclerkandbehindhim, another tall clerk. Behind them all stood a message boy. Then he waswelcomed by Madame Coquenard, who led him across several rooms to thesittingroom,wherehemetMonsieurCoquenard.Theoldlawyerwasnotableto

getoutofhischairandwasnotpleasedtoseehisvisitor.Porthossoonrealizedthathewouldnotbehavingdinneratthishouseeveryday.

Whendinnerwasserved,itwasaverypoormeal.Theclerkswaitedtobeservedandlookedhungrilyatthesoup,lickingtheirlips.Theoldlawyerlookedatthesoup,too,anddeclaredthatitwasaverygoodsoup.Porthosthoughtittheweakestandthinnestsoupthathehadeverseen.Thesamethinghappenedwiththe boiled chicken that followed it. Monsieur Coquenard complained that hiswife was too generous in preparing such a feast for her cousin, but Porthosthought the chicken was probably the oldest chicken in Paris. It was nothingmorethanskinandbones.Theclerkslookedatthischickenevenmorehungrilythantheyhadlookedat thesoup.Porthoswasastonished.MadameCoquenardgaveherhusbandthefeet,herself theheadandneck,andPorthosawing.Thethreeclerksreceivednothingandsaidnothing.Theywatchedtheservantcarrytherestofthechickenbacktothekitchen.Hesoonreturnedwithalargeplateofbeanswithsomebones,andeachof theclerksreceivedasmallportionof thisdish.

At the conclusion of the meal, Monsieur Coquenard congratulated hiswife."Thatwasanexcellentmeal.Ihaven'teatensowellinyears!"

Porthosshuddered.Afterdinner,MadameCoquenard spoke tohimaboutwhatheneeded to

buy before he could go on the campaign. She said shewas able to provide ahorseforhimandanotherforhisservant,aswellasanoldtravelingbagthatherhusband no longer required. She agreed to lend him eight hundred livres andinvited him to come and have dinner with them three times a week until thecampaign.Porthosdeclinedtheofferandwenthomehungryandannoyed.

D'ArtagnanwasbeginningtoreallyfallinlovewithMiladyandbegantobelievethatonedayshemight lovehim,too.Oneday,hearrivedatherhouseandwasmetbyKitty,theprettyyoungmaid,whorequestedtospeaktohim.Sheledhimtoherroom,whichwasconnected toMilady's roomand toldhimthatMilady didn't love him. D'Artagnan was very surprised. Kitty showed him aletterwhichMiladyhadwrittentotheCountdeWardes,whichshowedthatshelovedhimandwantedhimtoloveherinreturn.D'Artagnanwashurt,butalsorealizedthatKittylovedhim.HespenttheeveningwithherandthenhidinthecupboardwhenMilady came in.He heard her tellKitty that she did not loveD'Artagnanbuthatedhimforthetroublehehadcausedherandfornotkilling

LorddeWinter,whichwouldhavegivenheralargeinheritance."I'dliketotakerevengeonhim,"shesaid,"butsofar,allIhavebeenable

todoiskidnapthatstupiddraper'swifethatheloved."D'Artagnan was really angry, but he became even more upset when he

heardhersaythatshelovedtheCountdeWardes.HedecidedtouseKittytogetrevengeonMilady.Heconvincedher thathe lovedherandaskedher tobringanyotherlettersthatMiladysenttotheCountdeWardestohiminstead,andsheeasilyagreed.Hereplied tooneof these letters,pretending tobe theCountdeWardesandarranging tomeetwithheroneevening.He thought thatbygoingthereandconfrontingher,hewouldbeabletoembarrassherandforcehertotellhimwhereConstanceBonacieuxwasbeingkept.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Milady'sSecret

The threemusketeers andD'Artagnan had dinner together once aweek.ThisdinnerwasalwaysheldatAthos'shousebecauseherefusedtoleaveit.Hewas waiting for his equipment to come to him. During one of these dinners,Porthos'sservant,Mousqueton,cameandtoldhimthatheshouldgohome.ThenAramis's servant, Bazin, came and toldAramis the same thing. Each of thesemusketeersreturnedtotheirhomes.

Aramis found a man waiting for him, and this man had an importantmessagetodeliverfromaladyinTours.AramisguessedimmediatelythatitwasMadame Chevreuse, and he was correct. Theman demanded to see a certainhandkerchiefwhichAramiskeptinaboxnearhisbed,gavehimthreehundredpistoles,andleft.Aramiswasoverjoyed,andD'Artagnan,whohadfollowedhimhome,wasalsoverypleasedforhim.Aramisdecidedthathewouldbuyagoodmeal for the fourcomrades toenjoy together.Theysetoff to findPorthosandwere surprised to seeMousquetonwalking in the streetwithD'Artagnan's oldyellowhorse!Thiswas the horse thatMadameCoquenard had promised him,and he was on his way to her house to return it. Porthos was very unhappybecauseitwasnotgoodenoughforamusketeertoride.Everybodywouldlaughat him. Mousqueton tied the horse to Madame Coquenard's front door, andPorthoswent toseeher.Hetoldherwhathethoughtabout theanimalshehadgivenhim.Sheapologizedandreplaceditwithabetterhorse.Shealsogavehimmoremoneysothathecouldbuyhisequipment.

Thatevening,D'Artagnankepthispromise tovisitMilady. Itwas lateatnight,anditwasverydark.Miladydidnotwantanylights,forreasonsthatweshallseelater,andbecauseofthis,shethoughtthatD'ArtagnanwastheCountdeWardes.Sheheldhishandandspokeverylovinglytohim,andthengavehimavaluable sapphire and diamond ring. She complained about the 'dreadfulGascon,'whohad injuredhimatCalais, telling theCount that shewouldhelphim get revenge on him. All this time, she did not realize that it was reallyD'Artagnanwhosehandshewasholding,andinwhoseearshewaswhispering.AsD'Artagnanlistenedtoallthis,herealizedthatMiladywouldneverlovehim.However,heagreedtomeetheragainthefollowingweek.

The next morning, D'Artagnan visited Athos and told him what had

happened.Whenhe showedAthos the ring thatMilady hadgiven him,Athosexamined it very closely and then turned so pale that D'Artagnan asked himwhetherhewassuddenlysick.

"It's exactly likea ring thatused tobelong tomy family," saidAthos. "Igave it away in an hour of perfect happiness, but now it brings me bittermemories."

He begged D'Artagnan not to visit this dangerous woman again, andD'Artagnan agreed. However, when he arrived at his own room, Kitty waswaitingforhimwithanothermessagefortheCountdeWardes,invitinghimtocomeagainthatevening.D'Artagnanwroteareply,tellingherthathewasverybusy,andshewouldhavetowaither turn.Hesignedit 'CountdeWardes'andgave it to Kitty to deliver to Milady. When Milady read the note, she wasfurious,andthenshesuddenlysaid,"Ohno!Couldhehaveseen-?"

D'ArtagnandidnotvisitMilady for several days after that, and then shewrotehima letter invitinghim to comeand seeher.Hedecided to accept theinvitation.Whenhearrived,Miladyspokeverykindly tohim,andhe toldherthathelovedher.Shesaidshemightlovehim,too,ifhewouldfighttheCountdeWardesforherandkillhiminaduel.D'Artagnanraisedsomeobjectionstothis,butsheaccusedhimofbeingacoward,andatlast,hehadtoagree.

"Doyouloveme?"heasked."Yes,yes,ofcourse.""ThenImustconfesssomethingtoyou.""Confesssomething?"Then he told her that theCount deWardes had not received any letters

fromherandthattheCounthadnevervisitedherbecauseD'Artagnanhadtakentheletters,writtenthereplies,andpretendedtobehimwhenshegavehimthering.

Milady,ofcourse,wasfurious.Sherushedawayfromhim,butherdresswascaughtonachairandcameawayfromhershoulders.D'Artagnansawthebrand on her shoulder, and suddenly realized who she was. She was Athos'swife!Thatwaswhyshehadthatring.ObviouslyshewasnotasdeadasAthosthought shewaswhen he hanged her. That also explainedwhy shewanted tomeet in the dark. She did not want anybody to see her branded shoulder.D'Artagnangroanedinhisamazement,buthedidnothavelongtothinkabout

histerriblediscovery.Miladywasnolongeranangrywoman-shewasawoundedanimal."You

knowmysecret,"shescreamed,"andyoumustdie!"Sheseizedasmallknifefromherdressingtableandrantowardhim.Although D'Artagnan was brave, Milady's pale face and wide eyes

frightened him. He moved back, as if he were attacked by a deadly snake.MiladywasdeterminedtostabhimandchargedafterD'Artagnan.

He stopped her by pointing his sword at her, and shemight have killedherselfbypushingagainstit,buthebackedawayandthenescapedintoKitty'sroom,lockingthedoorbetweenthetworooms.Miladypoundedagainstthedoorandstabbeditwithherknife,screamingandshoutinglikeamadspirit.Thensherang the bell to get the servants to stopD'Artagnan from escaping. However,theywerenotquickenough.Kittyhelpedhimtogetoutthroughoneofthebackdoors in thehouse,andhe randown thestreetwithMiladyshakingher fistathim from an upstairs window. When he had disappeared from sight, Miladyturnedbackintotheroomandfainted.

D'Artagnan ran through the streets of Paris without thinking verymuchaboutwherehewasgoing.Eventually,hereturnedtoAthos'shouseandtoldhimwhat had happened. Athos agreed that Milady was his wife and warnedD'Artagnantostayawayfromher.Theydecidedtosell theringshehadgivenD'Artagnan,and thiswouldenable themtobuytheequipment theyneededforthecampaign.WhenD'Artagnanfinallywenthome,hefoundKittywaitingforhim. She was very frightened of Milady and begged D'Artagnan to help herescape from Paris. Aramis said he knew a lady in the countrywhowanted amaid,anditwasarrangedthatKittywouldgothere.

"IwillalwaysloveyouasmuchasIloveyoutoday,"D'Artagnantoldherassheleft.

"Hmmm,"saidAthos.When Kitty had gone, Athos and D'Artagnan set off to buy their

equipment.Theyfoundsomegoodhorsesforthemselvesandtheirservantsandboughtallthenecessaryequipmentforthecampaign.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

TwoAppointmentsforD'Artagnan

The four comrades were happy now that they had their equipment, andtheyenjoyedawonderfuldinnertogether.Thedinnerwasinterrupted,however,by Planchet, who had two letters for D'Artagnan. One of them was fromConstanceBonacieux,andittoldhimtobeontheChaillotroadbetweensixandeight o'clock that evening. She said that she would be going past there in acarriageatthattime,andshewouldlovetocatchaglimpseofhim.

"Ifyouseeme,pretendthatyoudon'trecognizeme.It'stoodangerousforyouaswellasforme."

D'Artagnan was overjoyed to know that she was still alive, but Athosthought it was a trap and that he should not go. In the end, the musketeersdecidedtheywouldallgotomakesurethatD'Artagnanwouldbesafe.

TheotherletterthatPlanchetbroughtwasfromtheCardinal,commandingD'Artagnan to come to his office at eight o'clock that evening. D'Artagnanthoughtthathecouldkeepbothappointments,butthistime,itwasAramiswhothoughtthatheoughtnottokeepthesecondappointment.D'Artagnan,however,wasdeterminedtogo.Athosarrangedthattherewouldbeagroupofmusketeersateachofthegatesofthepalace.TheirjobwastorescueD'ArtagnanifhewasbeingtakenoutoftheCardinal'sofficeasaprisoner.

The three musketeers and D'Artagnan rode out to the Chaillot road,showing off their fine new horses and equipment. On the way, they metMonsieur deTreville, andD'Artagnan told him about his invitation to see theCardinal.MonsieurdeTrevilleagreedwithhisdecisiontogoandseehimandpromised that if he did not report the following morning, he would find andrescuehim,whereverhewas.

D'ArtagnanwaitedbytheChaillotroad,withthethreemusketeersalittledistancebehindhim.Hesawacarriageapproachingveryquicklyandfeltsurethat it would contain the person he wanted to see. It did. He saw ConstanceBonacieuxforthebriefestofmoments,andshesawhim,too.Heshoutedwithhappinessandgallopedafterthecarriage,forgettingwhattheletterhadtoldhim.He caught up to the carriage, but the blind had been drawn, and he could nolonger see inside it. Suddenly, he remembered the warning in the letter. He

stopped his horse and stood still for a fewmoments. Then he returned to themusketeersandtoldthemwhathehadseen.

The clock struck half past seven, and D'Artagnan had to hurry away tokeephisappointmentwith theCardinal.Athos,Aramis,andPorthoseach tookthreemusketeerswith them and stood at one of the three gates leading to theCardinal's office. D'Artagnan was worried about the visit because he did notknowwhy theCardinalwanted toseehim,andhecould thinkofanumberofreasons for theCardinal tobe angrywithhim.However, he entered theofficebravelyandwaited.SomeoftheCardinal'sguardswereinthewaitingroom,andtheyrecognizedhimasthemanwhohadinjuredJussac,theleaderoftheguards,inthefightneartheconvent.Theystaredathim,butD'Artagnanshowedthathewas not afraid of them by returning their stare. He wondered how long theCardinal would make him wait, but he was taken into the office almostimmediately.

The Cardinal asked him several questions about his family and hisadventuressinceleavinghome.ItseemedtoD'ArtagnanthattheCardinalknewalotabouthim.HeevenknewabouthistriptoEnglandandthereasonforit.

"Whydidn'tyoucometoseemewhenIinvitedyou?"askedtheCardinal."IthoughtYourEminencewasnotpleasedwithme.""Onthecontrary, Iwasverypleasedwithyouandwanted toofferyoua

position.Pleasesitdown,andwecantalkaboutitnow."D'Artagnanwas amazed. Hewas evenmore amazedwhen the Cardinal

offered him a good position in his guards and an even better one after thecampaign.HewasveryembarrassedandtoldtheCardinalthathecouldnottakeup this offer because he was loyal to his friends in themusketeers, and theywouldthinkbadlyofhimifheacceptedit.

"Tobehonest,Sir,"headded,"Idon'tthinkthatIamgoodenoughfortheofferthatyouhavegivenme."

The Cardinal was not happy but had to accept D'Artagnan's decision.WhenD'Artagnanlefttheofficeandfoundhiscomrades,hetoldthemwhathadhappened,andtheyagreedthathehaddonetherightthing.

Thenextday,theguards,includingD'Artagnan,leftforLaRochelle.ThemusketeersdidnotgoyetbecausetheirjobwastoguardtheKing,andhewasnotfeelingwell.Hehadpostponedhisdepartureforaday,sothemusketeershad

towait.AstheguardsleftParis,D'ArtagnanwaslookingattheBastilleanddidnot

noticeMiladysittingonahorseandwatchinghim.Miladypointedhimout totworoughlookingmen.Themencameclosetotakenoticeofhim.Miladyleft,after she was certain that the men would follow her orders. The men soonfollowedthecompanyoutofthecity.

CHAPTERSEVENTEEN

Milady'sFirstAttemptsatRevenge

The siege of La Rochellewas an important historical event. TheKing'sfather,Henry IV,had allowed theProtestants to live atLaRochelle, but sincethen,ithadbecomeaplacewhereeverybodywhodisagreedwiththeKingortheCardinal went to live. The Cardinal's enemies, especially the Duke ofBuckingham,supportedthepeopleofLaRochelleandusedthemtospyontheKingandtheCardinal.TheCardinaldecidedtobesiegeLaRochelle,drivethepopulationout,andrestorethecitytotheCatholicEmpire.TheKing'sbrother,whomeverybodycalledMonsieur,wasinchargeofthesiegeatfirst.

WhentheKinghadrecovered,hetravelledfromParistowardLaRochellebut became sick at Villeroy and stopped there. Themusketeers stopped therewithhimso thatD'Artagnanandhis threecomradeswereseparated for longerthantheyhadanticipated.

One evening, hewaswalking along a lonelypathnear theguards' campwhentwomenhidingbehindahedgebegantoshootathim.Heranbacktowardthecampasthebulletswhistledaroundhisears.Noneofthemhithim,althoughonedidputahole inhishat.Whenhegotback to thecamp,he lookedat theholeinhishatandsawthatithadnotbeenmadebyanarmybullet.Sowhohadshotathim?WasthistheworkoftheCardinal?Hethoughtthisunlikely,astheCardinalhadmuch surerwaysofdealingwithhis enemies.He thought itwasmuchmorelikelythatMiladywastryingtotakerevengeonhim.

Afewdayslater,D'Artagnan'scommandingofficercalledhimtohistentandaskedhimtovolunteerforadifficultanddangerousjob.Heneededasmallgroupofmen togo to abuildingwhich theRochellesehadcaptured from thearmy thatnight.Thecommanderwanted toknowhowmanymenwere in thisbuilding.D'Artagnanaskedfor fourvolunteers togowithhim.Twomenfromthe guards volunteered and so did two soldiers from another company.D'Artagnanacceptedthemandsetouttowardthebuilding,goingalongatrenchto stay out of sight. The guardsmen marched beside him, and the soldiersmarchedbehindthem.Afterawhile,heturnedaroundandsawthatthesoldiershaddisappeared.

Thinking that they must have become frightened and run away, hecontinuedwith the twoguardsmen.Theywerenowabout fortyyards fromthe

building and stopped.The building seemed to be deserted, and theywere justabout togofurther toward itwhensomepuffsofsmokeappearedfromoneofthewindowsandbulletswhistledaroundtheheadsofthethreemen.Theyhadfoundoutthatthebuildingwasstilloccupied,sotheydecidedtoturnaroundandheadbacktowardthecamp.Astheyleaptintothetrench,asingleshotrangout,andoneof theguardsmenfelldownwithabullet throughhischest.Theotherguardsmancontinuedtorun,butD'Artagnanpickeduptheguardsmanwhohadbeenshotandtriedtohelphimbacktothecamp.However,twomoreshotsrangout and the guardsman was hit in the head. The other bullet just missedD'Artagnan.He looked around, suddenly realizing that these bullets could notcomefromtheenemybuildingbecausetheywereshelteredbytheangleofthetrench.

D'Artagnansuddenlyrememberedthetwosoldierswhohethoughthadrunawayand then thoughtof the twomenwhohad tried toshoothimafewdaysearlier. He had an idea. He fell down over the body of the guardsman andpretendedtobedead.Amomentlater,hesawtwoheadsappearovertheedgeofthe trench. He was right. They were the two soldiers who had run away. Herealized that they had volunteered only so that they could shoot him, and hisdeathwouldlookasif itwascausedbytheenemy.Luckily,D'Artagnan's trickworked. The soldiers thought he was dead and approached him withoutbothering to reload their guns. When they were close to him, D'Artagnansuddenlysprangupandattackedthemwithhissword.

Oneofthemrantowardtheenemyandwasshotintheshoulder,andtheotherfoughtagainstD'Artagnan.ItdidnottakeD'Artagnanlongtodisarmhimandputhisswordagainsthisthroat.ThesoldierconfessedthathehadbeenpaidbyawomancalledMiladyandthattheothersoldierhadaletterfromherinhispocket.D'Artagnan told him to go and get the letter, but the soldierwas veryafraid.

"Pleasedon'tmakemegothere.It'sjustanotherwayofkillingme."D'Artagnan, however, would not change his mind and eventually the

soldier set out toward his fallen friend. As he went, he looked so afraid andmiserablethatD'Artagnantookpityonhim.

"Stop.You stay here, and I'll go. I'll showyou the difference between abravemanandacoward."

D'Artagnan reached thewounded soldier and decided to carry him back

intothetrenchbeforelookingfortheletter.Hepickedhimupjustastheenemybegantofireatthem.Hefeltthebodyofthesoldiergethitandthenthrewhiminto the trench before jumping into it himself. The soldier was dead, butD'Artagnansoonfoundhiswalletandthe letter thathewanted.This iswhat itsaid:

Youletthatwomanescape,andnowsheissafelyinaconvent.Donotfailwiththeman,oryouwillbepunished.

D'Artagnan put this letter fromMilady in his pocket, and then began toquestionthesecondsoldier.Thetwosoldiershadbeenpaidtokidnapawomanwho was leaving Paris by the la Villette gate on a certain day, but they hadstoppedtohaveadrinkandweretoolateforthecarriage.

"Whatwereyougoingtodowiththewoman?""WeweregoingtotakehertoahouseinthePlaceRoyale."D'Artagnan understood that Milady had wanted to keep Madame

Bonacieux in her own house. This made D'Artagnan realize what a powerfulenemy Milady was, but he also realized that the Queen had found MadameBonacieuxandremovedhersafelytoaconvent.D'Artagnanwassohappythatheturnedtothesoldierandhelpedhimbacktothecamp.Thefirstguardsmanhadalreadytoldthecommandingofficerthattheotherfourmenhadbeenkilled,sowhenD'Artagnan arrivedwith the soldier, hewas given a hero'swelcome.Thesoldiersworetoservehimfortherestofhislife.

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

MiladyandtheCardinal

D'Artagnanhad saved himself fromMilady's attack.One of his enemieswas dead, and the other was his devoted friend for life and had becomePlanchet's servant.However,Miladywas not finished yet. The siegewent on,and the King stayed in Villeroy with the musketeers. One day in November,D'ArtagnanreceivedamessagefromVilleroy.Thisiswhatitsaid:

YourfriendsAthos,Porthos,andAramisspentaneveningatmyhotelandenjoyed the wine. They thought of you and ordered me to send you twelvebottlesofAnjouwinesothatyoucandrinktheirhealth.

ItwassignedbyGodeau,innkeepertothemusketeers.D'Artagnanwasverypleasedthathiscomradeswerethinkingofhimand

decidedtoinvitesomeoftheguardstodrinkthewinewithhim.Heorganizedaparty for two days later. Planchet and his new servant, Brisemont, wereappointed waiters. On the day of the party, Planchet got the wine from thestoreroomwhereithadbeenstored,andBrisemontstartedopeningthebottles.

"Why don't you have a glass ofwine, Brisemont?" saidD'Artagnan. "Itwillhelpyourecoverfromyourwounds."

Thewinelookedverycloudy,buttheythoughtthatthiswasjustbecauseithadtravelledfromVilleroy.Themembersofthepartydranktheirsoupandwerejustabouttodrinksomeofthewinewhentheyheardgunfire.Thinkingitwasanattack,theyrushedoutreadytofight.Theysoondiscoveredthattherealreasonfor thegunfirewas that theKinghad arrived, and everybodywas celebrating.ThemenlineduptowelcometheKing,andthentheysawthethreemusketeers.D'Artagnanwasverypleasedtoseethemandcalledouttothem,invitingthemtocomeandenjoysomeofthewinetheyhadsentfromVilleroy.

"Bottles of wine that we sent?" asked Athos. "We never sent you anywine!"

"ThetwelvebottlesofAnjouwine,"explainedD'Artagnan.D'ArtagnanshowedthemtheletterfromGodeau.

"That'snothiswriting,"saidAthos."Don'tdrinkthewine!"Theyranbacktothediningroomwherethepartywastobeheld.Thefirst

thingtheysawwasBrisemontlyingontheground,twistedwithpain."Thisisanicetrickyou'veplayedonme,D'Artagnan,"hesaid."Yousave

mylifeandpretendtobemyfriend,andthenyoupoisonmewithAnjouwine!"D'Artagnantriedtoexplain,butthedyingmanwouldnotlisten."I don't believe you!" he hissed. He coughed some blood, and a spasm

wentthroughhisbody.Hewasdead.D'ArtagnanpostponedthepartyandtoldPlanchettoburyBrisemont.Then

heandthemusketeerswenttoaninn,whereAthostoldPorthosandAramisthestory of Milady. They all tried to think of ways in which they could defendthemselves againstMilady's attacks.ThenD'Artagnan askedwhat they shoulddoaboutConstanceBonacieux,whowasinaconventsomewhere.

"WecanrescueheraftertheCampaign,"saidPorthos,"butwewillneedtoknowwhichconventsheisin.PerhapsAramiscanfindoutforusbywritingtohisfriend."

Aramiswas slightly embarrassedby this but agreed towrite a letter andseewhathecouldfindout.

TheKingwaseagertostartfightingagainstBuckinghamandthepeopleinLaRochelle.He began by attacking an island near the port and defeating theEnglishmen there.TheEnglishmengoton their shipsandsailedaway, leavingmorethantwothousanddeadandwoundedsoldiers.Theyalsoleftbehindsomepapers that revealeda secretplotbetweena leagueofnations,which includedtheGermanEmpire,SpainandEngland,againstFrance.MadamedeChevreuseand the Queen were part of this plot, so the Cardinal was on his guard andconstantlywatchingforspiesandsecretmessengers.

Onenight,thethreemusketeerswereridingbacktothecampfromaninncalledtheRedDovecotewhentheyheardhorsescomingtowardthem.

"Whogoesthere?"theycalled."Whoareyou?"wastheanswer.TheysoondiscoveredthattheotherridersweretheCardinalandsomeof

hisguards.TheCardinal told themtocomewithhimbecausehedidnotwantanyone in thecamp toknow thathewasabsent.Athos toldhim that theyhad

been in a fight at the Red Dovecote about a woman who had arrived there,althoughtheyhadnotseenher.TheCardinaltoldthemtheywererighttodefendthewoman,andtheyallrodebacktotheRedDovecotetogether.

TheCardinalmadethemwaitinalargeroomandwentupstairstoanotherroomhimself.Themusketeersrealizedthattheyhadpreventedsomebodyfromkidnapping an important lady andwonderedwho itwas.AsAthoswalked upanddowntheroom,hepassedachimneyandheardvoices.Hestoppedtolisten.Itwas theCardinalspeaking tononeother thanMilady!Athos turnedwhiteatthesoundofhervoice.

The three musketeers gathered around the chimney and listened as theCardinaltoldMiladywhathewantedhertodo.

"YouaretogotoLondonagainandtelltheDukeofBuckinghamthatifheassiststhepeopleofLaRochelle,Ishalltelleverybodyaboutthesecretmeetinghe hadwith theQueen. Tell him that I haveMontague, one of his agents, inprisonandthatIalsohavealetterfromMadamedeChevreusewhichprovesthattheQueenisplottingagainsttheKingofFrance.IamsurethathewillgiveuphisplansbecauseheisinlovewiththeQueen."

"Whatwillhappenifherefusestolisten?"askedMilady."ThePuritans inEnglandhatehim, and it shouldnot bedifficult to find

onewhocanbepersuadedtomurderhim.WhenyouhavetalkedtotheDukeofBuckingham,youshouldreturntoFranceandgototheconventatBethune.Waitthereforfurtherorders."

Milady agreed to do as the Cardinal commanded, but then she wantedsomehelpagainstherownenemies.

"MadameBonacieuxhasbeenremovedfromprisonbyorderoftheKingandtakentoaconvent,butIdon'tknowwhichone.Canyoufindoutwheresheis?Shemustdiebecauseshehelpedmyenemies."

TheCardinalagreedtofindoutandtellher."Ihaveanotherenemy,moredangerousthanMadameBonacieux,andthat

is D'Artagnan. He is also your enemy because he helped the Duke ofBuckinghamandtheQueenintheaffairofthediamonds."

"He is a braveman," replied theCardinal, "but Iwill gladly let you dowhatyoulikewithhim.Iwillwriteyouanordergivingyoupermission.Thereare twoguardsoutsidewithahorseforyou,andtheywillescortyousafely to

the ship for England.Youmust leave as soon as you can.You can dealwithD'Artagnanlater."

Athos,Porthos,andAramisheardallofthisastheysatnearthechimney.Athostoldtheothersthathehadtoleavetheinnimmediately.

"Whatwillwetell theCardinalwhenhefindsthatyouhavegone?"theyasked.

"TellhimthatIhavegoneaheadtochecktheroadbecausetheinnkeepersaidsomethingthatmademethinkitwasdangerous."

Helefttheinnandrodeoffinthedirectionofthecamp.

CHAPTERNINETEEN

BreakfastintheBastion

WhentheCardinalcamedownstairs,henoticedthatAthoswasabsentbutbelieved the excuse thatPorthos andAramis gavehim.He told the remainingtwomusketeerstogetreadyandcomebacktothecampwithhim.

Athos,meanwhile,gallopedasmalldistancedowntheroadandthenhidinthebushesuntil theCardinalwentpast.Hegotbackonhishorseandgallopedback to the inn.He told the innkeeper thathehadamessage for the ladyandwent up to her room.Hewalked inwithout knocking and confrontedMilady.Shewasterrified.

"CountdelaFere!"sheexclaimed."Yes, Count de la Fere. I've come to deal with an importantmatter. Sit

down."Shesatdown,unabletospeak,andhesatdownoppositeher."Youareadevil,anevilspiritsent totorturemen.Youarepowerfuland

wealthy,butyouwillnotalwayswin,AnnedeBreuil!"IthadbeenalongtimesinceMiladyhadheardanyoneuseherrealname,

anditfrightenedher.Athosthentoldherthatheknewallaboutthestoryofthediamonds and that she was planning to murder the Duke of Buckingham,D'Artagnan,andConstanceBonacieux.

"Idon'tcareabouttheDukeofBuckingham,"hesaid,"butD'Artagnanismyfriend,andifyouhurthimorhisfriend,ConstanceBonacieux,itwillbethelastthingyoueverdo!"

"Heinsultedme,andhemustdie!Theymustbothdie!Shefirst,andthenhe!"

Athosnowbecameveryangry.Hetookhisgunfromhisbeltandpointeditatherhead.

"GivemethepermissionthattheCardinalwroteforyou,"hesaid.Shegaveittohim,andheleft.Onthewayout,hespoketothetwoguards

whoweretoescorthertotheshipandremindedthemtotaketheladytotheshipassoonaspossible.Thenheleaptontohishorseandtookashortcutacrossthe

fieldssothathecouldgetaheadoftheCardinal.WhentheCardinalsawhimontheroadaheadofhim,hedidnotsuspectthatAthoshadbeenbacktotheRedDovecoteandspokentoMilady.

MiladythoughtaboutcatchingupwiththeCardinalandtellinghimwhathadhappened,butsherealizedthatAthoswouldbeabletotelltheCardinalalotofthingsthatshedidnotwantanybodytoknow.ShewentwiththetwoguardsandboardedtheshiptoEngland.

Early the next morning, the musketeers sent a message to D'Artagnan,askinghimtocomeandsee themimmediately.Whenhearrived,he told themthat he had been involved in a battle the previous night when the army hadcapturedabastionpreviouslyheldby theenemy.Athossuggested that theygosomewhere else to talk because they did notwant anybody to hearwhat theyweresaying.Theywent to theParpaillot Inn,but itwasnotagood time tobetherebecausealotofsoldierswerejustabouttoeatbreakfast.D'Artagnantoldthem about the battle for the bastion. Five of the guards had been killed, andabouttenRochellesehadalsolosttheirlives.

Athos was annoyed because there were too many people there, and hecouldnotspeaktotheothers,especiallytoD'Artagnan,withoutpeoplehearinghim.Thenhehadagoodidea.

"Gentlemen, we will have a bet," he said to four of the men standingaround them. "I bet thatmy three comrades and I will have breakfast in thatbastionanddefend itagainst theenemyforanhourat leastwhileweeat.Theloserswillpayforagoodmealforthewinners."

Theyallagreed to thisbecause they loved tobet,and the fourcomradespacked their breakfast into a basket and set off for thebastion.A large crowdgathered to watch them go. When they were certain that nobody could hearthem,Athos explained to D'Artagnan that they needed a placewhere nobodywouldsuspectthemoftalkingorplottingtogetherbecausetheyhadsomeveryimportantmatters to discuss.By the time they reached the bastion, over threehundredmenwerewatchingfromthecamp,andtheyallcheeredasthefourmenwentintothebuilding.

Theyfoundaboutadozendeadmeninsidethebastion,andtheytooktheirguns.D'ArtagnanandPorthoswantedtothrowthedeadmenoverthewallandinto the trench, but Athos said they might be useful later and to leave themwheretheywere.Theyloadedthegunsandthensatdowntoeattheirbreakfast.

Athosbegan to tellD'Artagnanwhatheand theothermusketeershadheardattheRedDovecote,andD'Artagnanbegantofeelill.

"Iwillbekilled,"he said. "Ihave toomanyenemies - the stranger fromMeung,theCountdeWardes,Milady,andtheCardinal!"

"That'sonlyfour,"saidAthos,"andtherearefourofus,soyoudon'tneedtoworry."

Atthisstageoftheirdiscussion,theywereinterruptedbytheapproachoftheenemy.Therewerefoursoldiersandsixteenworkers,aswellasasergeant.Athosleaptontoawallandcalledouttotheenemy.

"Wearebusyhavingbreakfastanddon'twanttobedisturbed,"heshouted."Areyoumad?"saidD'Artagnan.Athos took no notice but continued to shout at the enemy. "Pleasewait

untilwehavefinishedourbreakfast,orcomeandjoinusanddrinkatoasttotheKing!"

TheenemyfiredatAthosbutdidnothithim.Themusketeersfiredbackand killed three of the soldiers and wounded one of the workers. They firedagainwithothergunsandkilled thesergeantand twoworkers.Therestof thegroup fled, and the musketeers reloaded their guns before resuming theirdiscussion.

AthostoldD'Artagnanthat theCardinalwantedMiladytogotoEnglandandmakesure that theDukeofBuckinghamwaskilledand thathehadgivenher written permission to do whatever she wanted with D'Artagnan andConstance Bonacieux. He told them how he had taken the document fromMiladyandshowedittoD'Artagnan.

"Whatdoyouthinkshewilldonow?"askedD'Artagnan."Isupposeshewill returnfromEnglandandtell theCardinalaboutme,"

saidAthos,"andhewillhaveusalllockedupintheBastille.""I think itwouldbe lessof a crime tokillMilady than it is tokill these

poorpeopleinLaRochelle,"declaredPorthos."TheironlycrimeisthattheyarenotCatholics,butsheisonherwaytomurdertheDukeofBuckingham!Thatisafargreatercrime."

Theothersagreedwithhimbuthadtoput theirdiscussiononholdagainbecauseabouttwenty-fiveenemysoldierswereapproachingthebastion.

"Perhapsweshouldheadbacktothecamp,"saidPorthos."Impossible!"explainedAthos."Ihavenotfinishedmybreakfast,wehave

notfinishedourdiscussion,andwestillhave tenminutes togobeforewewinourbet!"

Thefourcomradesbegantofireattheenemyassoonastheywerewithinrangeandkilledquiteafewofthem,buttheenemykeptadvancing.Athoshadfoundaweakpartofthewallinthebastion,andastheenemysoldiersreachedthisweakenedpart,thefourfriendspushedagainstit,anditcollapsedontopofthe enemy. A couple of them survived this attack, but they ran away, so themusketeerscontinuedtheirdiscussion.

D'Artagnan suggested that hegoback toEnglandandwarn theDukeofBuckinghamaboutMiladyandherplan,butAthosdismissedthisideabecausetheDukeofBuckinghamwasanenemyofFranceandhelpinghimatthistimewouldbetreason.TheydecidedthattheyshouldwritealettertotheQueenandanothertoLorddeWinter,Milady'sbrother-in-law,whohadreturnedtoLondon.As theywerediscussing this, theyhearddrumsandnoticed thatamuch largergroupoftheenemywasapproaching.

Athostoldtheotherstohelphimtiethedeadmenagainstthewallsandputgunsandswordsintheirhands.Thentheyleftthebastionandwentbacktothecamp.Athoswavedaflagattheenemy,andtheyshotsomeholesinit,buttheycouldnot hitAthos.Then the enemybegan to fire at the deadbodies that themusketeershadtiedtothewall,andthefourfriendseasilyescapedtothecamp.As theywalkedalong the trench, theydecided thatD'Artagnanshould sell thering he received from the Queen to raise the money they needed to sendmessengers to Paris and England. Everybody at the camp cheered when theyreturned,andnewsoftheiractionsoonreachedtheCardinal.

"Imusthave themonmyside,"hesaid tohimselfand toldMonsieurdeTreville to make D'Artagnan a musketeer immediately. D'Artagnan was verypleasedwithhispromotionbecauseatlast,hehadachievedhisambition.

CHAPTERTWENTY

MiladyGoestoLondon

D'Artagnanwasnowamusketeer,andhespenttherestofthedayproudlymarching up and down in his new uniform. Themusketeers had a wonderfullunchwithMonsieurdeTrevilleandthensatdowntowritetheletterstoLorddeWinterandtotheQueen.It tookthefourofthemquitesometimetoworkoutexactlywhattowrite.TheyhadtobecarefulincasetheletterswereinterceptedbytheCardinal'sspies.

Eventually, it was Aramis who wrote the letters. The letter to Lord deWinterwarnedhimaboutadangerousrelationwhosemarriagetohisbrotherhadbeenillegalandwhowastryingtokillhimsothatshecouldinheritthefamilywealth.ThelettertotheQueenwarnedherthattheDukeofBuckinghamwasindangerbytellingherthatAramishadhadadreamabouthisdeath.Whenhereadtheseletterstohisfriends,theyalldeclaredthemselvessatisfied.TheycouldnotsendtheletterdirectlytotheQueenbutknewthattheycouldwritetoAramis'sfriendMadamedeChevreuse inTours.Shewouldpasson themessage to theQueen.

D'Artagnanhadsoldhisdiamondring,sotheyhadplentyofmoney.TheygavesomeofittoPlanchetforhistriptoEnglandandsomeofittoBazinforhistriptoTours.TheytoldPlanchettogotoLondonandgivethelettertoLorddeWinterandthenreturntothematLaRochelle.Theythoughtitwouldtakeabouttwoweeks tomake this trip, and they promised him somemoremoney if hecouldreturnwithinthattime.BeforePlanchetleft,D'ArtagnansecretlytoldhimtogiveLorddeWinteranothermessage.

"WarntheDukeofBuckinghamthatthereisaplottokillhim."The next day, they gave Bazin his letter and sent him to Tours. They

thought that this tripwould takeaboutoneweekand toldhimtoreturnwithinthattime.Thefourmusketeerswereanxiousandworriedwhilethetwoservantswereaway.Itwasdifficultforthesemenofactiontowait.Aweeklater,BazinreturnedwithamessagefromTourswhichthankedthemfortheirletter.

"Weunderstandyourdreams,butwearesuretheywillnotcometrue."Theyhad towait anotherweek forPlanchet to return.By theendof the

week, theyweremore than anxious and kept their eyes on the road bywhich

theyexpectedPlanchettoarrive."Don'tworry,"saidAthos,"Iamsurehewillkeephispromiseandarrive

today."Itwasaverylongday,butfortunatelyPlanchetarrivedthatevening,and

thefourmusketeersweredelightedtoseehim.HegaveD'ArtagnananotefromLorddeWinter,whichsimplysaid"Thankyou,anddon'tworry."

Planchetpromised to tell themallabouthisadventures thenextday,andtheyallsleptwellthatnight.

MiladyhadwastedalotoftimeonhervoyagetoEngland.Theshiphadonlyjustleft theportwhenshewenttotheCaptainandaskedhimtogoback.She decided that she should tell the Cardinal what had happened after all.However,theCaptainwouldnotobeyherbecauseheconsidereditdangeroustobesailinginthesewatersduringthesiege.WhenMiladycontinuedtoinsist,heagreed to put her on shore further up the coast where it was safer. He sailedalongthecoast,butthewindswereunfavorable,andittookninedaystoreachoneoftheportsofBrittany.Miladycalculatedthatitwouldtakeherthreedaystocross the landandgetback to theCardinal,whichmeant that shehadbeenawayforalmosttwoweeks.ShedecidedthattheCardinalwouldbeangrywithher forwastingsomuch timeand told theCaptain thathecouldnow takeherdirectlytoLondon.TheCaptainwasannoyedathavinglostninedaysbutwashappyenoughnottoloseanymore,sohesetsailforthecoastofEngland.

Becauseofthesedelays,shedidnotarriveinPortsmouthuntilthedaythatPlanchet was leaving it to return to France, having delivered the musketeers'message toLorddeWinter.Milady lookedatall theother ships in theharbor.ManyofthemwerewarshipsreadytosailtoFrance,andMiladywasexcitedtothink that itwasher job tostop thembykilling theircommander, theDukeofBuckingham. As she stood there, a naval officer came aboard to inspect thepassengers.WhenhesawMilady,heaskedher toaccompanyhimonhisboatandtookherandherbaggagetoshore.

When they reached the shore, the young naval officer put her into acarriage and then got in beside her. The carriage drove off quite quickly, andMiladybecameworried.

"WhyamIbeingabducted?"sheasked.The young naval officer said nothing and remained silent even when

Miladyaskedhimagainandbegantoscreamforhelp.Shetriedtoopenthedoorofthecarriageandthrowherselfout,butthecarriagewasmovingtooquickly,soshesatstillandstaredatthesilentyoungnavalofficer.

Afteranhour,thecarriagecametoanirongateandthentoastonecastleonacliffoverlooking the sea.Miladycouldhear the soundof the seabeatingagainst the rocky shore.Thenavalofficer ledherdownawidepassage in thecastleandletherintoalargeroom.

"Thisistobeyourroom,"hetoldher.Miladylookedaroundandsawthatitwasawell-furnishedroom,although

ithadbarsonthewindowsandlocksontheoutsideofthedoor.Itwasdefinitelyintendedtobeaprisoncellforher.Threesailorscamein,carryingherbaggage,andsheagainquestionedtheyoungofficer.

"WhyamIbeingkepthere?""Pleasedon'tquestionme,LadydeWinter,"hereplied."Myorderswereto

bringyouhere,andIhavedonethatwithoutcausingyoutoomuchdiscomfort,Ithink.Iwillnowhandyouovertoanotherperson."

Atthatmoment,amancameintotheroom,andMiladywassurprisedtosee that itwasLorddeWinter.She turned to himand askedhimwhyhehadbroughthertothecastle.

"AmIyourguestoryourprisoner?""You are inmy home, so you can call it whatever you like. I thinkwe

shouldsitdownandtalk."He turned to the young naval officer. "Thank you,Mr. Felton.Youmay

leaveus."Milady was thinking furiously, trying to discover a reason for this

unexpectedimprisonmentbyherbrother-in-law.Shethoughtthat itmustbeanactofrevengeforsomethingshehaddoneinthepastanddecidedtobefriendlyto her brother-in-law to try and find outwhat itwas. The bestway to defendherself,shethought,wastoattack,butpolitely.

"How did you know I was coming to England and when I would bearriving?"

LorddeWinter,however,hadsomequestionsofhisown."IwouldliketoknowwhyyoucametoEnglandatall,"hesaid.

"Icametoseeyou."LorddeWinterwasnotdeceivedbythisanswer."Youareaverylovingsister-in-law!""Well,Iamyournearestrelative.""Andmysoleheir,"addedLorddeWinter.He lookedatheranddidnot

continueuntilhesawthatsheunderstoodwhathemeant.ThenhetoldherthatheknewaboutherfirsthusbandandthathewasstillalivesothathermarriagetoLord de Winter's brother was illegal. He also knew about the brand on hershoulder.

Miladywasfurious.Sheleaptoutofherchairandrushedathim,readytotearhimtopieceswithherbarehands.Heheldheroffwithhisswordandtoldherwhatheintendedtodo.

"Youwill never inherit anymoney fromme. In about twoweeks, I amgoing on a ship to La Rochelle, and I will take you to Portsmouth with me.There,Iwillputyouonaship,andyouwillbebanishedtoaforeigncountry.Amanwillgowithyou,andhisonlydutywillbetoshootyouifyoutrytoescapeorreturntoEngland.Untilthen,youwillstayinthisroom,andyouwilldiscoverthatitisuselesstotryandescape."

HecalledFeltonbackandtoldhimtowatchthisyoungandbeautifulbutverydangerouswomancarefully.

"Itisveryimportantthatshedoesnotescape,"hesaid.BackinLaRochelle,theCardinalwasworriedbecausehewasexpecting

newsfromEnglandbutdidnotreceiveany.Asthedayswentby,hisworrygrewstronger.The siegeofLaRochellewasgoingwell.Thepopulationof thecitywas slowly starving to death. The authorities there had already put down anumberofrebellionsandexecutedtheirleaders.MessengerswerebeingsenttotheDukeofBuckinghamalmosteveryday, askinghim to sendassistance,butthemessengerswereallcaughtbytheFrenchmusketeersandguardsandwerekilled.

The Cardinal waited.Where wasMilady?Why had she not sent him amessage?JustastheCardinalthoughttheRochellesewereabouttosurrender,amessengergotthroughtothemandtoldthemthattheDukeofBuckinghamhadafleetofships thatwereabout tosail toFrance tosave themand thatAustriaandSpainwerealsoreadytofightagainstFrance.ThecitizensofLaRochelle

decidednottosurrenderbuttowaitfortheiralliestosavethem.

CHAPTERTWENTYONE

MiladyandMr.Felton

Aramis received a letter from his friend in Tours, telling him thatConstance Bonacieux was being kept safely at the convent in Bethune.D'Artagnan was delighted to hear this news, but he was worried because themusketeershadheardtheCardinal tellMiladytogoto thatverysameconventwhenshehadfinishedherworkinEngland.Asthefourcomradeswerereadingthe letter near thebeach, theCardinal rodeby and saw them.He stopped andasked themabout the letter.Athosverybravely told theCardinal that itwasaletter from a woman and that he did not want to speak about it. When theCardinal insisted, Athos continued to refuse. The other musketeers could notbelieve that Athos was defying the Cardinal. The Cardinal looked angry andalmosthadthemusketeersimprisonedfortheirrudebehavior,butintheend,hedecidedtoletthemgo.Assoonashehadleftthem,themusketeersdecidedtodestroytheletterandmadeAthos'sservant,Grimaud,eatit.TheCardinalwouldneverfinditnow!TheCardinal,meanwhile,rodeon,talkingtohimself.

"Thosearebravemen,andImusthavethemonmyside!"InLorddeWinter'shouse,Miladysatonachairandrealizedthatshedid

notknowwhattodo.Forthefirsttimeinherlife,shewasreallyfrightened.Shecouldn't stop thinkingaboutD'Artagnan.Shewantedhimdeadbecausehehadtrickedheranddiscoveredhersecret.ShewassurethathehadsomehowwrittenalettertoLorddeWinterandwasthereforeresponsibleforherimprisonmentinhiscastle.Shehatedhim.ShehatedMadameBonacieux,andshehatedtheDukeofBuckingham.

Shehadtoescape,andshehadtodoitsoonbecauseLorddeWinterhadsaid that hewould sendher toAustralia in about twoweeks.Withhatred andrevenge in her heart, she sat down and began to think about how she mightescape, kill the Duke of Buckingham, and take her revenge on MadameBonacieux and D'Artagnan. She wondered what weapons she could use toattemptanescape,butitwasnotuntilshelookedinthemirrorandsawherownfacethatsheregainedconfidenceinherbestweapon-herbeauty!

Thatevening,shewaitedfortheguardstobringhersomefood.Whensheheardthemapproachingtheroom,shethrewherselfontoachairandpretendedthatshehadfainted.Feltonandoneoftheguardscameintotheroomandputthe

foodonthetablebeforenoticingthatshewasill.Feltondidn'tknowwhattodoandtoldtheguardtotellLorddeWinterthathisprisonerwasill.Hesatdownandwaitedwhiletheguardwasaway.AssoonasMiladyrealizedthatshewasalonewithFelton,shemoaned.Heturnedtolookatherandtoldherthathewaspleasedshewasawakeandwouldnowleavehertoeathersupper.

Miladygroanedagainandsoftlysaid"Oh,whereamI?HaveIbeenill?"Feltonignoredherquestionsbuttoldherthatshewouldhavethreemealsa

daydeliveredtoherroomandthatshecouldhaveawomanfromthevillageforcompany if she chose. ThenLord deWinter arrived and guessed immediatelythatMiladyhadbeenpretendingtobeill.HelaughedatherandwarnedFeltonnottobedeceivedbyhertricksorbyherbeauty.Feltonassuredhismasterthathewouldnotallowawomantoleadhimastray.LorddeWinterledFeltonoutoftheroom,laughingcheerfullyandwonderingwhatMilady'snexttrickwouldbe.

Miladywasfuriousandhissedatthemlikeasnake.Shewasdeterminedtofindawayofescape.

The next morning, the woman from the village came to visit her, andMiladytoldherthatshewassick.Thewomanaskedwhethersheshouldcalladoctor,butMiladysaidthatthiswouldbeofnousebecausethegentlemendidnotbelievethatshewasill.Feltoncameintotheroom,andMiladybegantocryand told him that she did not carewhether or not they called a doctor. Feltonlookedundecidedforamomentandthenturnedandlefttheroom.Miladywaspleasedbecauseshethoughtthatshehadmadehimfeelsomepityforherforamoment.

Afewhourslater,FeltonreturnedwithareligiousbookthathesaidLorddeWinterwantedhertohavebecausehewasaCatholiclikeherself.Thewayinwhich he said this madeMilady realize that Felton was not a Catholic but aPuritanlikethepeopleofLaRochelle,andfromthatmoment,shepretendedtobe a Puritan, too. She could see that this surprised and impressedFelton. ShebegantoaccuseLorddeWinterofpersecutingherbecauseofherreligion.ShehadlearnedsomePuritanprayersandhymnsfromoneofherservantsinParis,and now she began to pray and singwhenever she knewFeltonwas near theroom. She sang beautifully.One of the guards told her to stop, but she heardFeltontellhimthathewasnottostopherfromsinging.Miladywastriumphantbecauseatlast,shewasbeginningtohaveaneffectonFelton.

During the next few days,Milady continued to pray and sing and draw

Felton into her trap.He began to believe that hismasterwas cruel, andwhenMiladytoldhimthatshewasplanningtokillherself,hefinallyagreedtolistento the story of her life.Milady had towork fast because Lord deWinter hadreturned to her room and told her that the order for her to be deported to aforeign country had beenwritten and only needed theDuke of Buckingham'ssignature.Itwouldbesignedinafewdays,andhewouldsendheraway.

FeltontoldMiladythatnotrueChristiancouldtakehisorherownlife,butheagreedtobringheraknife.Whenhereturnedwiththeknife,shelookedatitandgave itback tohim.Thenshe toldhim that theDukeofBuckinghamhadtriedtomakeherchangeherreligion,butwhensherefused,hedruggedherwineandimprisonedher.

Feltonwasoutraged."Didhe-?""Yes,Iamsurethathedid,"repliedMilady."Hekeptmeimprisonedfor

severaldays,andeverynighthe-!"Sheputherhandoverhermouthandremainedsilentforafewmoments,

whileFeltonurgedhertocontinue.ShetoldherstorysowellthatFeltonbecamemoreandmorefurious.ShewatchedhimcarefullyasshecontinuedtotellhimabouttheDukeofBuckingham'sterriblebehavior.

"Eventually,hepromised to letmego if Ipromisednever to tell anyonewhathehaddonetome.ItoldhimthatnoPuritancouldmakesuchapromiseandthatIwouldtelleverybody.Hesaidthat ifIwouldnotpromise,hewouldhavemebrandedlikeacommonthiefandthatnobodywouldbelievemystory.Thenextday,hecamebackandcarriedouthisthreat.Look,Felton!Seewhathedid!"

Sherevealedthebrandmarkonhershoulder,andFeltongroaned.Hewascompletelyfooledbyherlies.HehatedtheDukeofBuckinghammorethanhehadeverhatedanyoneoranythingintheworld.

"Youare soyoungandbeautiful, andhedid this toyou!"he exclaimed."Heisanevilmonster!"

Hecoveredherhandinkisses,andshesmiled.Sheknewthatshehadwon.She continued her lies and told him that the Duke of Buckingham wasresponsibleforthedeathofherhusband,LorddeWinter'sbrother,andthatLorddeWinter was only doing what the Duke of Buckingham wanted him to dobecausetheDukedidnotwanttoseeheragain.

"Theyaregoingtodeportmeinafewdays'time,andIwillneverbeabletoreturntoEngland,"shesaidandbegantocry."Letmedie!"shecried.

"No,"hesaid."Youmustliveinhonor,andyoumustbeavenged."Sheseizedtheknifeandstabbedherself,makingsurethattheknifedidnot

enterherbodytoodeeply.Herdresstore,shebegantobleed,andshefelltothefloor.

LorddeWintercameinandsawheronthefloor,butheknewthatitwasatrickandorderedFeltontoleavetheroom.

Feltonhidtheknifeunderhiscoatasheleft.

CHAPTERTWENTYTWO

Assassination!

Thenextmorning,MiladywaitedforFeltontocometoherroom,butherbreakfastwasbroughtbydifferentguards.Feltonwasnotwith them,and theytoldher thathehad left thecastleanhourearlier.Milady thought thatshehadfailed. She thought that Feltonmust have told his master her story about theDukeofBuckinghamandthatLorddeWinterhadsenthimaway.Shewasaloneintheroomuntilevening,whenLorddeWintercametotalktoher.

"You were beginning to affect poor Felton," he told her, "but I haveforbiddenhimtoseeyouagain.Tomorrow,youwillleavethisroom,andIwillputyouonaship.Ihavetoldtheguardstoshootyouifyouspeaktoanyone,andthe Captain will throw you into the sea if you speak to anyone without hispermission."

When he had gone, Milady looked at her ring, which contained a verystrong poison. She began towonder if she should use it on herself. Then sheheardsomebody tappingon thewindowand turned toseeFelton looking inather.Hewassawingat thebars. It tookhimanhour to saw through them,andthenhetappedagain.Miladyclimbedoutofthewindow,andFeltonhelpedherto climb down the rope ladder which he had used to get up to her window.Miladywas so frightened that she fainted,butFeltongother safelydownandcarriedhertothebeachandontoasmallboatwithfourmeninit.Thefourmenrowedtheboattoaship,whereMiladyandFeltonwentaboard.

"Thisshipwilltakeyouanywhereyouwanttogo,"hetoldher,"butyoumust takeme toPortsmouth first.Lord deWinter orderedme to go there andhave the Duke of Buckingham sign your deportation order. I have to hurrybecauseheisleavingforLaRochelletomorrow."

The ship set sail at once. By seven o'clock the next morning, it wasanchoredinPortsmouth,andFeltonwenttoseetheDukeofBuckingham.TheCaptainagreedtowaituntileveningforhimtoreturnsothathecouldescapetoFrancewithMilady.HekissedMilady'shandbeforehewasrowedtotheshoreinasmallboat.Whenhesteppedoff theboat,he turnedandwaved toMiladyagain.Thenhewalkedquickly into thecity to find theDukeofBuckingham'shome.Ashewalkedalong,hethoughtaboutalltheterriblethingsthattheDukeofBuckinghamhaddoneinEnglandandaboutthewayhehadtreatedMilady.

Hegrewmoreandmoreangryandtouchedtheknifethatwashiddenunderhiscoat.

Evenatthisearlyhourofthemorning,thestreetsofPortsmouthwereverybusybecauseallthesoldierswerepreparingtogoontotheshipsandsailtoLaRochelletofightagainsttheFrench.FeltonwentstraighttotheAdmiraltyOfficewhere theDuke of Buckinghamwould be.He told the guards that he had anurgent letter fromLorddeWinter, and they let him though thegates.Anothermessenger arrived at the same time and also demanded to see the Duke ofBuckingham.Feltonwascalledfirst.Aguardtookhimupsomestairsandintoalarge receptionhall. From there, hewas taken into theDukeofBuckingham'sprivateofficeandsawtheDuke.Hegavehimthedeportationorderandbegantotalk tohimabout it.TheDukewas surprised that a servantwoulddare to askhim somany questions. Felton grew bolder and began to accuse theDuke ofmanycrimesagainstEnglandandagainstMilady.TheDukewasfuriousandwasabout to ring for his servants to take Felton away. Felton, however, stoodbetween him and the bell and demanded that the Duke sign a document toreleaseMilady.Atthatmoment,aservantcameintotheroomcrying,"AletterfromFrance!"

Felton jumped at theDuke of Buckingham and drove the knife into hisside.Thenheranoutoftheroomanddownthestairs.Hedidnotrunanyfurther,however,becausetherehemetLorddeWinter,who,seeinghimwiththeknifeinhishandandbloodonhisclothes,realizedthathewastoolatetosavetheDukeofBuckingham.

"WhatafoolIam!"heexclaimed.HeseizedFeltonandhandedhimoverto the guards, who took him away. Lord deWinter rushed into the Duke ofBuckingham'sprivateoffice,wherehesawtheDukelyingonacouchandtryingtostoptheflowofbloodfromhiswound.Theothermessengeralsocameintotheroom,sayinghehadamessagefromAnneofAustria,QueenofFrance.TheDukeofBuckinghaminsistedonhearingthismessage.TheQueensaidthatshestilllovedhimandthatheshouldbecarefulbecausetherewasaplottokillhim.TheDukeofBuckinghamwaspleasedtohearthemessage,althoughitcametoolate.Hesmiled.Thenhefellfromthecouchanddied.

LorddeWinter rushedout toFelton, crying, "What haveyoudone, youfool?You'veassassinatedtheDukeofBuckingham!"

Feltonbegan to tellhim lies about the reason for themurderbecausehe

wanted to protectMilady.However, just at thatmoment, he lookedout of thewindowand sawhis ship sailingaway. Ithadnotwaited forhim!He realizedthathehadbeentrickedbyMiladyanddidnotresistwhentheguardsdraggedhimawayandputhiminacell.

AssoonastheKingofEnglandheardthattheDukeofBuckinghamwasdead,hestoppedallshipssailingoutofPortsmouth,butitwastoolatetostopMilady.Her ship had already sailed.One other ship sailed, andwe shall hearmoreaboutthatlater.

Meanwhile,theKingofFrancewasgrowingboredatLaRochellebecausenothingwashappening.HedecidedtoreturntoParisforawhile,andsomeofthe musketeers went with him, including our four comrades, who were verypleased tobe returning toParis.Theywanted to rescueConstanceBonacieux.TheirlastmessagefromtheQueenhadtoldthemthatshewasbeingkeptsafelyinaconventatBethune,buttheyhadalsoheardtheCardinaltellMiladytogotothat very same conventwhen she had done herwork inEngland.Aramis hadwritten tohis friendagain, and theynowhadanauthority to removeMadameBonacieuxfromtheconvent.

WhentheyallarrivedinParis, theKingallowedMonsieurdeTreville togivehismusketeerssixdays'leave.D'ArtagnanthoughtitwouldbeveryeasytorescueMadameBonacieuxonhisownwithPlanchetand tried toconvincehisthreecompanionstostayinParis.However,theywouldnothearofit.

"Miladymightbetherebeforeyou,andthenwewillallneedtobethere,"theysaid,"becauseyoucannotbeatheronyourown."

The fourmusketeers left Paris as soon as they could and rode toArras,wheretheystoppedtodrinkaquickglassofwine.D'ArtagnansawamanrideawayfromtheinnandrecognizedthemanfromMeung.Hewantedtogetbackonhishorseandpursuehim,buthisfriendsstoppedhim.Athosexplainedthattheirhorsesweretired,andtheywouldnevercatchhim.Moreover,hewasgoingintheoppositedirection,sotheywouldonlybecreatinganunnecessarydelayontheir trip to Bethune. D'Artagnan reluctantly agreed. Then he saw a piece ofpaperlyingontheground.PerhapsthestrangerfromMeunghaddroppedit,sohepickeditup.Ithadjustonewordwrittenonit-"Armentieres."

None of them knew where Armentieres was, but Athos recognizedMilady's handwriting.Theygot backonto their horses andgallopedoff in thedirectionofBethune.

CHAPTERTWENTYTHREE

MadameBonacieux

MiladywasverypleasedwithherselfbecauseshehaddoneeverythingtheCardinalwantedher todowithoutanyonesuspecting that shewas involved intheplot,andshehaddoneitallwhileshewasimprisonedbyLorddeWinter.

The ship carryingMilady arrived safely in France, and she immediatelywrotealettertotheCardinal.

"Be assured that theDuke ofBuckinghamwill not leaveEngland. I amgoingtotheconventatBethune,asweagreed,andIwillwaittheretohearfromyou."

She stayed at an inn that night and set out for Bethune early the nextmorning,arriving thereatabouteighto'clock.Shewentstraight to theMotherSuperior,whogaveheraroomandsomebreakfast.

ItdidnottakelongforhertodiscoverthatMadameBonacieuxwasintheconvent with her, and she arranged to meet with her as soon as possible.ConstanceBonacieuxhadnevermetMiladyandwassurprisedtodiscoverthatsheknewMonsieurdeTrevilleand the fourmusketeers.Shewasworried thatMiladymight loveD'Artagnan,butMilady laughedat this suggestionand toldConstancethatshedidnotneedtoworry.

"D'Artagnan loves you," she said, "and has been searching for you afteryouwerekidnapped.He is very anxious to findyou. I am sopleased tomeetyou."

Poor Constance Bonacieux was completely fooled by Milady's lies andhuggedher.

"Iamsohappytomeetsomebodywhoknowshim,"shesaid."Ilovehimverymuch! I have been very unhappy, but to be unhappy about him is to behappy!Butheiscomingheretomorroworperhapseventoday."

Miladycouldhardlybelieveherears!"D'Artagnan?Today?How?"Constance trustedhersocompletely thatsheshowedhera letter thatshe

hadreceivedfromMadamedeChevreuse, tellingher that themusketeerswereontheirwaytoremoveherfromtheconvent.Miladywassosurprisedthatshe

almostfainted.Then they heard a horse approaching the convent. Madame Bonacieux

hoped itwasD'Artagnan already andwas very excited.She lookedout of thewindow and saw that it was not him. She described theman toMilady, whorecoveredquicklyfromherfaintandstoodup.TheMotherSuperiorcametotheroomandtoldMiladythatagentlemanhadcometoseeher.Constancelefttheroom,andthevisitorarrived.ItwasCountdeRochefort,themanfromMeung,theCardinal'sprivatespy.

ThetwofriendsoftheCardinalquicklyexchangedtheirnews,andCountdeRochefortwassurprisedanddelightedtohearthatMiladyhadfoundMadameBonacieuxandthatshetrustedMiladylikeatruefriend.Miladyalsocomplainedaboutthemusketeers,tellingCountdeRochefortaboutAthos'svisitandhowhetookthenoteshehadfromtheCardinal.

Milady toldCount deRochefort to goback to theCardinal and tell himwhat she had discovered about themusketeers and aboutMadameBonacieux.However,shedidnotwanttostayattheconventbecauseshewouldnotbeabletofightagainstallfourofthemusketeers.CountdeRochefortpointedoutthatifshe left the convent, Madame Bonacieux would be taken away by themusketeers.

"Don'tworryaboutthat,"saidMilady."Iwilltakecareofher.Remember,she trusts me like a true friend. Come back to me when you have seen theCardinal and tellmewhathewantsme todonext.Beforeyougo,organize acarriagetotakemeawayfromhere.IwillgotoasmalltowncalledArmentieres.It'sontheriver,andIonlyhavetocrosstherivertobeoutofthecountry.Whenyoureturn,youwillfindmethere."

CountdeRochefortdidnotknowwhereArmentiereswasandwasworriedthathemightforgetthename,soMiladywroteitdownonapieceofpaperforhim,andanhourlater,hegallopedoutofBethune.ThiswasthepieceofpaperthatD'ArtagnanfoundatArras.MiladywentbacktoConstanceBonacieuxandtoldherthatCountdeRocheforthadseensomeoftheCardinal'sguardsdressedasmusketeerscomingtowardtheconvent.HethoughttheywerecomingtotakeMadameBonacieuxbacktoParis.ConstanceBonacieuxwasveryworriedandasked what she should do. Milady convinced her to come with her in hercarriage.

"Wewon'tgoveryfaraway,"shesaid,"incasethemusketeersdoarrive.I

willsendthecarriagedriverbackheretowatchfortheirarrival.Iftheycome,hewillcomeandtellus.Wecantrusthim."

Thecarriagearrivedsoonafterthat,butMiladywasnotreadytoleaveyet.She andConstancewere just having something to eat, and she thought it bestthat they finish their meal first. While they were eating, they heard horsesarrivingat theconvent.Constancewonderedwhether theseweretheCardinal'sguards or the musketeers. Milady watched at the window. When she sawD'Artagnan, followedbyhis three companions and then the four servants, shecriedoutinanger.

"It'stheCardinal'sguards!"shetoldMadameBonacieux."Comewithme.Wecanescapethroughthegarden.Thecarriagedriverknowswheretopickusup."

MadameBonacieux,however,wassofrightenedthatshefelltoherknees."Ican'tmove,"shecried."Saveyourself,andforgetaboutme."

AlightofangerflashedinMilady'seyes.Shewenttothetableandpickedupaglassofwine.Shetookthestonefromherringanddroppedasmalltabletfromunderitintothewine.ThensheheldthewinetoMadameBonacieux'slipsandtoldhertodrinkit.

"Itwillmakeyoufeelbetterandgiveyoustrength,"shesaid.ConstanceBonacieuxdrank.Milady smiled. "This was not how I expected to get revenge," she told

herself,"butitisbetterthannothing."Thensheturnedandfledfromtheroom.MadameBonacieuxheardknockingonthegatesoftheconvent.Shefeltill

and could not move. A few moments later, she heard D'Artagnan's voiceshouting,"Whereareyou,Constance?"

CHAPTERTWENTYFOUR

PunishmentandReward

ConstanceBonacieuxwasdyingofthepoisonthatMiladyhadputintoherwine,butshedidnotknowit.ShecalledouttoD'Artagnan,andhebrokedownthedoor.Heandtheothermusketeersrushedinandfoundherlyingonthefloor.Theyputheronthebed.ConstancetoldD'Artagnanwhathadhappenedandthathergoodfriendhadescaped.Athosaskedherwhohadpouredthewineforher.

"Lady de Winter," said Constance. "She is my friend who has justescaped."

Allthemusketeerscriedoutinhorror.D'Artagnanpickedherup,andshekissedhim.Hefeltherbreathonhischeek,butitwasherlastbreath.MadameBonacieuxwasdead.Heputheronthebedandfelldownbesideher.

At that moment, a man appeared in the doorway, and the musketeersturnedtolookathim.Hesaidthathewaslookingforaparticularwoman,andthat he thought that theymightbe looking for the samewoman.Theydidnotrecognizehimatfirst,soheintroducedhimself.

"I amLord deWinter," he said, "and I am looking formy sister-in-law,LadydeWinter."

Athosshookhishand,welcomedhim,andinvitedhimtojointhemintheirhunt.

"IleftPortsmouthjustaftershedid,"saidLorddeWinter."Ididn'tknowwhereshewasgoing,butIsawyougallopingbyandrecognizedD'Artagnan,soIdecidedtofollowyou.Ithinkthisdeadgirl tellsmethatLadydeWinterhasbeenhererecently."

D'Artagnanhad faintedbesidehis dead friend, but nowhewokeup andbegantocry.Athoswantedtohelphimandsaid,"Beaman,D'Artagnan.Onlywomencryforthedead.Mentakerevenge!"

D'Artagnanstoppedcrying,andalookofhatredcameintohiseyes."Iwillgivemylifetohaverevengeonthatwoman,"hesaid.

Lord deWinter, the fourmusketeers, and their servants left the conventandwalkedtheirhorsestothenearesttown,whereAthossaidtheyshouldstayatthe inn. The others did not agree and wanted to pursueMilady and find her.

However,Athostold themnot toworry.Heremindedthemabout thatpieceofpaper."Thatiswheresheis,"hesaid.Thenhetoldallofthemthathewasherhusband.D'Artagnan alreadyknew this, but theothermusketeers andLorddeWinter were shocked. They also understood that he was very sure of havingrevenge.Otherwise,hewouldneverhavetoldthemthissecret.

Latethatnight,Athoscalledthefourservantstohimandgavethemsomeinstructions.Thenhewenttovisitamaninthetown.Thismanlivedinaverydarkhouseattheendofadarkroad.Athosaskedhimtodosomething,andthemanshookhishead tosay thathewouldnotdo it.ThenAthosshowedhimapieceofpaper.ItwasthenotethattheCardinalhadwrittenandthatAthoshadtakenfromMiladyattheRedDovecote.ThemanthenagreedtodowhatAthosasked,andAthosreturnedtotheinn.

The next morning, D'Artagnan was awake early and wanted to go toArmentieresimmediately,butAthostoldhimtowait.First,therewasthefuneralforConstanceBonacieux,whichthemusketeersandLorddeWinterattended.Itwasaverysadfuneral.

During this time, however, Planchet had been busy. He had gone toArmentieresanddiscoveredthataladyhadarrivedthepreviouseveningandwasstayingat theonlyinn.Theinnkeepertoldhimthatsheintendedtostayinthearea for quite a while. After the funeral, he told themusketeers what he haddiscovered. They askedAthoswhat they should do next, and he told them towait.

Itwaseighto'clockthatnightbeforehetoldthemtogettheirhorsesready.Theywerereadyinaninstant,butstilltheyhadtowait.

"Iamwaitingforsomebody,"saidAthos,"butheisnothereyet,soIwillgoandgethim.Waithere."

Theothersalllookedateachotherinsurprise.Whocouldthispersonbe?WhenAthosreturned,hewasaccompaniedbyamaninamaskandalongredcoat.Athos did not tell themwho hewas, and they did not ask him.By nineo'clock,thegroupofhorsemenwasridingoutofthetowntowardArmentieres.

Itwasadarkandstormynight.Therewasnomoon,although flashesoflightninglittheroadwithbrightlightfromtimetotime.Porthostriedtospeaktothestranger,buthewouldnotspeak.AramisandLorddeWintertried,too,butnobodycouldmakehimspeak.Thestormgotworse.Therewasthunder,andthewindbecameverystrong.Shortlyafterward,itbegantorainheavily.D'Artagnan

enjoyedtherainonhisbody.Hefeltthatitwaswashinghim.As they came close toArmentieres, aman stepped out of the bushes. It

wasGrimaud, andhe told them thatMiladyhad left the townandgonedownanotherroadtotheriver.Shewasaboutonemileawayinasmallcottage.Theywentalongtheroadtowardtheriverandarrivedatasmallvillage.Anothermansteppedontotheroad.ItwasMousqueton,andheshowedthemthecottagethatMiladyhadentered.

Athoswent toawindowwherehecould seea light.Heclimbedupandlookedinoverthecurtain,andsawMiladysittinginachairnearthefire,withherfaceinherhands.Oneofthehorsesmadeanoise,andMiladylookedupandsawhisface.Shecriedout in terror.Athospressedagainst thewindowuntil itbroke,andthenheleapt intotheroom.Miladyjumpedupandrantothedoor,butwhen she opened it, she sawD'Artagnan standing therewith a gun in hishand.Sheshrankbackintotheroom.AthostoldD'Artagnantoputhisgunaway.

"This woman has to be tried, not murdered!" he said. "Come in, all ofyou!"

Theothermusketeers,LorddeWinter,andthemaskedmanallenteredthesmallcottage.

"Whatdoyouwant?"screamedMilady."Wearegoingtotryyouforyourcrimes,"saidAthos,"andyoucandefend

yourselfandtrytoprovethatyouareinnocent."Each of the men accused her of a crime. D'Artagnan accused her of

poisoningConstanceBonacieux,andPorthosandAramissaidtheywitnessedit.Then Lord de Winter accused her of having murdered the Duke of

Buckingham.AlltheotherswereshockedtohearthattheDukeofBuckinghamhadbeenmurdered.HesaidthatshewasalsoresponsibleforthedeathofFelton,whowouldbehangedforstabbingtheDukeofBuckingham,andthatshewasprobablyresponsibleforthedeathofhisbrother,whomshehadkilledtogethisinheritance.

"However,"headded,"Icannotprovethis."Athosaccusedherofmarryinghimunderfalsepretences,togethismoney.Thenthemaskedmancameforward,tookoffhismask,andtoldhisstory.

EvenAthoswassurprised.HesaidthathewastheexecutionerofLille.Hehad

known this woman when she was a young girl living in a convent. She hadbecomefriendswithayoungpriest.Togethertheyhadstolensomemoneyfromtheconventandrunaway.Theyhadbeencaught,butshemanaged tobecomefriendlywiththejailer'ssonandescaped.Herfriendwasfoundguiltyandwasbranded.

"Itwasmyjobtobrandhim,"saidtheman,"andhewasmyownbrother!Ichased thiswoman and found her. I branded herwith the same iron.When Ireturnedhome,mybrotherhadescaped,andthelawkeptmeinprisonuntilhereturned.Hedidnotreturnforalongtime.WhenheheardthatIwasinprisonbecauseofhim,hegavehimselfup,andIwasreleased.Thenextday,hekilledhimself."

D'ArtagnanandLorddeWinterdemandeddeathasthepunishmentforthisevil woman. Porthos and Aramis agreed, and Athos gave the judgment. Theexecutionertookholdofherandwalkedheroutofthehouse.Theyallwalkedtowardtheriver,leavingtheemptyhousewithitsbrokenwindow,itsopendoor,andthelightofthefireflickeringonthewalls.

Attheriver,theexecutionertiedMilady'shandsandfeet.Athosapproachedher."Iforgiveyouforwreckingmylife.Dieinpeace."LorddeWinterapproachedher."Iforgiveyouformurderingmybrother,

formurderingtheDukeofBuckingham,causingthedeathofFelton,andtryingtokillme.Dieinpeace."

D'Artagnan approached her. "Forgive me for making you hate me. Iwronged you when I pretended to be Count de Wardes. I forgive you formurderingConstanceBonacieux.Dieinpeace."

The executioner put her in a small boat and rowed across the river.Theothersstayedandprayedontheriverbank.Whentheboatreachedtheothersideof the river,Milady tried to escape, but the executioner caught her easily andkilledherwitha sword.Heputherbodyback into theboatandbegan to rowback.Hestoppedinthemiddleoftheriverandthrewthebodyintothewater.

ThemusketeersreturnedtoParisandreportedtoMonsieurdeTreville."Didyouenjoyyourleave?"heaskedthem."Yes,"saidAthos,"wedid."TheKingwasabout to return toLaRochelle,and themusketeershad to

accompany him. On the way, D'Artagnan was sitting in an inn when a manapproachedhimwithhissworddrawn.ItwasthemanfromMeung,Rochefort,who arrested D'Artagnan and took him to the Cardinal. The Cardinal toldD'Artagnan thathehadcommittedcrimesagainstFranceby trying tohelp theDukeofBuckingham.D'Artagnanknew that thismustbe the resultof a letterfromMiladybeforeshedied.

"These charges have been brought against me by a woman who is abranded thief, who married one man in France and another in England, whopoisoned her second husband, and tried to poisonme. The woman I mean isLadydeWinter."

He told the Cardinal what had happened in the last few days, and theCardinalwasastonished.He toldD'Artagnan thathewouldhave to stand trialformurderingLadydeWinter,butD'Artagnantookout thewrittenpermissionthatAthoshadtakenfromMilady."Ihaveapardoninmypocket,"hesaid.

TheCardinal lookedat thewritingon thepaper.He lookedveryserious.Then he looked up atD'Artagnan and saw his open, honest face and saw thetearsonhischeeks.Herealizedhowmuchthisyoungmanhadsufferedin thelastmonth and thought about the potential he had as a soldier.He decided tooffer D'Artagnan a lieutenant's position in the guards. D'Artagnan was sosurprisedthathefelltohiskneesingratitude.ThentheCardinalcalledinCountdeRochefortandmadehimshakehandswithD'Artagnan.

D'ArtagnanwentbacktohiscompanionsandtoldthemwhattheCardinalhaddone.Theywereallverypleased.

A year after the Duke of Buckingham's death, the town of La Rochellesurrendered.D'Artagnan became a lieutenant in theCardinal's guards. PorthosleftthearmyandmarriedMadameCoquenard,whosehusbandhaddied.Aramisbecameamonk.Athosstayedinthearmyalittlelonger,butthenhetookbackhis title of Count de Fere andwent to live in the country. D'Artagnan foughtthreeduelswithCountdeRochefort andwoundedhim three times.Then theydecidedtobecomefriends.

-THEEND-

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