. It appears that I had made
a mistake, monsieur, that I had arrested the wrong person, and that he
whom I ought to have arrested had escaped."

"But Athos!" cried d'Artagnan, whose impatience was increased by the
disregard of the authorities, "Athos, where is he?"

"As I was anxious to repair the wrongs I had done the prisoner," resumed
the innkeeper, "I took my way straight to the cellar in order to set him
at liberty. Ah, monsieur, he was no longer a man, he was a devil! To my
offer of liberty, he replied that it was nothing but a snare, and that
before he came out he intended to impose his own conditions. I told him
very humbly--for I could not conceal from myself the scrape I had got
into by laying hands on one of his Majesty's Musketeers--I told him I
was quite ready to submit to his conditions.

"'In the first place,' said he, 'I wish my lackey placed with me,
fully armed.' We hastened to obey this order; for you will please to
understand, monsieur, we were disposed to do everything your friend
could desire. Monsieur Grimaud (he told us his name, although he does
not talk much)--Monsieur Grimaud, then, went down to the cellar, wounded
as he was; then his master, having admitted him, barricaded the door
afresh, and ordered us to remain quietly in our own bar."

"But where is Athos now?" cried d'Artagnan. "Where is Athos?"

"In the cellar, monsieur."

"What, you scoundrel! Have you kept him in the cellar all this time?"

"Merciful heaven! No, monsieur! We keep him in the cellar! You do not
know what he is about in the cellar. Ah! If you could but persuade him
to come out, monsieur, I should owe you the gratitude of my whole life;
I should adore you as my patron saint!"

"Then he is there? I shall find him there?"

"Without doubt you will, monsieur; he persists in remaining there. We
every day pass through the air hole some bread at the end of a fork, and
some meat when he asks for it; but alas! It is not of bread and meat of
which he makes the greatest consumption. I once endeavored to go down
with two of my servants; but he flew into terrible rage. I heard the
noise he made in loading his pistols, and his servant in loading his
musketoon. Then, when we asked them what were their intentions, the
master replied that he had forty charges to fire, and that he and his
lackey would fire to the last one before he would allow a single soul
of us to set foot in the cellar. Upon this I went and complained to the
g