of winter. [4]

Under this blow Athos staggered and the prince himself was moved.
Grimaud uttered a heavy groan, and let fall the bottle, which was broken
without anybody paying attention. M. de Beaufort looked the young man in
the face, and read plainly, though his eyes were cast down, the fire of
resolution before which everything must give way. As to Athos, he was
too well acquainted with that tender, but inflexible soul; he could not
hope to make it deviate from the fatal road it had just chosen. He could
only press the hand the duke held out to him. "Comte, I shall set off in
two days for Toulon," said M. de Beaufort. "Will you meet me at Paris,
in order that I may know your determination?"

"I will have the honor of thanking you there, _mon prince_, for all your
kindness," replied the comte.

"And be sure to bring the vicomte with you, whether he follows me or
does not follow me," added the duke; "he has my word, and I only ask
yours."

Having thrown a little balm upon the wound of the paternal heart, he
pulled the ear of Grimaud, whose eyes sparkled more than usual, and
regained his escort in the parterre. The horses, rested and refreshed,
set off with spirit through the lovely night, and soon placed a
considerable distance between their master and the chateau.

Athos and Bragelonne were again face to face. Eleven o'clock was
striking. The father and son preserved a profound silence towards each
other, where an intelligent observer would have expected cries and
tears. But these two men were of such a nature that all emotion
following their final resolutions plunged itself so deep into their
hearts that it was lost forever. They passed, then, silently and almost
breathlessly, the hour that preceded midnight. The clock, by striking,
alone pointed out to them how many minutes had lasted the painful
journey made by their souls in the immensity of their remembrances of
the past and fear of the future. Athos rose first, saying, "it is late,
then.... Till to-morrow."

Raoul rose, and in his turn embraced his father. The latter held him
clasped to his breast, and said, in a tremulous voice, "In two days, you
will have left me, my son--left me forever, Raoul!"

"Monsieur," replied the young man, "I had formed a determination, that
of piercing my heart with my sword; but you would have thought that
cowardly. I have renounced that determination, and _therefore_ we must
part."

"You leave me desolate by going, Raou