s friend that he felt as strong again
as ever.

"Let us inspect the boat," said Aramis, "and satisfy ourselves at once
what it will hold."

"Do not go too near with the light," said the patron Yves; "for as you
desired me, monseigneur, I have placed under the bench of the poop, in
the coffer you know of, the barrel of powder, and the musket-charges
that you sent me from the fort."

"Very well," said Aramis; and, taking the lantern himself, he examined
minutely all parts of the canoe, with the precautions of a man who is
neither timid nor ignorant in the face of danger. The canoe was long,
light, drawing little water, thin of keel; in short, one of those that
have always been so aptly built at Belle-Isle; a little high in its
sides, solid upon the water, very manageable, furnished with planks
which, in uncertain weather, formed a sort of deck over which the waves
might glide, so as to protect the rowers. In two well-closed coffers,
placed beneath the benches of the prow and the poop, Aramis found bread,
biscuit, dried fruits, a quarter of bacon, a good provision of water in
leathern bottles; the whole forming rations sufficient for people who
did not mean to quit the coast, and would be able to revictual, if
necessity commanded. The arms, eight muskets, and as many horse-pistols,
were in good condition, and all loaded. There were additional oars, in
case of accident, and that little sail called _trinquet_, which assists
the speed of the canoe at the same time the boatmen row, and is so
useful when the breeze is slack. When Aramis had seen to all these
things, and appeared satisfied with the result of his inspection, "Let
us consult Porthos," said he, "to know if we must endeavor to get the
boat out by the unknown extremity of the grotto, following the descent
and the shade of the cavern, or whether it be better, in the open air,
to make it slide upon its rollers through the bushes, leveling the road
of the little beach, which is but twenty feet high, and gives, at high
tide, three or four fathoms of good water upon a sound bottom."

"It must be as you please, monseigneur," replied the skipper Yves,
respectfully; "but I don't believe that by the slope of the cavern, and
in the dark in which we shall be obliged to maneuver our boat, the road
will be so convenient as the open air. I know the beach well, and can
certify that it is as smooth as a grass-plot in a garden; the
interior of the grotto, on the contrary, is roug