shall pass by Blois."

Raoul turned toward Athos, who showed him by a secret sign that he did
not wish him to go.

"No, monsieur," replied the young man; "I will remain with monsieur le
comte."

"Adieu, then, to both, my good friends," said D'Artagnan; "may God
preserve you! as we used to say when we said good-bye to each other in
the late cardinal's time."

Athos waved his hand, Raoul bowed, and D'Artagnan and Planchet set out.

The count followed them with his eyes, his hands resting on the
shoulders of the youth, whose height was almost equal to his own; but as
soon as they were out of sight he said:

"Raoul, we set out to-night for Paris."

"Eh?" cried the young man, turning pale.

"You may go and offer your adieux and mine to Madame de Saint-Remy. I
shall wait for you here till seven."

The young man bent low, with an expression of sorrow and gratitude
mingled, and retired in order to saddle his horse.

As to D'Artagnan, scarcely, on his side, was he out of sight when he
drew from his pocket a letter, which he read over again:

"Return immediately to Paris.--J. M----."

"The epistle is laconic," said D'Artagnan; "and if there had not been a
postscript, probably I should not have understood it; but happily there
is a postscript."

And he read that welcome postscript, which made him forget the
abruptness of the letter.

"P. S.--Go to the king's treasurer, at Blois; tell him your name and
show him this letter; you will receive two hundred pistoles."

"Assuredly," said D'Artagnan, "I admire this piece of prose. The
cardinal writes better than I thought. Come, Planchet, let us pay a
visit to the king's treasurer and then set off."

"Toward Paris, sir?"

"Toward Paris."

And they set out at as hard a canter as their horses could maintain.

16. The Duc de Beaufort.

The circumstances that had hastened the return of D'Artagnan to Paris
were as follows:

One evening, when Mazarin, according to custom, went to visit the queen,
in passing the guard-chamber he heard loud voices; wishing to know on
what topic the soldiers were conversing, he approached with his wonted
wolf-like step, pushed open the door and put his head close to the
chink.

There was a dispute among the guards.

"I tell you," one of them was saying, "that if Coysel predicted that,
'tis as good as true; I know nothing about it, but I have heard say that
he's not only an astrologer, but a magician."

"D