n, availing himself of the darkness
in the archway under which they were passing, threw himself into the
arms of the prisoner.

"Rochefort!" he exclaimed; "you! is it you, indeed? I am not mistaken?"

"D'Artagnan!" cried Rochefort.

"Ah! my poor friend!" resumed D'Artagnan, "not having seen you for four
or five years I concluded you were dead."

"I'faith," said Rochefort, "there's no great difference, I think,
between a dead man and one who has been buried alive; now I have been
buried alive, or very nearly so."

"And for what crime are you imprisoned in the Bastile."

"Do you wish me to speak the truth?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, I don't know."

"Have you any suspicion of me, Rochefort?"

"No! on the honor of a gentleman; but I cannot be imprisoned for the
reason alleged; it is impossible."

"What reason?" asked D'Artagnan.

"For stealing."

"For stealing! you, Rochefort! you are laughing at me."

"I understand. You mean that this demands explanation, do you not?"

"I admit it."

"Well, this is what actually took place: One evening after an orgy
in Reinard's apartment at the Tuileries with the Duc d'Harcourt,
Fontrailles, De Rieux and others, the Duc d'Harcourt proposed that
we should go and pull cloaks on the Pont Neuf; that is, you know, a
diversion which the Duc d'Orleans made quite the fashion."

"Were you crazy, Rochefort? at your age!"

"No, I was drunk. And yet, since the amusement seemed to me rather tame,
I proposed to Chevalier de Rieux that we should be spectators instead
of actors, and, in order to see to advantage, that we should mount
the bronze horse. No sooner said than done. Thanks to the spurs, which
served as stirrups, in a moment we were perched upon the croupe; we were
well placed and saw everything. Four or five cloaks had already been
lifted, with a dexterity without parallel, and not one of the victims
had dared to say a word, when some fool of a fellow, less patient than
the others, took it into his head to cry out, 'Guard!' and drew upon
us a patrol of archers. Duc d'Harcourt, Fontrailles, and the others
escaped; De Rieux was inclined to do likewise, but I told him they
wouldn't look for us where we were. He wouldn't listen, put his foot on
the spur to get down, the spur broke, he fell with a broken leg, and,
instead of keeping quiet, took to crying out like a gallows-bird. I then
was ready to dismount, but it was too late; I descended into the arms of
the archers. They con