"To get yourself arrested,--you!"

"Of course. My friend will get wearied to death in the Bastile by
himself; and I have come to propose to your majesty to permit me to bear
him company; if your majesty will but give me the word, I will arrest
myself; I shall not need the captain of the guards for that, I assure
you."

The king darted towards the table and seized hold of a pen to write the
order for D'Artagnan's imprisonment. "Pay attention, monsieur, that this
is forever," cried the king, in tones of sternest menace.

"I can quite believe that," returned the musketeer; "for when you have
once done such an act as that, you will never be able to look me in the
face again."

The king dashed down his pen violently. "Leave the room, monsieur!" he
said.

"Not so, if it please your majesty."

"What is that you say?"

"Sire, I came to speak gently and temperately to your majesty; your
majesty got into a passion with me; that is a misfortune; but I shall
not the less on that account say what I had to say to you."

"Your resignation, monsieur,--your resignation!" cried the king.

"Sire, you know whether I care about my resignation or not, since at
Blois, on the very day when you refused King Charles the million which
my friend the Comte de la Fere gave him, I then tendered my resignation
to your majesty."

"Very well, monsieur--do it at once!"

"No, sire; for there is no question of my resignation at the present
moment. Your majesty took up your pen just now to send me to the
Bastile,--why should you change your intention?"

"D'Artagnan! Gascon that you are! who is king, allow me to ask,--you or
myself?"

"You, sire, unfortunately."

"What do you mean by 'unfortunately'?"

"Yes, sire; for if it were I--"

"If it were you, you would approve of M. d'Artagnan's rebellious
conduct, I suppose?"

"Certainly."

"Really!" said the king, shrugging his shoulders.

"And I should tell my captain of the musketeers," continued D'Artagnan,
"I should tell him, looking at him all the while with human eyes, and
not with eyes like coals of fire, 'M. d'Artagnan, I had forgotten that
I was the king, for I descended from my throne in order to insult a
gentleman.'"

"Monsieur," said the king, "do you think you can excuse your friend by
exceeding him in insolence?"

"Oh! sire! I should go much further than he did," said D'Artagnan; "and
it would be your own fault. I should tell you what he, a man full of
the finest sen