"I
hadnoarms，"murmuredAramis，aswildandterribleinhiswrathastheshadeofDido。？Andthen，withouttouchingFouquet'shand，heturnedhisheadaside，andsteppedbackapaceortwo。？Hislastwordwasanimprecation，hislastgestureacurse，whichhisblood—stainedhandseemedtoinvoke，asitsprinkledonFouquet'sfaceafewdropsofbloodwhichflowedfromhisbreast。？Andbothofthemdartedoutoftheroombythesecretstaircasewhichleddowntotheinnercourtyard。？Fouquetorderedhisbesthorses，whileAramispausedatthefootofthestaircasewhichledtoPorthos'sapartment。？Hereflectedprofoundlyandforsometime，whileFouquet'scarriageleftthecourtyardatfullgallop。
"ShallIgoalone？"saidAramistohimself，"orwarntheprince？？Oh！fury！？Warntheprince，andthen—dowhat？？Takehimwithme？？Tocarrythisaccusingwitnessaboutwithmeeverywhere？？War，too，wouldfollow—civilwar，implacableinitsnature！？Andwithoutanyresourcesavemyself—itisimpossible！？Whatcouldhedowithoutme？？Oh！withoutmehewillbeutterlydestroyed。？Yetwhoknows—letdestinybefulfilled—condemnedhewas，lethimremainsothen！？GoodorevilSpirit—gloomyandscornfulPower，whommencallthegeniusofhumanity，thouartapowermorerestlesslyuncertain，morebaselesslyuseless，thanwildmountainwind！？Chance，thouterm'stthyself，butthouartnothing;thouinflamesteverythingwiththybreath，crumblestmountainsatthyapproach，andsuddenlyartthyselfdestroyedatthepresenceoftheCrossofdeadwoodbehindwhichstandanotherPowerinvisiblelikethyself—whomthoudeniest，perhaps，butwhoseavenginghandisonthee，andhurlstheeinthedustdishonoredandunnamed！？Lost！—I
amlost！？Whatcanbedone？？FleetoBelle—Isle？？Yes，andleavePorthosbehindme，totalkandrelatethewholeaffairtoeveryone！？Porthos，too，whowillhavetosufferforwhathehasdone。？IwillnotletpoorPorthossuffer。？Heseemslikeoneofthemembersofmyownframe;andhisgrieformisfortunewouldbemineaswell。？Porthosshallleavewithme，andshallfollowmydestiny。？Itmustbeso。"
AndAramis，apprehensiveofmeetinganyonetowhomhishurriedmovementsmightappearsuspicious，ascendedthestaircasewithoutbeingperceived。？Porthos，sorecentlyreturnedfromParis，wasalreadyinaprofoundsleep;hishugebodyforgotitsfatigue，ashismindforgotitsthoughts。？Aramisentered，lightasashadow，andplacedhisnervousgrasponthegiant'sshoulder。？"Come，Porthos，"hecried，"come。"
Porthosobeyed，rosefromhisbed，openedhiseyes，evenbeforehisintelligenceseemedtobearoused。
"Weleaveimmediately，"saidAramis。
"Ah！"
returnedPorthos。
"Weshallgomounted，andfasterthanwehaveevergoneinourlives。"
"Ah！"
repeatedPorthos。
"Dressyourself，myfriend。"
Andhehelpedthegianttodresshimself，andthrusthisgoldanddiamondsintohispocket。？Whilsthewasthusengaged，aslightnoiseattractedhisattention，andonlookingup，hesawD'Artagnanwatchingthemthroughthehalf—openeddoor。？Aramisstarted。
"Whatthedevilareyoudoingthereinsuchanagitatedmanner？"saidthemusketeer。
"Hush！"
saidPorthos。
"Wearegoingoffonamissionofgreatimportance，"addedthebishop。
"Youareveryfortunate，"saidthemusketeer。
"Oh，dearme！"saidPorthos，"Ifeelsowearied;Iwouldfarsoonerhavebeenfastasleep。？Buttheserviceoftheking？;
"HaveyouseenM。Fouquet？"saidAramistoD'Artagnan。
"Yes，thisveryminute，inacarriage。"
"Whatdidhesaytoyou？"
"'Adieu;'
nothingmore。"
"Wasthatall？"
"Whatelsedoyouthinkhecouldsay？？AmI
worthanythingnow，sinceyouhavegotintosuchhighfavor？"
"Listen，"
saidAramis，embracingthemusketeer;"yourgoodtimesarereturningagain。？Youwillhavenooccasiontobejealousofanyone。"
"Ah！
bah！"
"I
predictthatsomethingwillhappentoyouto—daywhichwillincreaseyourimportancemorethanever。"
"Really？"
"YouknowthatIknowallthenews？"
"Oh，yes！"
"Come，Porthos，areyouready？？Letusgo。"
"I
amquiteready，Aramis。"
"LetusembraceD'Artagnanfirst。"
"Mostcertainly。"
"Butthehorses？"
"Oh！
thereisnowantofthemhere。？Willyouhavemine？"
"No;
Porthoshashisownstud。？Soadieu！
adieu！"
Thefugitivesmountedtheirhorsesbeneaththeveryeyesofthecaptainofthemusketeers，whoheldPorthos'sstirrupforhim，andgazedafterthemuntiltheywereoutofsight。
"Onanyotheroccasion，"thoughttheGascon，"Ishouldsaythatthosegentlemenweremakingtheirescape;butinthesedayspoliticsseemsochangedthatsuchanexitistermedgoingonamission。？Ihavenoobjection;letmeattendtomyownaffairs，thatismorethanenoughforme，"—andhephilosophicallyenteredhisapartments。
ChapterXXII:
ShowingHowtheCountersignWasRespectedattheBastile。
Fouquettorealongasfastashishorsescoulddraghim。？Onhiswayhetrembledwithhorrorattheideaofwhathadjustbeenrevealedtohim。
"Whatmusthavebeen，"hethought，"theyouthofthoseextraordinarymen，who，evenasageisstealingfastuponthem，arestillabletoconceivesuchgiganticplans，andcarrythemthroughwithoutatremor？"
AtonemomenthecouldnotresisttheideathatallAramishadjustbeenrecountingtohimwasnothingmorethanadream，andwhetherthefableitselfwasnotthesnare;sothatwhenFouquetarrivedattheBastile，hemightpossiblyfindanorderofarrest，whichwouldsendhimtojointhedethronedking。？Stronglyimpressedwiththisidea，hegavecertainsealedordersonhisroute，whilefreshhorseswerebeingharnessedtohiscarriage。？TheseorderswereaddressedtoM。d'Artagnanandtocertainotherswhosefidelitytothekingwasfarabovesuspicion。
"Inthisway，"saidFouquettohimself，"prisonerornot，IshallhaveperformedthedutythatIowemyhonor。？Theorderswillnotreachthemuntilaftermyreturn，ifIshouldreturnfree，andconsequentlytheywillnothavebeenunsealed。？Ishalltakethembackagain。？IfIamdelayed;itwillbebecausesomemisfortunewillhavebefallenme;andinthatcaseassistancewillbesentformeaswellasfortheking。"
Preparedinthismanner，thesuperintendentarrivedattheBastile;hehadtraveledattherateoffiveleaguesandahalfthehour。？EverycircumstanceofdelaywhichAramishadescapedinhisvisittotheBastilebefellFouquet。？Itwasuselessgivinghisname，equallyuselesshisbeingrecognized;hecouldnotsucceedinobtaininganentrance。？Bydintofentreaties，threats，commands，hesucceededininducingasentineltospeaktooneofthesubalterns，whowentandtoldthemajor。？Asforthegovernortheydidnotevendaredisturbhim。？Fouquetsatinhiscarriage，attheoutergateofthefortress，chafingwithrageandimpatience，awaitingthereturnoftheofficers，whoatlastre—appearedwithasufficientlysulkyair。
"Well，"
saidFouquet，impatiently，"whatdidthemajorsay？"
"Well，monsieur，"repliedthesoldier，"themajorlaughedinmyface。？HetoldmethatM。FouquetwasatVaux，andthatevenwereheatParis，M。Fouquetwouldnotgetupatsoearlyanhourasthepresent。"
"Mordieu！youareanabsolutesetoffools，"criedtheminister，dartingoutofthecarriage;andbeforethesubalternhadtimetoshutthegate，Fouquetsprangthroughit，andranforwardinspiteofthesoldier，whocriedoutforassistance。？Fouquetgainedground，regardlessofthecriesoftheman，who，however，havingatlastcomeupwithFouquet，calledouttothesentinelofthesecondgate，"Lookout，lookout，sentinel！"？Themancrossedhispikebeforetheminister;butthelatter，robustandactive，andhurriedaway，too，byhispassion，wrestedthepikefromthesoldierandstruckhimaviolentblowontheshoulderwithit。？Thesubaltern，whoapproachedtooclosely，receivedashareoftheblowsaswell。？Bothofthemutteredloudandfuriouscries，atthesoundofwhichthewholeofthefirstbodyoftheadvancedguardpouredoutoftheguardhouse。？Amongthemtherewasone，however，whorecognizedthesuperintendent，andwhocalled，"Monseigneur，ah！monseigneur。？Stop，stop，youfellows！"？Andheeffectuallycheckedthesoldiers，whowereonthepointofrevengingtheircompanions。？Fouquetdesiredthemtoopenthegate，buttheyrefusedtodosowithoutthecountersign;hedesiredthemtoinformthegovernorofhispresence;butthelatterhadalreadyheardthedisturbanceatthegate。？Heranforward，followedbyhismajor，andaccompaniedbyapicketoftwentymen，persuadedthatanattackwasbeingmadeontheBastile。？BaisemeauxalsorecognizedFouquetimmediately，anddroppedtheswordhebravelyhadbeenbrandishing。
"Ah！
monseigneur，"hestammered，"howcanIexcuse—"
"Monsieur，"
saidthesuperintendent，flushedwithanger，andheatedbyhisexertions，"Icongratulateyou。？Yourwatchandwardareadmirablykept。"
Baisemeauxturnedpale，thinkingthatthisremarkwasmadeironically，andportendedafuriousburstofanger。？ButFouquethadrecoveredhisbreath，and，beckoningthesentinelandthesubaltern，whowererubbingtheirshoulders，towardshim，hesaid，"Therearetwentypistolesforthesentinel，andfiftyfortheofficer。？Prayreceivemycompliments，gentlemen。？Iwillnotfailtospeaktohismajestyaboutyou。？Andnow，M。Baisemeaux，awordwithyou。"
Andhefollowedthegovernortohisofficialresidence，accompaniedbyamurmurofgeneralsatisfaction。？Baisemeauxwasalreadytremblingwithshameanduneasiness。？Aramis'searlyvisit，fromthatmoment，seemedtopossessconsequences，whichafunctionarysuchashe（Baisemeaux）was，wasperfectlyjustifiedinapprehending。？Itwasquiteanotherthing，however，whenFouquetinasharptoneofvoice，andwithanimperiouslook，said，"YouhaveseenM。d'Herblaythismorning？"
"Yes，monseigneur。"
"Andareyounothorrifiedatthecrimeofwhichyouhavemadeyourselfanaccomplice？"
"Well，"
thoughtBaisemeaux，"goodsofar;"andthenheadded，aloud，"Butwhatcrime，monseigneur，doyoualludeto？"
"Thatforwhichyoucanbequarteredalive，monsieur—donotforgetthat！？Butthisisnotatimetoshowanger。？Conductmeimmediatelytotheprisoner。"
"Towhatprisoner？"saidBaisemeaux，trembling。
"Youpretendtobeignorant？？Verygood—itisthebestplanforyou，perhaps;forif，infact，youweretoadmityourparticipationinsuchacrime，itwouldbealloverwithyou。？Iwish，therefore，toseemtobelieveinyourassumptionofignorance。"
"I
entreatyou，monseigneur—"
"Thatwilldo。？Leadmetotheprisoner。"
"ToMarchiali？"
"WhoisMarchiali？"
"TheprisonerwhowasbroughtbackthismorningbyM。d'Herblay。"
"HeiscalledMarchiali？"saidthesuperintendent，hisconvictionsomewhatshakenbyBaisemeaux'scoolmanner。
"Yes，monseigneur;thatisthenameunderwhichhewasinscribedhere。"
FouquetlookedsteadilyatBaisemeaux，asifhewouldreadhisveryheart;andperceived，withthatclear—sightednessmostmenpossesswhoareaccustomedtotheexerciseofpower，thatthemanwasspeakingwithperfectsincerity。？Besides，inobservinghisfaceforafewmoments，hecouldnotbelievethatAramiswouldhavechosensuchaconfidant。
"Itistheprisoner，"saidthesuperintendenttohim，"whomM。d'Herblaycarriedawaythedaybeforeyesterday？"
"Yes，monseigneur。"
"Andwhomhebroughtbackthismorning？"addedFouquet，quickly:forheunderstoodimmediatelythemechanismofAramis'splan。
"Precisely，monseigneur。"
"AndhisnameisMarchiali，yousay？"
"Yes，Marchiali。？Ifmonseigneurhascomeheretoremovehim，somuchthebetter，forIwasgoingtowriteabouthim。"
"Whathashedone，then？"
"Eversincethismorninghehasannoyedmeextremely。？Hehashadsuchterriblefitsofpassion，asalmosttomakemebelievethathewouldbringtheBastileitselfdownaboutourears。"
"I
willsoonrelieveyouofhispossession，"saidFouquet。
"Ah！
somuchthebetter。"
"Conductmetohisprison。"
"Willmonseigneurgivemetheorder？"
"Whatorder？"
"Anorderfromtheking。"
"WaituntilIsignyouone。"
"Thatwillnotbesufficient，monseigneur。？I
musthaveanorderfromtheking。"
Fouquetassumedanirritatedexpression。？"Asyouaresoscrupulous，"hesaid，"withregardtoallowingprisonerstoleave，showmetheorderbywhichthisonewassetatliberty。"
BaisemeauxshowedhimtheordertoreleaseSeldon。
"Verygood，"saidFouquet;"butSeldonisnotMarchiali。"
"ButMarchialiisnotatliberty，monseigneur;heishere。"
"ButyousaidthatM。d'Herblaycarriedhimawayandbroughthimbackagain。"
"I
didnotsayso。"
"Sosurelydidyousayit，thatIalmostseemtohearitnow。"
"Itwasaslipofmytongue，then，monseigneur。"
"Takecare，M。Baisemeaux，takecare。"
"I
havenothingtofear，monseigneur;Iamactingaccordingtotheverystrictestregulation。"
"Doyoudaretosayso？"
"Iwouldsaysointhepresenceofoneoftheapostles。？M。d'HerblaybroughtmeanordertosetSeldonatliberty。？Seldonisfree。"
"ItellyouthatMarchialihaslefttheBastile。"
"Youmustprovethat，monseigneur。"
"Letmeseehim。"
"You，monseigneur，whogovernthiskingdom，knowverywellthatnoonecanseeanyoftheprisonerswithoutanexpressorderfromtheking。"
"M。
d'Herblayhasentered，however。"
"Thatremainstobeproved，monseigneur。"
"M。deBaisemeaux，oncemoreIwarnyoutopayparticularattentiontowhatyouaresaying。"
"Allthedocumentsarethere，monseigneur。"
"M。
d'Herblayisoverthrown。"
"Overthrown？
—M。d'Herblay！？Impossible！"
"Youseethathehasundoubtedlyinfluencedyou。"
"No，monseigneur;whatdoes，infact，influenceme，istheking'sservice。？Iamdoingmyduty。？Givemeanorderfromhim，andyoushallenter。"
"Stay，M。
legouverneur，Igiveyoumywordthatifyouallowmetoseetheprisoner，I
willgiveyouanorderfromthekingatonce。"
"Giveittomenow，monseigneur。"
"Andthat，ifyourefuseme，Iwillhaveyouandallyourofficersarrestedonthespot。"
"Beforeyoucommitsuchanactofviolence，monseigneur，youwillreflect，"saidBaisemeaux，whohadturnedverypale，"thatwewillonlyobeyanordersignedbytheking;andthatitwillbejustaseasyforyoutoobtainonetoseeMarchialiastoobtainonetodomesomuchinjury;me，too，whoamperfectlyinnocent。"
"True。？True！"criedFouquet，furiously;
"perfectlytrue。？M。deBaisemeaux，"
headded，inasonorousvoice，drawingtheunhappygovernortowardshim，"doyouknowwhyIamsoanxioustospeaktotheprisoner？"
"No，monseigneur;andallowmetoobservethatyouareterrifyingmeoutofmysenses;Iamtremblingallover—infact，IfeelasthoughIwereabouttofaint。"
"Youwillstandabetterchanceoffaintingoutright，MonsieurBaisemeaux，whenIreturnhereattheheadoftenthousandmenandthirtypiecesofcannon。"
"Goodheavens，monseigneur，youarelosingyoursenses。"
"WhenI
haverousedthewholepopulationofParisagainstyouandyouraccursedtowers，andhavebatteredopenthegatesofthisplace，andhangedyoutothetopmosttreeofyonderpinnacle！"
"Monseigneur！
monseigneur！forpity'ssake！"
"Igiveyoutenminutestomakeupyourmind，"addedFouquet，inacalmvoice。？"Iwillsitdownhere，inthisarmchair，andwaitforyou;if，intenminutes'time，youstillpersist，I
leavethisplace，andyoumaythinkmeasmadasyoulike。？Then—youshallsee！"
Baisemeauxstampedhisfootonthegroundlikeamaninastateofdespair，buthedidnotreplyasinglesyllable;whereuponFouquetseizedapenandink，andwrote:
"OrderforM。lePr関魌desMarchandstoassemblethemunicipalguardandtomarchupontheBastileontheking'simmediateservice。"
Baisemeauxshruggedhisshoulders。？Fouquetwrote:
"OrderfortheDucdeBouillonandM。lePrincedeCond？toassumethecommandoftheSwissguards，oftheking'sguards，andtomarchupontheBastileontheking'simmediateservice";
Baisemeauxreflected。？Fouquetstillwrote:
"Orderforeverysoldier，citizen，orgentlemantoseizeandapprehend，whereverhemaybefound，leChevalierd'Herblay，Ev阸uedeVannes，andhisaccomplices，whoare:
first，M。deBaisemeaux，governoroftheBastile，suspectedofthecrimesofhightreasonandrebellion—"
"Stop，monseigneur！"criedBaisemeaux;"Idonotunderstandasinglejotofthewholematter;butsomanymisfortunes，evenwereitmadnessitselfthathadsetthemattheirawfulwork，mighthappenhereinacoupleofhours，thattheking，bywhomImustbejudged，willseewhetherIhavebeenwronginwithdrawingthecountersignbeforethisfloodofimminentcatastrophes。？Comewithmetothekeep，monseigneur，youshallseeMarchiali。"
Fouquetdartedoutoftheroom，followedbyBaisemeauxashewipedtheperspirationfromhisface。？"Whataterriblemorning！"hesaid;"whatadisgraceforme！"
"Walkfaster，"repliedFouquet。
Baisemeauxmadeasigntothejailertoprecedethem。？Hewasafraidofhiscompanion，whichthelattercouldnotfailtoperceive。
"Atrucetothischild'splay，"hesaid，roughly。？"Letthemanremainhere;takethekeysyourself，andshowmetheway。？Notasingleperson，doyouunderstand，musthearwhatisgoingtotakeplacehere。"
"Ah！"
saidBaisemeaux，undecided。
"Again！"
criedM。Fouquet。？"Ah！say'no'atonce，andIwillleavetheBastileandwillmyselfcarrymyowndispatches。"
Baisemeauxbowedhishead，tookthekeys，andunaccompanied，exceptbytheminister，ascendedthestaircase。？Thehighertheyadvancedupthespiralstaircase，themoreclearlydidcertainmuffledmurmursbecomedistinctappealsandfearfulimprecations。
"Whatisthat？"askedFouquet。
"ThatisyourMarchiali，"saidthegovernor;"thisisthewaythesemadmenscream。"
Andheaccompaniedthatreplywithaglancemorepregnantwithinjuriousallusion，asfarasFouquetwasconcerned，thanpoliteness。？Thelattertrembled;hehadjustrecognizedinonecrymoreterriblethananythathadprecededit，theking'svoice。？Hepausedonthestaircase，snatchingthebunchofkeysfromBaisemeaux，whothoughtthisnewmadmanwasgoingtodashouthisbrainswithoneofthem。？"Ah！"hecried，"M。d'Herblaydidnotsayawordaboutthat。"
"Givemethekeysatonce！"criedFouquet，tearingthemfromhishand。？"WhichisthekeyofthedoorIamtoopen？"
"Thatone。"
Afearfulcry，followedbyaviolentblowagainstthedoor，madethewholestaircaseresoundwiththeecho。
"Leavethisplace，"saidFouquettoBaisemeaux，inathreateningtone。
"Iasknothingbetter，"murmuredthelatter，tohimself。？"Therewillbeacoupleofmadmenfacetoface，andtheonewillkilltheother，Iamsure。"
"Go！"
repeatedFouquet。？"IfyouplaceyourfootonthisstaircasebeforeIcallyou，rememberthatyoushalltaketheplaceofthemeanestprisonerintheBastile。"
"Thisjobwillkillme，Iamsureitwill，"mutteredBaisemeaux，ashewithdrewwithtotteringsteps。
Theprisoner'scriesbecamemoreandmoreterrible。？WhenFouquethadsatisfiedhimselfthatBaisemeauxhadreachedthebottomofthestaircase，heinsertedthekeyinthefirstlock。？Itwasthenthatheheardthehoarse，chokingvoiceoftheking，cryingout，inafrenzyofrage，"Help，help！？Iamtheking。"？Thekeyoftheseconddoorwasnotthesameasthefirst，andFouquetwasobligedtolookforitonthebunch。？Theking，however，furiousandalmostmadwithrageandpassion，shoutedatthetopofhisvoice，"ItwasM。Fouquetwhobroughtmehere。？HelpmeagainstM。
Fouquet！？Iamtheking！？HelpthekingagainstM。Fouquet！"？Thesecriesfilledtheminister'sheartwithterribleemotions。？Theywerefollowedbyashowerofblowsleveledagainstthedoorwithapartofthebrokenchairwithwhichthekinghadarmedhimself。？Fouquetatlastsucceededinfindingthekey。？Thekingwasalmostexhausted;hecouldhardlyarticulatedistinctlyasheshouted，"DeathtoFouquet！deathtothetraitorFouquet！"？Thedoorflewopen。