"It is here, I believe," said D'Artagnan, without hesitation, "that M. le Baron de Vallon is staying?"
"Have the goodness to tell him that M. le Chevalier d'Artagnan, captain of the king's musketeers, is waiting to see him."
D'Artagnan was introduced into the salon, and had not long to remain in expectation; a well-remembered step shook the floor of the adjoining room; a door opened, or rather flew open, and Porthos appeared, and threw himself into his friend's arms with a sort of embarrassment which did not ill become him. "You here?" he exclaimed.
"And you?" replied D'Artagnan. "Ah, you sly fellow!"
"Yes," said Porthos, with a somewhat embarrassed smile; "yes, you see I am staying in M. Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little surprised, I suppose?"
"Not at all; why should you not be one of M. Fouquet's friends? M. Fouquet has a very large number, particularly among clever men."
Porthos had the modesty not to take the compliment to himself. "Besides," he added, "you saw me at Belle-Isle."
"A greater reason for my believing you to be one of M. Fouquet's friends."
"The fact is, I am acquainted with him," said Porthos, with a certain embarrassment of manner.
"Ah, friend Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how treacherously you have behaved toward me."
"What! you complete so admirable a work as the fortifications of Belle-Isle, and you did not tell me of it!" Porthos colored. "Nay, more than that," continued D'Artagnan, "you saw me out yonder, you know I am in the king's service, and yet you could not guess that the king, jealously desirous of learning the name of the man whose abilities have wrought a work of which he has heard the most wonderful accounts--you could not guess, I say, that the king sent me to learn who this man was?"
"Of course; but don't let us speak of that any more."
"Not speak of it!" said Porthos; "on the contrary, we will speak of it; and so the king knew that we were fortifying Belle-Isle?"
"Of course; does not the king know everything?"
"But he did not know who was fortifying it."
"No, he only suspected, from what he had been told of the nature of the works, that it was some celebrated soldier or another."
"The devil!" said Porthos, "if I had only known that!"