Chapter 16

Chapter XVI:
Showing in What Way D'Artagnan Discharged the Mission with Which the King
Had Intrusted Him.

While the king was engaged in making these last-mentioned arrangements in
order to ascertain the truth, D'Artagnan, without losing a second, ran to
the stable, took down the lantern, saddled his horse himself, and
proceeded towards the place his majesty had indicated. According to the
promise he had made, he had not accosted any one; and, as we have
observed, he had carried his scruples so far as to do without the
assistance of the stable-helpers altogether. D'Artagnan was one of those
who in moments of difficulty pride themselves on increasing their own
value. By dint of hard galloping, he in less than five minutes reached
the wood, fastened his horse to the first tree he came to, and penetrated
to the broad open space on foot. He then began to inspect most
carefully, on foot and with his lantern in his hand, the whole surface of
the Rond-point, went forward, turned back again, measured, examined, and
after half an hour's minute inspection, he returned silently to where he
had left his horse, and pursued his way in deep reflection and at a foot-
pace to Fontainebleau. Louis was waiting in his cabinet; he was alone,
and with a pencil was scribbling on paper certain lines which D'Artagnan
at the first glance recognized as unequal and very much touched up. The
conclusion he arrived at was, that they must be verses. The king raised
his head and perceived D'Artagnan. "Well, monsieur," he said, "do you
bring me any news?"

"Yes, sire."

"What have you seen?"

"As far as probability goes, sire - " D'Artagnan began to reply.

"It was certainty I requested of you."

"I will approach it as near as I possibly can. The weather was very well
adapted for investigations of the character I have just made; it has been
raining this evening, and the roads were wet and muddy - "

"Well, the result, M. d'Artagnan?"

"Sire, your majesty told me that there was a horse lying dead in the
cross-road of the Bois-Rochin, and I began, therefore, by studying the
roads. I say the roads, because the center of the cross-road is reached
by four separate roads. The one that I myself took was the only one that
presented any fresh traces. Two horses had followed it side by side;
their eight feet were marked very distinctly in the clay. One of the
riders was more impatient than the other, for the footprints of the one
were invariably in advance of the other about half a horse's length."

"Are you quite sure they were traveling together?" said the king.

"Yes sire. The horses are two rather large animals of equal pace, -
horses well used to maneuvers of all kinds, for they wheeled round the