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.What is it?”Monsieur Bonacieux took a sheet of paper from his pocket and handed it to d’Artagnan.“A letter?”“Yes.I received it this morning.”D’Artagnan opened it, and since daylight was beginning to fade he went over to the window.Bonacieux followed him.“‘Do not look for your wife,’” d’Artagnan read aloud.“‘She will be returned to you when she is no longer needed.If you make the slightest effort to find her, you are lost.’ Well, that’s clear, as far as it goes,” he remarked.“But after all, it’s only a threat.”“Yes, but it’s a threat that frightens me.I’m not a swordsman, sir, not at all, and I’m afraid of the Bastille.”“I don’t like the thought of the Bastille any more than you do,” said d’Artagnan.“If it were only a matter of fighting, I wouldn’t mind.”“But I was counting on you, sir.”“Oh?”“I’ve noticed that you constantly associate with a group of fine-looking musketeers, and since I know they’re Monsieur de Tréville’s musketeers and therefore enemies of the cardinal, I thought that you and your friends would be glad of a chance to help the poor queen and do something against the cardinal at the same time.”“That was a reasonable assumption.”“I also thought that since you owed me three months’ rent and I’d never even mentioned it to you…”“Yes, yes, you’ve already given me that reason, and it’s an excellent one.”“Furthermore, since I never intend to mention your rent for as long as you do me the honor of living in my house…”“Very good.”“And finally, since I’m willing to give you fifty pistoles if you should happen to be a little short of money for the moment, though I realize it’s highly unlikely…”“Excellent! You must be rich, my dear Monsieur Bonacieux.”“Let’s say I’m well off, sir.I’ve accumulated enough capital to give me an income of two or three thousand écus a year.I made part of it in the drapery business and part of it by investing in the last voyage of the famous navigator Jean Mocquet, so that, you understand…Oh!”“What’s the matter?” asked d’Artagnan.“Look, there!”“Where?”“In that doorway across the street: a man in a cloak.”“It’s my man!” d’Artagnan and Bonacieux both exclaimed at the same time.“This time he won’t get away from me!” cried d’Artagnan, reaching for his sword.He drew it from its scabbard and rushed out of the apartment.On the stairs he met Athos and Porthos coming to pay him a visit.They stepped aside, and he darted between them.“Where are you going?” they both called out after him at once.“The man from Meung!” he answered and disappeared.He had more than once told his friends about his adventure with the stranger, and about the beautiful lady to whom the stranger had seemed to give an important message.Athos believed that d’Artagnan had lost his letter in the fight, since he felt that a nobleman—and, from d’Artagnan’s description, the stranger could only be a nobleman—would never stoop so low as to steal a letter.Porthos saw nothing in the whole affair except an amorous rendezvous between a lady and a gentleman that had been disturbed by the presence of d’Artagnan and his yellow horse.Aramis had said that since such things were mysterious, it was better not to delve into them.And so Athos and Porthos knew what d’Artagnan had meant when he said, “The man from Meung!” in answer to their question.They continued up the stairs, assuming that d’Artagnan would return home after either catching up with his man or losing sight of him.When they went into his room, it was empty.Fearing the consequences of the encounter that was probably going to take place between d’Artagnan and the stranger, Bonacieux, acting in accordance with the description of his character that he himself had given, had decided it would be best to make himself scarce.CHAPTER 9* * *D’ARTAGNAN PROVES HIMSELFAS ATHOS and Porthos expected, d’Artagnan returned half an hour later.Once again he had lost his man [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]