LOUISE DE LA VALLIERE. 19 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 Monsieur Fouquet's house, at which you are not a little surprised, I suppose?" "Not at all. Why should you not be one of Monsieur Fouquet's friends? Monsieur 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 Monsieur Fouquet's friends." "The fact is, I am acquainted with him," said Porthos, srith a certain embarrassment of manner. "Ah, friend Porthos," said D'Artagnan, "how treacher- ously you have behaved toward me!" "In what way?" exclaimed Porthos. "What! you complete so admirable a work as the fortifi- cations of Belle-Isle, and you do 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 wno this man was?" "What! the king sent you to learn " "Of course; but don't let us speak of that any more." "Not speak of it!" said Porthos; "on the contrary, we vill speak of it ; and so the king knew that we were fortify- ing 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 devill" said Porthos, "if I had only known that!"
