tennis court situated near the stables of the Luxembourg. Athos
invited d'Artagnan to follow them; and although ignorant of the
game, which he had never played, he accepted, not knowing what to
do with his time from nine o'clock in the morning, as it then
scarcely was, till twelve.

The two Musketeers were already there, and were playing together.
Athos, who was very expert in all bodily exercises, passed with
d'Artagnan to the opposite side and challenged them; but at the
first effort he made, although he played with his left hand, he
found that his wound was yet too recent to allow of such
exertion. D'Artagnan remained, therefore, alone; and as he
declared he was too ignorant of the game to play it regularly
they only continued giving balls to one another without counting.
But one of these balls, launched by Porthos' herculean hand,
passed so close to d'Artagnan's face that he thought that if,
instead of passing near, it had hit him, his audience would have
been probably lost, as it would have been impossible for him to
present himself before the king. Now, as upon this audience, in
his Gascon imagination, depended his future life, he saluted
Aramis and Porthos politely, declaring that he would not resume
the game until he should be prepared to play with them on more
equal terms, and went and took his place near the cord and in the
gallery.

Unfortunately for d'Artagnan, among the spectators was one of his
Eminence's Guardsmen, who, still irritated by the defeat of his
companions, which had happened only the day before, had promised
himself to seize the first opportunity of avenging it. He
believed this opportunity was now come and addressed his