"Come, he has begun," said he. "Love urges him on, and he goes forward -
he goes forward! The king is nobody in his own palace; but the man
perhaps may prove to be worth something. Well, we shall see to-morrow
morning. Oh! oh!" cried he, all at once starting up, "that is a gigantic
idea, _mordioux!_ and perhaps my fortune depends, at least, upon that
idea!" After this exclamation, the officer arose and marched, with his
hands in the pockets of his _justaucorps_, about the immense ante-chamber
that served him as an apartment. The wax-light flamed furiously under
the effects of a fresh breeze, which stole in through the chinks of the
door and the window, and cut the _salle_ diagonally. It threw out a
reddish, unequal light, sometimes brilliant, sometimes dull, and the tall
shadow of the lieutenant was seen marching on the wall, in profile, like
a figure by Callot, with his long sword and feathered hat.

"Certainly!" said he, "I am mistaken if Mazarin is not laying a snare for
this amorous boy. Mazarin, this evening, gave an address, and made an
appointment as complacently as M. Daangeau himself could have done - I
heard him, and I know the meaning of his words. 'To-morrow morning,'
said he, 'they will pass opposite the bridge of Blois.' _Mordioux!_ that
is clear enough, and particularly for a lover. That is the cause of this
embarrassment; that is the cause of this hesitation; that is the cause of
this order - 'Monsieur the lieutenant of my musketeers, be on horseback
to-morrow at four o'clock in the morning.' Which is as clear as if he
had said, - 'Monsieur the lieutenant of my musketeers, to-morrow, at
four, at the bridge of Blois, - do you understand?' Here is a state
secret, then, which I, humble as I am, have in my possession, while it
is in action. And how do I get it? Because I have good eyes, as his
majesty just now said. They say he loves this little Italian doll
furiously. They say he threw himself at his mother's feet, to beg her to
allow him to marry her. They say the queen went so far as to consult the