"Sire - "

"What does all this mean, then, this invention about hunting a wild boar
at nightfall? Come, speak, monsieur."

"Sire - "

"It seems, then, that you are right," said the king, turning round
towards his captain of musketeers, "and that a duel actually took place."

The king possessed, to a greater extent than any one else, the faculty
enjoyed by the great in power or position, of compromising and dividing
those beneath him. Manicamp darted a look full of reproaches at the
musketeer. D'Artagnan understood the look at once, and not wishing to
remain beneath the weight of such an accusation, advanced a step forward,
and said: "Sire, your majesty commanded me to go and explore the place
where the cross-roads meet in the Bois-Rochin, and to report to you,
according to my own ideas, what had taken place there. I submitted my
observations to you, but without denouncing any one. It was your majesty
yourself who was the first to name the Comte de Guiche."

"Well, monsieur, well," said the king, haughtily; "you have done your
duty, and I am satisfied with you. But you, Monsieur de Manicamp, have
failed in yours, for you have told me a falsehood."

"A falsehood, sire. The expression is a hard one."

"Find a more accurate, then."