"In the name of heaven, explain yourself!" "Oh! Monsieur," said the old man, "ask me nothing; for if I dared tell you what I have seen, certainly no good would befall me." "You have, then, seen something ?" replied d'Artagnan.

"In that case, in the name of heaven," continued he, throwing him a pistole, "tell me what you have seen, and I will pledge you the word of a gentleman that not one of your words shall escape from my heart." The old man read so much truth and so much grief in the face of the young man that he made him a sign to listen, and repeated in a low voice: "It was scarcely nine o'clock when I heard a noise in the street, and was wondering what it could be, when on coming to my door, I found that somebody was endeavoring to open it.

As I am very poor and am not afraid of being robbed, I went and opened the gate and saw three men at a few paces from it.

In the shadow was a carriage with two horses, and some saddlehorses.

These horses evidently belonged to the three men, who were dressed as cavaliers.