"A hundred and fifty pistoles."
"I will buy it of you. Here is a note for two hundred pistoles."
"But I want a horse for my journey, sire."
"Well!"
"Well, and you take mine from me."
"Not at all. On the contrary, I give it you. Only as it is now mine and not yours, I am sure you will not spare it."
"Your majesty is in a hurry, then?"
"A great hurry."
"Then what compels me to wait two days?"
"Reasons known to myself."
"That's a different affair. The horse may make up the two days, in the eight he has to travel; and then there is the post."
"No, no, the post compromises, Monsieur d'Artagnan. Begone and do not forget you are my servant."
"Sire, it is not my duty to forget it! At what hour to-morrow shall I take my leave of your majesty?"
"Whence do you lodge?"
"I must henceforward lodge at the Louvre."
"That must not be now--keep your lodgings in the city: I will pay for them. As to your departure, it must take place at night; you must set out without being seen by any one, or, if you are seen, it must not be known that you belong to me. Keep your mouth shut, monsieur."
"Your majesty spoils all you have said by that single word."
"I asked where you lodged, for I cannot always send to M. le Comte de la Fere to seek you."
"I lodge with M. Planchet, a grocer, Rue des Lombards, at the sign of the Pilon d'Or."
"Go out but little, show yourself less, and await my orders."
"And yet, sire, I must go for the money."
"That is true, but when going to the superintendence, where so many people are constantly going, you must mingle with the crowd."
"I want the notes, sire, for the money."
"Here they are." The king signed them, and D'Artagnan looked on, to assure himself of their regularity.
"Adieu! Monsieur d'Artagnan," added the king; "I think you have perfectly understood me."
"I? I understand that your majesty sends me to Belle-Ile-en-Mer, that is all."
"To learn?"
"To learn how M. Fouquet's works are going on; that is all."
"Very well: I admit you may be taken."
"And I do not admit it," replied the Gascon, boldly.