The Man in the Iron Mask
An Homeric Song.
It is time to pass to the other camp, and to at once the and the of battle. Aramis and Porthos had gone to the of Locmaria with the of there their armed, as well as the three Bretons, their assistants; and they at to make the pass through the little issue of the cavern, in that fashion their labors and their flight. The of the and dogs them to concealed. The the space of about a hundred toises, to that little a creek. Formerly a temple of the Celtic divinities, when Belle-Isle was still called Kalonese, this had more than one in its depths. The entrance to the was by a descent, above which a arcade; the interior, very and from the of the vault, was into compartments, which with each other by means of and steps, right and left, in natural pillars. At the third the was so low, the passage so narrow, that the would have passed without the side; nevertheless, in moments of despair, and the will. Such was the of Aramis, when, after having the fight, he upon flight—a most dangerous, since all the were not dead; and that, the possibility of the to sea, they would have to in open day, the conquered, so on their small number, in their conquerors. When the two had killed ten men, Aramis, familiar with the of the cavern, to them one by one, and them, for the outside; and he that the should be rolled as as the great stone, the of the issue. Porthos all his strength, took the in his arms, and it up, the Bretons it along the rollers. They had into the third compartment; they had at the which the outlet. Porthos this at its base, his shoulder, and gave a which the crack. A cloud of from the vault, with the of ten thousand of sea birds, like to the rock. At the third the gave way, and for a minute. Porthos, his against the rock, an with his foot, which the out of the which for and cramps. The fell, and was visible, brilliant, radiant, the through the opening, and the sea appeared to the Bretons. They to the over the barricade. Twenty more toises, and it would into the ocean. It was this time that the company arrived, was up by the captain, and for either an or an assault. Aramis over everything, to the labors of his friends. He saw the reinforcements, the men, and himself at a single of the to which fresh would them. To by sea, at the moment the was about to be invaded, was impossible. In fact, the which had just been to the last had to the soldiers the being rolled the sea, the two musket-shot; and one of their would the if it did not kill the navigators. Besides, everything,—if the with the men on of it, how the be suppressed—how notice to the be prevented? What the canoe, by sea and from the shore, from the end of the day? Aramis, his hands into his with rage, the of God and the of the demons. Calling to Porthos, who was doing more work than all the rollers—whether of or wood—“My friend,” said he, “our have just a reinforcement.”
“Ah, ah!” said Porthos, quietly, “what is to be done, then?”
“To the combat,” said Aramis, “is hazardous.”
“Yes,” said Porthos, “for it is difficult to that out of two, one should not be killed; and certainly, if one of us was killed, the other would himself killed also.” Porthos spoke these with that nature which, with him, with necessity.
Aramis it like a to his heart. “We shall neither of us be killed if you do what I tell you, friend Porthos.”
“Tell me what?”
“These people are into the grotto.”
“Yes.”
“We kill about fifteen of them, but no more.”
“How many are there in all?” asked Porthos.
“They have a of seventy-five men.”
“Seventy-five and five, eighty. Ah!” Porthos.
“If they fire all at once they will us with balls.”
“Certainly they will.”
“Without reckoning,” added Aramis, “that the might occasion a of the cavern.”
“Ay,” said Porthos, “a piece of just now my shoulder.”
“You see, then?”
“Oh! it is nothing.”
“We must upon something quickly. Our Bretons are going to continue to roll the the sea.”
“Very well.”
“We two will keep the powder, the balls, and the here.”
“But only two, my dear Aramis—we shall fire three together,” said Porthos, innocently, “the defense by is a one.”
“Find a better, then.”
“I have one,” said the giant, eagerly; “I will place myself in the with this iron bar, and invisible, unattackable, if they come in floods, I can let my upon their skulls, thirty times in a minute. Hein! what do you think of the project? You smile!”
“Excellent, dear friend, perfect! I approve it greatly; only you will them, and of them will to take us by famine. What we want, my good friend, is the entire of the troop. A single our ruin.”
“You are right, my friend, but how can we them, pray?”
“By not stirring, my good Porthos.”
“Well! we won’t stir, then; but when they are all together—”
“Then it to me, I have an idea.”
“If it is so, and your idea proves a good one—and your idea is most likely to be good—I am satisfied.”
“To your ambuscade, Porthos, and count how many enter.”
“But you, what will you do?”
“Don’t trouble about me; I have a to perform.”
“I think I shouts.”
“It is they! To your post. Keep of my voice and hand.”
Porthos took in the second compartment, which was in darkness, black. Aramis into the third; the in his hand an iron of about fifty weight. Porthos this lever, which had been used in the bark, with facility. During this time, the Bretons had pushed the to the beach. In the and compartment, Aramis, and concealed, was with some maneuver. A was in a loud voice. It was the last order of the captain commandant. Twenty-five men jumped from the upper into the of the grotto, and having taken their ground, to fire. The and barked, the actually to the air, and then the vault.
“To the left! to the left!” Biscarrat, who, in his assault, had the passage to the second chamber, and who, by the of powder, to his soldiers in that direction. The troop, accordingly, themselves to the left—the passage narrower. Biscarrat, with his hands forward, to death, in of the muskets. “Come on! come on!” he, “I see daylight!”
“Strike, Porthos!” the voice of Aramis.
Porthos a sigh—but he obeyed. The iron full and direct upon the of Biscarrat, who was he had ended his cry. Then the rose ten times in ten seconds, and ten corpses. The soldiers see nothing; they and groans; they over bodies, but as they had no of the of all this, they came each other. The bar, still falling, the platoon, without a single to the second, which was advancing; only, by the captain, the men had a fir, on the shore, and, with its together, the captain had a flambeau. On at the where Porthos, like the angel, had all he touched, the rank in terror. No had to that of the guards, and yet their way was stopped by a of bodies—they walked in blood. Porthos was still his pillar. The captain, with pine-torch this carnage, of which he in the cause, the which Porthos was concealed. Then a hand from the shade, and on the of the captain, who a rattle; his stretched-out arms the air, the and was in blood. A second after, the of the captain close to the torch, and added another to the of which up the passage. All this was as as though by magic. At the in the of the captain, the soldiers who him had round, a of his arms, his starting from their sockets, and then the and they were left in darkness. From an unreflective, instinctive, feeling, the cried:
“Fire!”
Immediately a of flamed, thundered, in the cavern, from the vaults. The was for an by this discharge, and then returned to by the smoke. To this succeeded a silence, only by the steps of the third brigade, now entering the cavern.
