"M. de Guiche's wounds are produced by a pistol-bullet which broke his ring-finger and the little finger of the right hand, and afterward buried itself in the intercostal muscles of the chest." "A bullet! Are you sure Monsieur de Guiche has been wounded by a bullet?" exclaimed the king, pretending to look much surprised. "Indeed I am, sire; so sure, in fact, that here it is." And he presented to the king a half-flattened bullet, which the king looked at, but did not touch. "Did he have that in his chest, poor fellow?" he asked. "Not precisely. The ball did not penetrate, but was flattened, as you see, either upon the trigger of the pistol or upon the right side of the breast-bone." "Good heavens!" said the king, seriously, "you said nothing to me about this, Monsieur de Manicamp." "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 toward 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 another instead, then." "Sire, I will not attempt to do so. I have already been unfortunate enough to displease your majesty, and it will, in every respect, be far better for me to accept most humbly any reproaches you may think proper to address to me." "You are right, monsieur; whoever conceals the truth from me risks my displeasure." "Sometimes, sire, one is ignorant of the truth." "No further falsehood, monsieur, or I double the punishment." Manicamp bowed and turned pale. D'Artagnan again made another step forward, determined to interfere, if the still increasing anger of the king attained certain limits. "You see, monsieur," continued the king, "that it is useless to deny the thing any longer. M. de Guiche has fought a duel." "I do not deny it, sire; and it would have been generous in your majesty not to have forced me to tell a falsehood." "Forced! Who forced you?"