“Do then as I did, my lord. Sell the crown diamonds. Trust me, don’t let us try to do things cheaply. Great undertakings come poorly off with paltry means.” “Well,” returned Mazarin, “we will satisfy you.” “Richelieu,” thought D’Artagnan, “would have given me five hundred pistoles in advance.” “You will then be at my service?” asked Mazarin. “Yes, if my friends agree.” “But if they refuse can I count on you?” “I have never accomplished anything alone,” said D’Artagnan, shaking his head. “Go, then, and find them.” “What shall I say to them by way of inducement to serve your eminence?” “You know them better than I. Adapt your promises to their respective characters.” “What shall I promise?” “That if they serve me as well as they served the queen my gratitude shall be magnificent.” “But what are we to do?” “Make your mind easy; when the time for action comes you shall be put in full possession of what I require from you; wait till that time arrives and find out your friends.” “My lord, perhaps they are not in Paris. It is even probable that I shall have to make a journey. I am only a lieutenant of musketeers, very poor, and journeys cost money. “My intention,” said Mazarin, “is not that you go with a great following; my plans require secrecy, and would be jeopardized by a too extravagant equipment.” “Still, my lord, I can’t travel on my pay, for it is now three months behind; and I can’t travel on my savings, for in my twenty-two years of service I have accumulated nothing but debts.” Mazarin remained some moments in deep thought, as if he were fighting with himself; then, going to a large cupboard closed with a triple lock, he took from it a bag of silver, and weighing it twice in his hands before he gave it to D’Artagnan: “Take this,” he said with a sigh, “’tis merely for your journey.” “If these are Spanish doubloons, or even gold crowns,” thought D’Artagnan, “we shall yet be able to do business together.” He saluted the cardinal and plunged the bag into the depths of an immense pocket. “Well, then, all is settled; you are to set off,” said the cardinal. “Yes, my lord.” “Apropos, what are the names of your friends?” “The Count de la Fère, formerly styled Athos; Monsieur du Vallon, whom we used to call Porthos; the Chevalier d’Herblay, now the Abbé d’Herblay, whom we styled Aramis——” The cardinal smiled. “Younger sons,” he said, “who enlisted in the musketeers under feigned names in order not to lower their family names. Long swords but light purses. Was that it?” “If, God willing, these swords should be devoted to the service of your eminence,” said D’Artagnan, “I shall venture to express a wish, which is, that in its turn the purse of your eminence may become light and theirs heavy—for with these three men your eminence may rouse all Europe if you like.” “These Gascons,” said the cardinal, laughing, “almost beat the Italians in effrontery.”