D'Artagnan turned upon his heel, insolently enough, and finding himself face to face with Colbert, after his first turn, he bowed to him as a harlequin would have done; then, after a second evolution, he directed his steps towards the door in quick time. Colbert was struck with this pointed rudeness, to which he was not accustomed. In general, men of the sword, when they came to his office, had such a want of money, that though their feet seemed to take root in the marble, they hardly lost their patience. Was D'Artagnan going straight to the king? Would he go and describe his rough reception, or recount his exploit? This was a matter for grave consideration. At all events, the moment was badly chosen to send D'Artagnan away, whether he came from the king, or on his own account. The musketeer had rendered too great a service, and that too recently, for it to be already forgotten. Therefore Colbert thought it would be better to shake off his arrogance and call D'Artagnan back.
"Ho! Monsieur d'Artagnan," cried Colbert, "what! are you leaving me thus?"
D'Artagnan turned round: "Why not?" said he, quietly, "we have no more to say to each other, have we?"
"You have, at least, money to receive, as you have an order?"
"Who, I? Oh! not at all, my dear Monsieur Colbert."
"But, monsieur, you have an order. And, in the same manner as you give a sword-thrust, when you are required, I, on my part, pay when an order is presented to me. Present yours."
"It is useless, my dear Monsieur Colbert," said D'Artagnan, who inwardly enjoyed this confusion in the ideas of Colbert; "my order is paid."
"Paid, by whom?"
"By monsieur le surintendant."
Colbert grew pale.
"Explain yourself," said he, in a stifled voice - "if you are paid why do you show me that paper?"
"In consequence of the word of order of which you spoke to me so ingeniously just now, dear M. Colbert; the king told me to take a quarter of the pension he is pleased to make me."
"Of me?" said Colbert.
"Not exactly. The king said to me: 'Go to M. Fouquet; the superintendent will, perhaps, have no money, then you will go and draw it of M.
Colbert.'"
The countenance of M. Colbert brightened for a moment; but it was with his unfortunate physiognomy as with a stormy sky, sometimes radiant, sometimes dark as night, according as the lightening gleams or the cloud passes. "Eh! and was there any money in the superintendent's coffers?" asked he.
"Why, yes, he could not be badly off for money," replied D'Artagnan - "it may be believed, since M. Fouquet, instead of paying me a quarter or five thousand livres - "
"A quarter or five thousand livres!" cried Colbert, struck, as Fouquet had been, with the generosity of the sum for a soldier's pension, "why, that would be a pension of twenty thousand livres?"
"Exactly, M. Colbert. _Peste!_ you reckon like old Pythagoras; yes, twenty thousand livres."
"Ten times the appointment of an intendant of the finances. I beg to offer you my compliments," said Colbert, with a vicious smile.
"Oh!" said D'Artagnan, "the king apologized for giving me so little; but he promised to make it more hereafter, when he should be rich; but I must be gone, having much to do - "
"So, then, notwithstanding the expectation of the king, the superintendent paid you, did he?"
"In the same manner, as, in opposition to the king's expectation, you refused to pay me."
"I did not refuse, monsieur, I only begged you to wait. And you say that M. Fouquet paid you your five thousand livres?"
"Yes, as _you_ might have done; but he did even better than that, M.
Colbert."
"And what did he do?"
"He politely counted me down the sum-total, saying, that for the king, his coffers were always full."
"The sum-total! M. Fouquet has given you twenty thousand livres instead of five thousand?"
"Yes, monsieur."
"And what for?"
