D’Artagnan related his story simply, with the omission of names.  He told how he had a rendezvous with a young woman before that pavilion, and how, not seeing her come, he had climbed the linden tree, and by the light of the lamp had seen the disorder of the chamber.

The old man listened attentively, making a sign only that it was all so; and then, when d’Artagnan had ended, he shook his head with an air that announced nothing good.

“What do you mean?” cried d’Artagnan.  “In the name of heaven, explain yourself!”

“Oh!  Monsieur,” said the old man, “ask me nothing; for if I dared tell you what I have seen, certainly no good would befall me.”

“You have, then, seen something?” replied d’Artagnan.  “In that case, in the name of heaven,” continued he, throwing him a pistole, “tell me what you have seen, and I will pledge you the word of a gentleman that not one of your words shall escape from my heart.”

The old man read so much truth and so much grief in the face of the young man that he made him a sign to listen, and repeated in a low voice:  “It was scarcely nine o’clock when I heard a noise in the street, and was wondering what it could be, when on coming to my door, I found that somebody was endeavoring to open it.  As I am very poor and am not afraid of being robbed, I went and opened the gate and saw three men at a few paces from it.  In the shadow was a carriage with two horses, and some saddlehorses.  These horses evidently belonged to the three men, who were dressed as cavaliers.  ‘Ah, my worthy gentlemen,’ cried I, ’what do you want?’ ‘You must have a ladder?’ said he who appeared to be the leader of the party.  ’Yes, monsieur, the one with which I gather my fruit.’  ’Lend it to us, and go into your house again; there is a crown for the annoyance we have caused you.  Only remember this—­if you speak a word of what you may see or what you may hear (for you will look and you will listen, I am quite sure, however we may threaten you), you are lost.’  At these words he threw me a crown, which I picked up, and he took the ladder.  After shutting the gate behind them, I pretended to return to the house, but I immediately went out a back door, and stealing along in the shade of the hedge, I gained yonder clump of elder, from which I could hear and see everything.  The three men brought the carriage up quietly, and took out of it a little man, stout, short, elderly, and commonly dressed in clothes of a dark color, who ascended the ladder very carefully, looked suspiciously in at the window of the pavilion, came down as quietly as he had gone up, and whispered, ‘It is she!’ Immediately, he who had spoken to me approached the door of the pavilion, opened it with a key he had in his hand, closed the door and disappeared, while at the same time the other two men ascended the ladder.  The little old man remained at the coach door; the coachman took care of his horses, the lackey held