“Yes, but yesterday at five o’clock in the afternoon, thanks to you, she escaped.”
“My wife escaped!” cried Bonacieux. “Oh, unfortunate creature! Monsieur, if she has escaped, it is not my fault, I swear.”
“What business had you, then, to go into the chamber of Monsieur d’Artagnan, your neighbor, with whom you had a long conference during the day?”
“Ah, yes, Monsieur Commissary; yes, that is true, and I confess that I was in the wrong. I did go to Monsieur d’Artagnan’s.”
“What was the aim of that visit?”
“To beg him to assist me in finding my wife. I believed I had a right to endeavor to find her. I was deceived, as it appears, and I ask your pardon.”
“And what did Monsieur d’Artagnan reply?”
“Monsieur d’Artagnan promised me his assistance; but I soon found out that he was betraying me.”
“You impose upon justice. Monsieur d’Artagnan made a compact with you; and in virtue of that compact put to flight the police who had arrested your wife, and has placed her beyond reach.”
“M. d’Artagnan has abducted my wife! Come now, what are you telling me?”