"Oh, admirable! 'Urgent'!—a man who has been there ten years! It is urgent to set him free to-day, this very evening, at eight o'clock!—urgent!" And Baisemeaux, shrugging his shoulders with an air of supreme disdain, flung the order on the table and began eating again. "They are fond of these dodges!" he said, with his mouth full; "they seize a man, some fine day, maintain him for ten years, and write to you, 'Watch this fellow well,' or 'Keep him very strictly.' And then, as soon as you are accustomed to look upon the prisoner as a dangerous man, all of a sudden, without cause or precedent, they write—'Set him at liberty;' and actually add to their missive—'urgent.' You will own, my lord, 'tis enough to make any one shrug his shoulders!"
"What do you expect? It is they who write," said Aramis, "and it is for you to execute the order."
"Good! good! execute it! Oh, patience! You must not imagine that I am a slave."
"Gracious Heaven! my very good M. Baisemeaux, who ever said so? Your independence is known."
"Thank Heaven!"
"But your good heart also is known."
"Ah! don't speak of it!"
"And your obedience to your superiors. Once a soldier, you see, Baisemeaux, always a soldier."
"And so I shall strictly obey; and, to-morrow morning, at daybreak, the prisoner referred to shall be set free."
"To-morrow?"