“Under what circumstances did you see him?”
“He came here for money.”
“With what kind of order?”
“With an order from the king.”
“Direct?”
“Signed by his majesty.”
“There, then! Well, D’Artagnan has been to Belle-Isle; he was disguised; he came in the character of some sort of an intendant, charged by his master to purchase salt-mines. Now, D’Artagnan has no other master but the king: he came, then, sent by the king. He saw Porthos.”
“Who is Porthos?”
“I beg your pardon, I made a mistake. He saw M. du Vallon at Belle-Isle; and he knows, as well as you and I do, that Belle-Isle is fortified.”
“And you think that the king sent him there?” said Fouquet, pensively.