“And what will he do to us? Is it our fault?”
“It is true, then?” said Athos, in a subdued voice. “It is true?”
“Silence! I tell you—silence! If he only believes you can read; if he only suspects you have understood; I love you, my dear friends, I would willingly be killed for you, but—”
“But—” said Athos and Raoul.
“But I could not save you from perpetual imprisonment if I saved you from death. Silence, then! Silence again!”
The governor came up, having crossed the ditch upon a plank bridge.
“Well!” said he to D’Artagnan, “what stops us?”
“You are Spaniards—you do not understand a word of French,” said the captain, eagerly, to his friends in a low voice.
“Well!” replied he, addressing the governor, “I was right; these gentlemen are two Spanish captains with whom I was acquainted at Ypres, last year; they don’t know a word of French.”
“Ah!” said the governor, sharply. “And yet they were trying to read the inscription on the plate.”