"It is very plain that you have never seen Belle-Isle," said the most curious of the fishermen."Do you know that there are six leagues of it, and that there are such trees on it as cannot be equaled even at Nantes-sur-le-Fosse?""Trees in the sea!" cried D'Artagnan; "well, I should like to see them.""That can be easily done; we are fishing at the Isle de Hoedic -- come with us.From that place you will see, as a Paradise, the black trees of Belle-Isle against the sky; you will see the white line of the castle, which cuts the horizon of the sea like a blade.""Oh," said D'Artagnan, "that must be very beautiful.But do you know there are a hundred belfries at M.Fouquet's chateau of Vaux?"The Breton raised his head in profound admiration, but he was not convinced."A hundred belfries! Ah that may be, but Belle-Isle is finer than that.Should you like to see Belle-Isle?""Is that possible?" asked D'Artagnan.
"Yes, with permission of the governor."
"But I do not know the governor."
"As you know M.Fouquet, you can tell your name.""Oh, my friends, I am not a gentleman."
"Everybody enters Belle-Isle," continued the fisherman in his strong, pure language, "provided he means no harm to Belle-Isle or its master."A slight shudder crept over the body of the musketeer.
"That is true," thought he.Then recovering himself, "If Iwere sure," said he, "not to be sea-sick.""What, upon her?" said the fisherman, pointing with pride to his pretty round-bottomed bark.
"Well, you almost persuade me," cried M.Agnan; "I will go and see Belle-Isle, but they will not admit me.""We shall enter, safe enough."
"You! What for?"
"Why, dame! to sell fish to the corsairs.""Ha! Corsairs -- what do you mean?"
"Well, I mean that M.Fouquet is having two corsairs built to chase the Dutch and the English, and we sell our fish to the crews of those little vessels.""Come, come!" said D'Artagnan to himself -- "better and better.A printing-press, bastions, and corsairs! Well, M.
Fouquet is not an enemy to be despised, as I presumed to fancy.He is worth the trouble of traveling to see him nearer.""We set out at half-past five," said the fisherman gravely.
"I am quite ready, and I will not leave you now." So D'Artagnan saw the fishermen haul their barks to meet the tide with a windlass.The sea rose, M.Agnan allowed himself to be hoisted on board, not without sporting a little fear and awkwardness, to the amusement of the young beach-urchins who watched him with their large intelligent eyes.He laid himself down upon a folded sail, not interfering with anything whilst the bark prepared for sea; and, with its large, square sail, it was fairly out within two hours.The fishermen, who prosecuted their occupation as they proceeded, did not perceive that their passenger had not become pale, neither groaned nor suffered; that in spite of that horrible tossing and rolling of the bark, to which no hand imparted direction, the novice passenger had preserved his presence of mind and his appetite.They fished, and their fishing was sufficiently fortunate.To lines bated with prawn, soles came, with numerous gambols, to bite.Two nets had already been broken by the immense weight of congers and haddocks; three sea-eels plowed the hold with their slimy folds and their dying contortions.D'Artagnan brought them good luck; they told him so.The soldier found the occupation so pleasant, that he put his hand to the work -- that is to say, to the lines -- and uttered roars of joy, and mordioux enough to have astonished his musketeers themselves every time that a shock given to his line by the captured fish required the play of the muscles of his arm, and the employment of his best dexterity.The party of pleasure had made him forget his diplomatic mission.He was struggling with a very large conger, and holding fast with one hand to the side of the vessel, in order to seize with the other the gaping jowl of his antagonist, when the master said to him, "Take care they don't see you from Belle-Isle!"These words produced the same effect upon D'Artagnan as the hissing of the first bullet on a day of battle; he let go of both line and conger, which, dragging each other, returned again to the water.D'Artagnan perceived, within half a league at most, the blue and marked profile of the rocks of Belle-Isle, dominated by the majestic whiteness of the castle.In the distance, the land with its forests and verdant plains; cattle on the grass.This was what first attracted the attention of the musketeer.The sun darted its rays of gold upon the sea, raising a shining mist round this enchanted isle.Little could be seen of it, owing to this dazzling light, but the salient points; every shadow was strongly marked, and cut with bands of darkness the luminous fields and walls."Eh! eh!" said D'Artagnan, at the aspect of those masses of black rocks, "these are fortifications which do not stand in need of any engineer to render a landing difficult.How the devil can a landing be effected on that isle which God has defended so completely?""This way," replied the patron of the bark, changing the sail, and impressing upon the rudder a twist which turned the boat in the direction of a pretty little port, quite coquettish, round, and newly battlemented.
"What the devil do I see yonder?" said D'Artagnan.
"You see Leomaria," replied the fisherman.
"Well, but there?"
"That is Bragos."
"And further on?"
"Sanger, and then the palace."
"Mordioux! It is a world.Ah! there are some soldiers.""There are seventeen hundred men in Belle-Isle, monsieur,"replied the fisherman, proudly."Do you know that the least garrison is of twenty companies of infantry?""Mordioux!" cried D'Artagnan, stamping with his foot."His Majesty was right enough."They landed.