2 A Day for Dueling

CHAPTER 2 A Day for Dueling D'Artagnan raced down the stairs and collided with a Musketeer, who cried out in pain. "Excuse me," said D'Artagnan. "I'm very sorry, but I'm in a hurry." He had barely taken a step when someone grabbed his belt and he was pulled backward. "You're sorry, eh?" said the Musketeer. "You heard how Monsieur de Tréville spoke to my friends and now you think anyone can treat us like that?"

D'Artagnan recognized the Musketeer as Athos. He tried to apologize again, but Athos was in a bad mood and would not accept. D'Artagnan had no patience for this kind of behavior, even from a Musketeer as brave as Athos. Before he knew it, he had challenged Athos to a duel. The men agreed to fight at noon. Outside, D'Artagnan saw Porthos speaking to another man in front of the main gate. There was just enough room to run behind Porthos. As he did, a gust of wind blew Porthos's cloak up and D'Artagnan became wrapped in it. Porthos pulled his cloak together and found himself nose-to-nose with D'Artagnan. "Excuse me," D'Artagnan said, moving out from under the large man's arm. "I am in a great hurry. I was chasing—" "And you always run blind, I suppose?" Porthos towered over him.

"No, I do not," D'Artagnan said, his temper rising again. "Do you think you can just push past me?" Porthos asked. "You should have asked before barging through." "I was in a hurry," D'Artagnan said. "This is very important. And you are also very large and your cloak is too long. It was in my way —" "What?" Porthos shouted. The two men argued and, as quickly as it had happened with Athos, D'Artagnan found himself agreeing to another duel. This one was set for one o'clock in the same place where D'Artagnan was to fight Athos. D'Artagnan resumed his chase, but the man from Meung was gone. Suddenly the events of the morning began to sink in. D'Artagnan had disgraced himself in front of Monsieur de Tréville by rushing out like that. Then he had challenged two dangerous men

to duels. What's worse, he thought of those two men as heroes! What a fool I am, D'Artagnan thought. I should try to be like Aramis. Didn't he seem friendly and graceful? Suddenly D'Artagnan saw Aramis talking with some other men. This time, D'Artagnan decided to be careful and polite. He saw a handkerchief under Aramis's boot and picked it up. "Here, Monsieur," D'Artagnan said. "I believe you dropped this." Aramis snatched it quickly and the other men began to tease him. "So, Aramis," one of them said, "if you truly don't know Madame de Bois-Tracy, why do you have her handkerchief?" "You are mistaken," Aramis said. "This does not belong to me. Perhaps it fell from your pocket." "I'm sorry," D'Artagnan said, trying to help.

"I didn't see it fall from anyone's pocket. I just saw it under your shoe." The men left, still laughing at Aramis, who walked in the other direction. D'Artagnan ran after him to apologize. Unfortunately, Aramis was now embarrassed and angry. Instead of accepting the apology, he called D'Artagnan a fool for his behavior. Once again, D'Artagnan lost his temper. He quickly challenged Aramis to a duel, and they agreed to meet at two o'clock. I don't think I'll survive this, D'Artagnan thought. Well, if I am to be killed, at least I'll be killed by a Musketeer. D'Artagnan was convinced that he couldn't win three duels, but he wasn't the sort of person to just give up. Instead, he thought about how he could outsmart the three Musketeers. Soon he arrived at the meeting place for his duel with Athos: a small monastery surrounded by empty fields.

Athos was waiting with his typical calm and dignity. From his movements, it was clear that he was still injured. "Monsieur, I have asked two friends to be with me today," Athos told D'Artagnan. "They should be here soon. I don't know why they're late." "I have no one to be here with me," D'Artagnan said. "The only person I know in this city is Monsieur de Tréville." After a moment's thought, Athos said, "He's your only friend? Well look here, if I kill you, I shall be taken for an ogre. You are far too young for this." "No one will say you overpowered me," D'Artagnan said. "After all, your wounds still seem to be giving you trouble." "They are very troublesome, indeed," Athos said. "You hurt me when you ran into me. But I can fight just as well with my other hand."