not stop them; they jumped into the ditch, and prepared to scale the breach.

“Now, my friends,” said Athos, “finish them at a blow. To the wall; to the wall!”

And the four friends, seconded by Grimaud, pushed with the barrels of their muskets an enormous sheet of the wall, which bent as if pushed by the wind, and detaching itself from its base, fell with a horrible crash into the ditch. Then a fearful crash was heard; a cloud of dust mounted toward the sky — and all was over!

“Can we have destroyed them all, from the first to the last?” said Athos.

“My faith, it appears so!” said d’Artagnan.

“No,” cried Porthos; “there go three or four, limping away.”