“Never mind; let’s sit down to table and take something to strengthen us for the night.”

“What are we to do, then, to-night?”

“To travel — perhaps.”

“But — — ”

“Sit down, dear friend, to table. When one is eating, ideas flow easily. After supper, when they are perfected, I will communicate my plans to you.”

So Porthos sat down to table without another word and ate with an appetite that did honor to the confidence that was ever inspired in him by D’Artagnan’s inventive imagination.