Chapter 68 Chapter 66 Execution

Around midnight; a waning concave moon, smeared by the last few lines of the storm, with a deep red color, slowly rises from behind the small town of Amentières. It outlines the small town with dim light The sombre silhouette of the house, and the skeleton of the bell tower that soars.Directly opposite, the waters of the River Leith flowed like molten tin; on the other side, great bronze-colored clouds filled the dusky sky, casting a twilight on the night, and the whole black forest on the embankment , presenting a gloomy outline in this dim sky.On the left, among the ruins of an old abandoned windmill, its impellers all dead, an owl screeched monotonously.On the plains far and near, on the left and right sides of the road that the desolate funeral procession walked, a few thick and short trees popped up from time to time, like a few deformed dwarves squatting on the ground, spying on the passers-by at this eerie moment.

From time to time, a broad bolt of lightning pierced the entire sky, winding over a large swath of dark treetops, and then, like a frightening curved knife, split the sky and the water in half.Not a breath of wind blows into the dull air; deathly silence oppresses all nature; the ground is wet and slippery from the recent rain; Two servants, each dragging Milady by the arm; the executioner followed closely behind, followed by Lord de Winter, d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. Planchet and Bazin were last. The two servants dragged Milady towards the river.Her mouth was speechless, but her eyes were speaking with indescribable expressions, begging in turn, and watching the two people who dragged her away.

When she took a few steps ahead, she said to the two servants: If you protect me from escape, I will give you a thousand pistols each; if you hand me over to your masters, I have my avengers near here, and they will pay you with your lives. Grimmer hesitated.Musqueton trembled in every limb. Athos heard Milady's voice, and hurried up, and Lord Winter also hastened his pace. Removing the two servants, said Athos, the woman had spoken to them, and now they could not be trusted. Someone called Planchet and Bazin, who replaced Grimaud and Muskon. Reaching the river, the executioner approached Milady and bound her hands and feet.

At this moment, Milady broke the silence and exclaimed: You are all cowards, you are all despicable murderers, ten of you are here to kill one woman; be careful, even if I have no one to save me now, someone will avenge me in the future! You are not a woman, said Athos coldly, you are not of men, you are a devil who has escaped from hell, and now we will send you back to hell again. aha!Men and gentlemen full of righteousness and morality!Milady said please take note, whoever touches a hair of mine is a murderer. The executioner can kill, but he is not a murderer for that reason, madam, the man in the red cloak patted his broad blade and said, I am the last judge, I have the final say!It's called Nachrichter, as our German neighbors say.

As he said these words while he was binding Milady, Milady uttered two or three savage cries, which, ghastly and strangely, flew through the night air, and disappeared at last in the depths of the wood. But if I'm a criminal, if I'm guilty of what you charge me, Milady roared, you take me to court, you're not judges, you can't convict me. I sent you to Tyburn, said Lord Winter, why would you not then? Because I don't want to die!Milady struggled and shouted, because I'm too young, I don't deserve to die! The woman you poisoned at Betuna was younger than you, madam, but she is not dead!said d'Artagnan.

I'm going to a convent, I'm going to be a nun, said Milady. You were in the monastery before, said the executioner, but you came out of the monastery again to destroy my brother. Milady uttered a cry of terror, and fell to her knees. The executioner lifted her under his arm, and tried to take her to the ship. ah!God!she cried, God!You are drowning me! Her screams were so heart-piercing that even d'Artagnan, who had been most active in tracking Milady back then, could not help but hang his head, plug his ears with his hands, and sit on a broken tree. So he still heard her threats and cries.

Of all these men, d'Artagnan was the youngest, and his heart the softest. oh!I can't see such a horrible scene!I don't agree with letting this woman die like this. When Milady heard these two words, she had another ray of hope. D'Artagnan!D'Artagnan!She cried, do you remember how much I loved you! The young man stood up and took a step closer to her. At this moment, Athos hurriedly drew his sword, blocking the way of d'Artagnan. If you take one more step forward, d'Artagnan, he said, we'll fight together. D'Artagnan knelt down and prayed. Make haste, continued Athos, executioner, and do your duty!

Do your bidding, my lord, said the executioner, for I am also a true and good Catholic, and I firmly believe that the performance of public office is just for such a woman. well said. Athos took a step towards Milady. I forgive you, he said, I forgive you for the harm you have done to me; I forgive you for ruining my career, for ruining my honor, for staining my love, and for the despair you have sown that will forever affect my love for you. of salvation.Please die peacefully. Lord Winter also stepped forward. I forgive you, said he, I forgive you for poisoning my brother, I forgive you for killing Lord Buckingham; attempt.Please die peacefully.

And I, said d'Artagnan, forgive me, Madame, for provoking your anger by ungentlemanly means; in return, I forgive you for poisoning my poor lady, and for your treatment of me. Many cruel revenges, I forgive you, I cry for you.Please die peacefully! I am lost! (Note: English: I'm done.) Milady muttered in English, I must die. (Note: English: I must die. Or I shall die.) At this time, she stood up by herself, and glanced around her, that flickering gaze seemed to shoot out of her fiery pupils. She looked, but saw nothing. She listened, but heard nothing. All she has around her are her enemies.

Where am I going to die?she asked. to the other side, replied the executioner. So he put her on board, and when he himself was about to step aboard, Athos gave him a sum of money. Take, said Athos, this is the price of execution; let it be seen that we act as judges. Very well, said the executioner: now it is the woman's turn to know that I am not doing my job, but doing my duty. He threw the money into the river. The boat, carrying the criminal and the executioner, sailed to the left bank of the Lys; all the others remained on the right bank of the Lys, and fell on their knees. The boat cruised slowly along the rope, under the reflection of a light cloud reflected in the water at this time.

The people on the right bank saw the boat arrive at the opposite bank; the people on the boat had black bodies in the light red vision. During the drive, Milady finally untied the ropes that bound her feet.When the boat touched the shore, she jumped onto the shore lightly, and then ran away. But the ground was wet, and when she fled to the top of the embankment, she slipped and fell to her knees. Maybe it was a kind of superstitious idea, knocking at her soul, she understood that God was refusing to save her, so she lowered her head, clasped her hands together, and kept the posture she was in when she fell, motionless. At this time, people on the other side of the river saw the executioner slowly raising his arms. His broad sword edge reflected a cold light under the waning moon, and his raised arms fell straight down. The victim yelled, and then, a piece of thing that was cut off collapsed to the ground with the knife in his hand. At this time, the executioner took off his red cloak, spread it on the ground, put the body in first, then threw the head, then grabbed the four corners of the cloak, carried it on his shoulders, and boarded the boat again. In the middle of the Lys, he stopped the boat and hung his pack over the water: Let the justice of God clear the way!he shouted. He let go and let the body fall into the deepest water, and the river swallowed it up in no time. Three days later, the four musketeers returned to Paris; their vacation had come, and they made the customary visit to M. de Treville that evening. Well, gentlemen, the honorable Captain of the Musketeers asked them, How are you enjoying your excursion? Excellent!Athos answered through gritted teeth.