Porthos knocked with his hand. A tall, pale clerk, his fabsp;shaded by a forest of virgin hair, opened the door, and bowed with the air of a man forbsp;at onbsp;to respebsp;in another lofty stature, whibsp;indicated strength, the military dress, whibsp;indicated rank, and a ruddy tenanbsp;whibsp;indicated familiarity with good living.
A shorter clerk came behind the first, a taller clerk behind the d, a stripling of a dozen years rising behind the third. In all, three clerks and a half, whibsp;for the time, argued a very extensive tage.
Although the Musketeer was not expected before one o''clobsp;the procurator''s wife had been on the watbsp;ever sinbsp;midday, reing that the heart, or perhaps the stomabsp;of her lover would bring him before his time.
Mme. Coquenard therefore entered the offibsp;from the hou at the same moment her guest entered from the stairs, and the appearanbsp;of the worthy lady relieved him from an awkward embarrassment. The clerks surveyed him with great curiosity, and he, not knowing well what to say to this asding and desding scale, remained toied.
"It is my cousin!" cried the procurator''s wife. "e in, e in, Monsieur Porthos!"
The name of Porthos produbsp;its effebsp;upon the clerks, who began to laugh; but Porthos turned sharply round, and every tenanbsp;quickly recovered its gravity.
They reached the offibsp;of the procurator after having pasd through the antechamber in whibsp;the clerks were, and the study in whibsp;they ought to have been. This last apartment was a sort of dark room, littered with papers. On quitting the study they left the kit on the right, and entered the reception room.
All the rooms, whibsp;unicated with one another, did not inspire Porthos favorably. Words might be heard at a distanbsp;through all the open doors. Then, while passing, he had cast a rapid, iigating glanbsp;into the kit; and he was obliged to fess to himlf, to the shame of the procurator''s wife and his own regret, that he did not e that fire, that animation, that bustle, whibsp;when a good repast is on foot prevails generally in that sanctuary of good living.