Thrust and parry are given and returned futilely, till the moment when the surprised combatants behold themselves opposed each to him who had been friend and brother and comrade in arms in the former days. Then a new friendship is upreared upon the still solid foundations of the old, and the new affection is even more comprehensive than the old, since it can hold the four unalterably, even while ostensibly they might be found on opposite sides of a field of battle. Once the new alliance is made they become invincible again. Their arms which had been of little avail singly are now combined with positive strength enough to seize and hold a Mazarin while a queen is being dictated to. Still there is nothing sensational or strained in this renewed exhibition of strength.
Events unfold themselves naturally.
The four friends have united to form a machine of fate. Each part is capable of performing a certain task. D'Artagnan may plan all the details of escape from the cardinal's hunting pavilion, but it requires the strength of Porthos to wrest the bars from the windows. It is not strange, then, that the completed machine should have moved forward so irresistibly to the accomplishment of its ends.