Twenty Years After Chapter 79 Summary

Summary

Leaving Paris amid hunger, faction and recent violence, Athos and Aramis accept the danger of pursuit and set out to find their missing friends. They travel by back roads to avoid Mazarinists and Frondeurs, pass Saint-Denis and Saint-Germain, and proceed through Montreuil, Abbeville and Péronne, repeatedly searching inns and questioning locals. At Montreuil Athos discovers a knife-carved note on a table reading “Port.... D’Art.... 2d February,” which rekindles their hope and spurs them onward.

Their hunt grows desperate: a chalk drawing on a white wall at Péronne depicts two cavaliers with a message “They are following us,” and later a huge moved stone reveals directions and a plan—if they reach Compiègne they should stop at the Peacock. At Compiègne the tavern-keeper produces the blade of a rapier which Athos recognizes as D’Artagnan’s and reports that two pursued gentlemen were overpowered by eight light dragoons assisted by twenty Italian soldiers and carried toward Louvres. Athos and Aramis press on to Louvres, then to Rueil after finding a pin-inscribed trace that suggests their friends went there. In Rueil, crowded with legal and court figures for the conferences, they debate strategy; Athos favors seeking the queen, Anne of Austria, while Aramis counsels caution and a plan of persistent inquiry. The chapter closes with the two parting: Aramis returns to Paris to raise support while Athos prepares to seek the queen, both resolved to recover D'Artagnan and Porthos.

Key events

1. They leave Paris and travel by byways to avoid opposing forces.
2. Athos finds a knife-carved message at Montreuil: “Port.... D’Art.... 2d February.”
3. A chalk drawing at Péronne reads “They are following us,” indicating pursuit.
4. A barricading stone reveals a scratched message pointing to Compiègne and the Peacock.
5. At the Peacock the host identifies D'Artagnan’s sword-blade and reports an arrest by dragoons and Italian soldiers.
6. They follow clues to Louvres and Rueil; Athos plans to seek the queen while Aramis returns to Paris.

Analysis

This chapter performs several structural and thematic functions: it accelerates the hunt narrative while conveying the exhaustion and obstinate loyalty of Athos and Aramis. The episodic trail of marks—knife carvings, chalk drawings, a shifted stone, a pin-scratch on a pewter plate—creates a detective-like chain of evidence that sustains suspense and foregrounds the comrades’ methodical determination. The repeated motifs of pursuit and barricade (the chalk message “They are following us” and the rolled stone) amplify the theme of entrapment versus escape and foreshadow imminent capture or confrontation. Character-wise, Athos shows his nobility and emotional investment through repeated self-reproach and readiness to petition the queen; Aramis reveals strategic caution and political savvy, preferring indirect tactics and alliances. The scene at Compiègne, with the host’s recognition of D'Artagnan’s blade, provides concrete proof that the missing men are alive but overpowered—this shifts the quest from speculative to urgent rescue. Narratively, Dumas uses varied settings (small towns, taverns, legal assemblies at Rueil) to map the political fragmentation of France and to contrast Parisian chaos with pockets of normalcy (Saint-Germain). The chapter also deepens tension around authority: mentions of Mazarin, Italian garrison troops, and the conferences at Rueil hint at the larger political forces shaping personal fates, preparing the reader for a clash between private loyalties and public power.

Important quotes

“They are following us.”

NarratorA crude chalk drawing on a town wall at Péronne shows two cavaliers and this message, indicating pursuit and sharpening the friends' urgency.

“’Tis D’Artagnan’s sword,” he said.”

AthosAt the Peacock in Compiègne the host brings a rapier blade which Athos instantly recognizes, confirming D'Artagnan's presence in the region and that trouble has occurred.

Characters in Chapter 79

• Athos
• Aramis
• Blaisois
• Grimaud
• Porthos
• D'Artagnan
• Duke of Beaufort
• Cardinal Mazarin
• Anne of Austria
• Madame de Longueville
• Prince de Conti