inues his Investigations.

At daybreak D'Artagnan saddled Furet, who had fared sumptuously
all night, devouring the remainder of the oats and hay left by his
companions. The musketeer sifted all he possibly could out of the host,
who he found cunning, mistrustful, and devoted, body and soul, to M.
Fouquet. In order not to awaken the suspicions of this man, he carried
on his fable of being a probable purchaser of some salt-mines. To have
embarked for Belle-Isle at Roche-Bernard, would have been to expose
himself still further to comments which had, perhaps, been already made,
and would be carried to the castle. Moreover, it was singular that this
traveler and his lackey should have remained a mystery to D'Artagnan, in
spite of all the questions addressed by him to the host, who appeared
to know him perfectly well. The musketeer then made some inquiries
concerning the salt-mines, and took the road to the marshes, leaving
the sea on his right, and penetrating into that vast and desolate plain
which resembles a sea of mud, of which, here and there, a few crests
of salt silver the undulations. Furet walked admirably, with his
little nervous legs, along the foot-wide causeways which separate the
salt-mines. D'Artagnan, aware of the consequences of a fall, which would
result in a cold bath, allowed him to go as he liked, contenting
himself with looking at, on the horizon, three rocks, that rose up like
lance-blades from the bosom of the plain, destitute of verdure. Piriac,
the bourgs of Batz and Le Croisic, exactly resembling each other,
attracted and suspended his attention. If the traveler turned round, the
better to make his observations, he saw on the other side an horizon of
three other steeples, Guerande, Le Pouliguen, and Saint-Joachim, which,
in their circumference, represented a set of skittles, of which he and
Furet were but the wandering ball. Piriac was the first little port on
his right. He went thither, with the names of the principal salters on
his lips. At the moment he reached the little port of Piriac, five
large barges, laden with stone, were leaving it. It appeared strange
to D'Artagnan, that stones should be leaving a country where none are
found. He had recourse to all the amenity of M. Agnan to learn from
the people of the port the cause of this singular arrangement. An old
fisherman replied to M. Agnan, that the stones very certainly did not
come from Piriac or the marshes.

"Where do they come from, t