From this he concluded that there must be a current, however slight, perhaps from rivers flowing into this part of the Lake.

He felt the strongest desire to explore farther till he reached the mainland, but he reflected that mere exploration was not his object; it would never obtain Aurora for him.

There were no signs whatever of human habitation, and from reeds and bulrushes, however interesting, nothing could be gained.

Reluctantly, therefore, on the third morning, having passed the night on one of the islets, he turned his canoe, and paddled southwards towards the Lake.
He did not for a moment attempt to retrace the channel by which he had entered; it would have been an impossibility; he took advantage of any clear space to push through.

It took him as long to get out as it had to get in; it was the afternoon of the fourth day when he at last regained the coast.