As he expected, after rising a few feet from the ground, his eyes encountered the solemn blue line of the sea, not half a mile distant.
He descended and commenced a systematic search.

Men had been here.

Was there a house?
Would he suddenly encounter some hermit Malay or Chinaman?
At the foot of the main cliff was a cluster of fruit-bearing trees, plantains, areca-nuts, and cocoa-palms.

A couple of cinchonas caught his eye.

In one spot the undergrowth was rank and vividly green.