On the left, the coast line ran on for a few miles, rough and rugged cliffs, with a crest of stunted trees. On the right, the coast line was what they had already seen. In front was the boundless sea, covered with foaming waves. At their feet the surf thundered in a line of foam, and tossed its spray high on the air. “I don’t altogether like the look of things,” said Bruce, after a long and silent gaze upon the sea and the rough coast in the west. “O, don’t fret,” said Bart. “Look, Bruce, close in to the shore under the cliffs: why, it’s smooth enough there to paddle a raft in. They’ll keep close in to the shore, and land whenever they want to.” “Only they might try to round a headland like that,” said Bruce, pointing to a cliff which terminated the view towards the left, at the base of which there was a line of white foam; “and if they did,” he added, “I’m afraid neither Arthur nor Tom--” He stopped abruptly, leaving the sentence unfinished. XXI. _The Expedition and the Voyagers.--Speculations.--Dinner followed by a Change of Wind.--A Squall.--Shipping a Sea.--Nearer the Shore.--An iron-bound Coast.--Rounding the Headland.--Startling Sight.--The Column of Smoke.--A Man on the Beach.--The shipwrecked Stranger.--Astonishing Disclosures.--Where are we?--The mournful Truth.--Anticosti!--Arthur contains his Soul.--The Boys and the Boat both hauled up.--The Expedition ends._ ARTHUR and Tom, on rounding the headland, kept on their course, following the line of the shore. The water was smooth, and the breeze continued moderate, yet fair. The sail worked well, the boat glided smoothly through the water, and they slipped on past the shore at a rate which was most gratifying to both of them. They kept away about a mile from the land, a distance which seemed to them to allow of a ready resort there in case of need, while at the same time it was far enough out to get the full benefit of the breeze, and maintain a sufficiently straight course. The coast was most forbidding. Rugged cliffs arose, or rocky, sterile banks, crested with stunted spruce. Hour after hour passed by, and mile after mile of the coast slipped away behind them, but not the slightest sign appeared of human habitation or of human life; nothing but the same iron-bound shore, and the same unbroken solitude.