Chapter 54

CHAPTER 12

The next day, the 18th of February, was devoted to the exploration of all
that wooded region forming the shore from Reptile End to Falls River. The
colonists were able to search this forest thoroughly, for, as it was
comprised between the two shores of the Serpentine Peninsula, it was only
from three to four miles in breadth. The trees, both by their height and
their thick foliage, bore witness to the vegetative power of the soil, more
astonishing here than in any other part of the island. One might have said
that a corner from the virgin forests of America or Africa had been
transported into this temperate zone. This led them to conclude that the
superb vegetation found a heat in this soil, damp in its upper layer, but
warmed in the interior by volcanic fires, which could not belong to a
temperate climate. The most frequently occurring trees were knaries and
eucalypti of gigantic dimensions.

But the colonists' object was not simply to admire the magnificent
vegetation. They knew already that in this respect Lincoln Island would
have been worthy to take the first rank in the Canary group, to which the
first name given was that of the Happy Isles. Now, alas! their island no
longer belonged to them entirely; others had taken possession of it,
miscreants polluted its shores, and they must be destroyed to the last man.

No traces were found on the western coast, although they were carefully
sought for. No more footprints, no more broken branches, no more deserted
camps.

"This does not surprise me," said Cyrus Harding to his companions. "The
convicts first landed on the island in the neighborhood of Flotsam Point,
and they immediately plunged into the Far West forests, after crossing
Tadorn Marsh. They then followed almost the same route that we took on
leaving Granite House. This explains the traces we found in the wood. But,
arriving on the shore, the convicts saw at once that they would discover no
suitable retreat there, and it was then that, going northwards again, they
came upon the corral."

"Where they have perhaps returned," said Pencroft.

"I do not think so," answered the engineer, "for they would naturally
suppose that our researches would be in that direction. The corral is only
a storehouse to them, and not a definitive encampment."

"I am of Cyrus' opinion," said the reporter, "and I think that it is
among the spurs of Mount Franklin that the convicts will have made their
lair."

"Then, captain, straight to the corral!" cried Pencroft. "We must finish
them off, and till now we have only lost time!"

"No, my friend," replied the engineer; "you forget that we have a reason
for wishing to know if the forests of the Far West do not contain some