The sea was broad, and blue, and tranquil, and desolate, for even from this commanding height not a sail was visible.  There was nothing here which could attract Tom’s attention for any long period; so he prepared to continue his progress.  In front of him lay a wood, before plunging in which he turned to see if there were any vessels coming through the Straits of Minas.  None were visible; so, turning back once more, he resumed his journey, and went forward among the trees.

His path now became a difficult one.  It was necessary to keep away from the edge of the cliff, but still not to go out of sight of it.  The trees were principally spruce and fir, but there were also birch and maple.  He also noticed mountain ash and willow.  Beneath him all the ground was covered with soft moss, in which he sank to his ankles, while on every side were luxuriant ferns and evergreen trailers.  Tom recognized all these with great satisfaction, for they showed him the means of furnishing for himself a soft couch, that might be envied by many a man in better circumstances.  Progress soon grew more difficult, for there were numerous mounds, and dense underbrush, through which he could only force his way by extreme effort.  Windfalls also lay around in all directions, and no sooner would he have fairly surmounted one of them, than another would appear.  Thus his progress was exceedingly slow and laborious.

After about a half an hour of strenuous exertion, Tom found himself in the midst of an almost impassable jungle of tangled, stunted fir trees.  He tried to avoid these by making a detour, but found that they extended so far that he could only pass them by going along close to the edge of the cliff.  This last path he chose, and clinging to the branches, he passed for more than a hundred yards along the crest of a frightful precipice, where far down there yawned an abyss, at whose bottom was the sea; while abreast of him in the air there floated great flocks of gulls, uttering their hoarse yells, and fluttering fiercely about, as though trying to drive back this intruder upon their domains.  Once or twice Tom was compelled to stop, and turn away his face from the abyss, and thrust himself in among the trees; but each time he regained his courage, after a little rest, and went on as before.

At length he passed the thick spruce underbrush, and found the woods less dense.  He could now work his way among them without being compelled to go so close to the edge of the cliff; and the dizzy height and the shrieks of the gulls no longer disturbed his senses.  The trees here were not so high as those at the other end of the island, but were of much smaller size, and seemed stunted.  There were no maples or other forest trees, but only scraggy fir, that seemed too exposed to the winds from the sea to have much health or verdure.  The underbrush was wanting to a great extent, but moss was here in large quantities, and thick clusters of alder bushes.  Wild shrubs also—­such as raspberries and blueberries—­ were frequently met with; while ledges of weather-beaten rock jutted out from amid thick coverings of moss.