midday
Thus -- '' `` Oh ! stop your rubbish , '' I said , and fell again into the depths of my uncomfortable reflections . After this I , too , went to sleep . When I woke it was past midday and the wind was falling . However , it held while we ate some food we had brought with us , after which it died away altogether , and the Pongo people took to their paddles . At my suggestion we offered to help them , for it occurred to me that we might just as well learn how to manage these paddles . So six were given to us , and Komba , who now I noted was beginning to speak in a somewhat imperious tone , instructed us in their use .