noon
Taminah saw Almayer standing on the shore with Nina on his arm . She heard Nina 's voice calling out gaily , and saw Dain 's face brighten with joy as he leaped on shore . She hated the sound of that voice ever since . After that day she left off visiting Almayer 's compound , and passed the noon hours under the shade of the brig awning . She watched for his coming with heart beating quicker and quicker , as he approached , into a wild tumult of newly-aroused feelings of joy and hope and fear that died away with Dain 's retreating figure , leaving her tired out , as if after a struggle , sitting still for a long time in dreamy languor . Then she paddled home slowly in the afternoon , often letting her canoe float with the lazy stream in the quiet backwater of the river . The paddle hung idle in the water as she sat in the stern , one hand supporting her chin , her eyes wide open , listening intently to the whispering of her heart that seemed to swell at last into a song of extreme sweetness .