noon
And snatched from his talons , you see the fish falling through the air , till again caught up in the very act of descent , by the fleetest of its pursuers . Leaving these sights astern , we presently picked up the slimy husk of a cocoanut , all over green barnacles . And shortly after , passed two or three limbs of trees , and the solitary trunk of a palm ; which , upon sailing nearer , seemed but very recently started on its endless voyage . As noon came on ; the dark purple land-haze , which had been dimly descried resting upon the western horizon , was very nearly obscured . Nevertheless , behind that dim drapery we doubted not bright boughs were waving . We were now in high spirits . Samoa between times humming to himself some heathenish ditty , and Jarl ten times more intent on his silence than ever ; yet his eye full of expectation and gazing broad off from our bow .