midday
Only she took Noie 's hand and pressed it in silent sympathy , until at length the poor girl , utterly outworn with agony and the fatigue of her long flight , fell asleep , there in the sunshine . Rachel let her sleep , knowing that she would take no harm in that warmth . Quietly she sat at her side for hour after hour while the fierce sun , from which she protected her head with seaweed , dried her garments . At length the shadows told her that midday was past , and the sea water which began to trickle over the surrounding rocks that the tide was approaching its full . They could stop there no longer unless they wished to be drowned . `` Come , '' she said to Noie , `` the Zulus have gone , and the sea is here . We must swim to the shore and go back to my father 's camp . ''