She was his, and yet she was like a woman from another world.

His! His! He exulted in the glorious thought; nevertheless her tears pained him.
With a wisp of her own hair which he took in his hand with timid reverence he tried in an access of clumsy tenderness to dry the tears that trembled on her eyelashes.

He had his reward in a fleeting smile that brightened her face for the short fraction of a second, but soon the tears fell faster than ever, and he could bear it no more.

He rose and walked towards Almayer, who still sat absorbed in his contemplation of the sea.

It was a very, very long time since he had seen the sea--that sea that leads everywhere, brings everything, and takes away so much.