As long as he looks upon many women your power will last, but should there be one, one only with whom he seems to forget you, then--" "I could not live," exclaimed Nina, covering her face with both her hands.

"Do not speak so, mother; it could not be." "Then," went on Mrs.Almayer, steadily, "to that woman, Nina, show no mercy." She moved the canoe down towards the stream by the gunwale, and gripped it with both her hands, the bow pointing into the river.
"Are you crying ?" she asked sternly of her daughter, who sat still with covered face.

"Arise, and take your paddle, for he has waited long enough.

And remember, Nina, no mercy; and if you must strike, strike with a steady hand." She put out all her strength, and swinging her body over the water, shot the light craft far into the stream.

When she recovered herself from the effort she tried vainly to catch a glimpse of the canoe that seemed to have dissolved suddenly into the white mist trailing over the heated waters of the Pantai.