Marlow ceased, and sat apart, indistinct and silent, in the pose of a meditating buddha. Nobody moved for a time. ‘We have lost the first of the ebb,’ said the director suddenly. I raised my head. The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of earth flowed sombre under an overcast sky – seemed under an overcast sky – seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.