Then the eddy slackened round her hand. The rushof the water ceased; the world became full of littlecreaking and squeaking sounds. One heard thewaves breaking and flapping against the side of theboat as if they were anchored in harbour. Every-thing became very close to one. For the sail, uponwhich James had his eyes fixed until it had becometo him like a person whom he knew, sagged entirely;there they came to a stop, flapping about waitingfor a breeze, in the hot sun, miles from shore, milesfrom the Lighthouse. Everything in the wholeworld seemed to stand still. The Lighthouse becameimmovable, and the line of the distant shore becamefixed. The sun grew hotter and everybody seemedto come very close together and to feel each other’spresence, which they had almost forgotten. Mac-alister’s fishing line went plumb down into the sea.But Mr Ramsay went on reading with his legs curledunder him.

He was reading a little shiny book with coversmottled like a plover’s egg. Now and again, as theyhung about in that horrid calm, he turned a page.And James felt that each page was turned with apeculiar gesture aimed at him: now assertively, nowcommandingly; now with the intention of makingpeople pity him; and all the time, as his father readand turned one after another of those little pages,James kept dreading the moment when he wouldlook up and speak sharply to him about somethingor other. Why were they lagging about here? hewould demand, or something quite unreasonable like