midday
`` That 's something I do n't allow anybody to joke about . '' And , when the mulatto had gone , he continued aloud : `` By Heaven ! this is sure a tough country for a white man ! '' Inocencio strode through the streets toward the swamp that lies behind the town , oblivious to the grilling midday heat that smote him from above , from the concrete walks beneath , and from the naked walls on every side . It was before the days of the American occupation , and the streets were nothing more than open cesspools , the stench from which offended sorely . Buzzards flapped among the naked children at play in the mire beside the sewer ditches . The place was filled with everything unhealthy , and had long been known as the earth 's great festering sore .