three o'clock
I 've been gathering support for it as I knock about . The world is n't ripe for it yet , but -- well I 'll tell you ; and then you run your mind back along the people you 've known and see what you make of it . '' And so I cornered Bridger in a place where they have artificial palms and wine ; and he told me the story which is here in my words and on his responsibility . One afternoon at three o'clock , on the island of Ratona , a boy raced along the beach screaming , '' _ Pajaro _ , ahoy ! '' Thus he made known the keenness of his hearing and the justice of his discrimination in pitch . He who first heard and made oral proclamation concerning the toot of an approaching steamer 's whistle , and correctly named the steamer , was a small hero in Ratona -- until the next steamer came . Wherefore , there was rivalry among the barefoot youth of Ratona , and many fell victims to the softly blown conch shells of sloops which , as they enter harbour , sound surprisingly like a distant steamer 's signal .