noon
`` And now , Mr. Weldon , _ how much do you expect for those papers _ ? '' * * * * * Weldon drew his chair across the broad verandah in an aimless , leisurely way , anchored it in the shadow of a wicker table laden with cool glass pitchers and iced fruits , and sank into it , sighing restlessly . The pillars of coral that supported the verandah roof framed , each pair of them , an oblong of sapphire bay ; vivid masses of pink oleanders hedged the foreground ; the tremulous sapphire crawled softly over a creamy crescent beach . In the pleasant noon stillness the mild whine of a patient puppy , broken by the chuckles of some young human thing , rose on the air . Jars of sweet flowers sent out their almost tropical odours with each tiny , invisible wind current : they seemed to puff it into his face . A great green and flame-coloured parrot , hung head downward in his yellow cage , began suddenly a mechanical , dry litany : '' _ Mañaña ! mañaña !