midday
Even the natives can not stand that . '' They found the hostelry presided over by a short , fat native who scarcely spoke a word of English . But he could speak French , and Mr. Rover spoke to him in that language , while Cujo carried on a talk in the native tongue . The midday repast was cooked over a fire built between several stones . The boys watched the cooking process with interest and were surprised to find , when it came to eating , that the food prepared tasted so good . They had antelope steak and a generous supply of native bread , and pure cocoa , which Tom declared as good as chocolate . After the meal they took it easy in a number of grass hammocks stretched beneath the wide spreading palms surrounding the wayside inn , if such it might be called .