FIVE O’CLOCK in the evening
It thus happened that when noon came the much-occupied barber had not had time to return on board , but had had to content himself with a little assai , some manioc flour , and turtle eggs , which he rapidly devoured between two applications of the curling-tongs . But it was a great harvest for the innkeeper , as all the operations could not be conducted without a large absorption of liquors drawn from the cellars of the inn . In fact , it was an event for the town of Tabatinga , this visit of the celebrated Fragoso , barber in ordinary and extraordinary to the tribes of the Upper Amazon ! AT FIVE O'CLOCK in the evening Fragoso was still there , and was asking himself if he would have to pass the night on the spot to satisfy the expectant crowd , when a stranger arrived in the square , and seeing all this native gathering , advanced toward the inn . For some minutes the stranger eyed Fragoso attentively with some circumspection . The examination was obviously satisfactory , for he entered the loja . He was a man about thirty-five years of age .