noon
Three good men : they 're going down on your boat . '' Lunch finished , coffee and cigars furnished excuse for the white-clad crowd to linger on the darkened porch : scraps of shop talk reached Terry 's ears , a jargon of strangely twisted English and Spanish words . Bridges , appropriations , rinderpest , lack of labor , artesian wells , cholera -- such was their table talk , as such was their life . The breeze freshened , gently stirring the potted plants which flanked each row of tables ; the hot stillness of the noon gave way to the sibilant murmur of the cocoanut palms whose bases were lapped by the quickening ripples . The breaking of the withering calm was the signal for departure to office and field . The veranda cleared rapidly . Bronner , watching the three planters , interrupted their departure .