noon
Van Horn smiled understandingly . He knew , by the ancient telegraphy of smoke-signalling , the message was being conveyed from village to village and tribe to tribe that a labour-recruiter was on the leeward coast . All morning , under a brisk beam wind which had sprung up with the rising of the sun , the _ Arangi _ flew north , her course continuously advertised by the increasing smoke-talk that gossiped along the green summits . At high noon , with Van Horn , ever-attended by Jerry , standing for ` ard and conning , the _ Arangi _ headed into the wind to thread the passage between two palm-tufted islets . There was need for conning . Coral patches uprose everywhere from the turquoise depths , running the gamut of green from deepest jade to palest tourmaline , over which the sea filtered changing shades , creamed lazily , or burst into white fountains of sun - flashed spray . The smoke columns along the heights became garrulous , and long before the _ Arangi _ was through the passage the entire leeward coast , from the salt - water men of the shore to the remotest bush villagers , knew that the labour recruiter was going in to Langa-Langa .