midday
What would she say upon finding him installed in her hotel ? ... The luncheon hour was at hand , and he impatiently awaited the usual signals before going down to the dining room . First an explosion would be heard behind the _ albergo _ making the walls and roofs tremble , swelling out into the immensity of the gulf . That was the midday cannonade from the high castle of S. Elmo . Then cornets from the _ Castello dell ' Ovo _ would respond with their joyous call to the smoking _ olio _ , and up the stairway of the hotel would come the beating of the Chinese gong , announcing that luncheon was served . Ulysses went down to take his place at table , looking in vain at the other guests who had preceded him . Freya perhaps was going to come in with the delay of a traveler who has just arrived and has been occupied in freshening her toilet .