noon
Observant of his servants ' eyes fixed in wonder on the strange guest who had just disposed of a second melon at supper , Demorest could not help remarking that he would lose credit as a medico with the natives unless he restrained a public exhibition of his tastes . `` Ez ha'aw ? '' queried Ezekiel . `` They have a proverb here that fruit is gold in the morning , silver at noon , and lead at night . '' `` That 'll do for lazy stomicks , '' said the unabashed Ezekiel . `` When they 're once fortified by Jones ' bitters and hard work , they 'll be able to tackle the Lord 's nat ` ral gifts of the airth at any time . '' Declining the cigarettes offered him by Demorest for a quid of tobacco , which he gravely took from a tin box in his pocket , and to the astonished eyes of the servants apparently obliterated any further remembrance of the meal , he accompanied his host to the veranda again , where , tilting his chair back and putting his feet on the railing , he gave himself up to unwonted and silent rumination .