noon
I had intended giving him a day 's rest , so pleasant and hospitable had the people shown themselves ; but now I shuddered at the thought of spending another night in such a purgatory . I found him so lame that he could scarcely walk , and so returned to the house on foot and very much cast down . My host consoled me by assuring me that I would sleep the siesta all the better for having been molested by those `` little things that go about , '' for in this very mild language he described the affliction . After breakfast , at noon , acting on his hint , I took a rug to the shade of a tree and , lying down , quickly fell into a profound sleep , which lasted till late in the afternoon . That evening visitors came again , and we had a repetition of the singing , dancing , and other pastoral amusements , till near midnight ; then , thinking to cheat my bedfellows of the night before , I made my simple bed in the kitchen . But here also the vile _ vinchucas _ found me , and there were , moreover , dozens of fleas that waged a sort of guerilla warfare all night , and in this way exhausted my strength and distracted my attention , while the more formidable adversary took up his position . My sufferings were so great that before daybreak I picked up my rugs and went out a distance from the house to lie down on the open plain , but I carried with me a smarting body and got but little rest .