noon
His own face was aflame with an interest that amounted to excitement . The very hand that held the pencil trembled . One would have said that thus somewhat a man might behave who found himself faced with confirmation of some vast , speculative theory his mind had played with hitherto from a distance only . Toward noon the Irishman awoke . The steamer , still loading oranges and sacks of sulfur in the Catania harbor , was dusty and noisy . Most of the passengers were ashore , hurrying with guidebooks and field-glasses to see the statue of the dead Bellini or watch the lava flow . A blazing , suffocating heat lay over the oily sea , and the summit of the volcano , with its tiny , ever-changing puff of smoke , soared through blue haze .