noon
Parrots peeped in and out of every cranny , while , within the airy woodland , brilliant lizards basked like living gems upon the bark , gaudy finches flitted and chirruped , butterflies of every size and color hovered over the topmost twigs , innumerable insects hummed from morn till eve ; and when the sun went down , tree-toads came out to snore and croak till dawn . There was more life round that one tree than in a whole square mile of English soil . And Amyas , as he lounged among the branches , felt at moments as if he would be content to stay there forever , and feed his eyes and ears with all its wonders -- and then started sighing from his dream , as he recollected that a few days must bring the foe upon them , and force him to decide upon some scheme at which the bravest heart might falter without shame . So there he sat -LRB- for he often took the scout 's place himself -RRB- , looking out over the fantastic tropic forest at his feet , and the flat mangrove-swamps below , and the white sheet of foam-flecked blue ; and yet no sail appeared ; and the men , as their fear of fever subsided , began to ask when they would go down and refit the ship , and Amyas put them off as best he could , till one noon he saw slipping along the shore from the westward , a large ship under easy sail , and recognized in her , or thought he did so , the ship which they had passed upon their way . If it was she , she must have run past them to La Guayra in the night , and have now returned , perhaps , to search for them along the coast . She crept along slowly . He was in hopes that she might pass the river 's mouth : but no .