about two hours after noon
They were beating the bushes , shouting aloud , and apparently trying to scare somebody . They were in pursuit of the strangers , who , having in a single night set at nought all the laws of the place , had thought best to decamp . In the daytime , Po-Po 's house was as pleasant a lounge as one could wish . So , after strolling about , and seeing all there was to be seen , we spent the greater part of our mornings there ; breakfasting late , and dining about two hours after noon . Sometimes we lounged on the floor of ferns , smoking , and telling stories ; of which the doctor had as many as a half-pay captain in the army . Sometimes we chatted , as well as we could , with the natives ; and , one day -- joy to us ! -- Po-Po brought in three volumes of Smollett 's novels , which had been found in the chest of a sailor , who some time previous had died on the island .