one in
the morning
The blacks did not build themselves any place of shelter , but merely slept in the open air at night , under the lee of my hut , with a large fire always burning at their feet . I offered them both blankets and sails by way of covering , but they refused them , preferring to lie huddled close together for warmth . In the morning the woman would prepare breakfast for them , consisting of fish -LRB- mainly mullet -RRB- , birds ' and turtles ' eggs , and sea-fowl ; to which would perhaps be added some little luxury from my own stock . They only had two meals a day -- one in the morning and the other in the afternoon . Their favourite food was turtle , of which they could eat enormous quantities , especially the fat . Bruno was a long time before he took kindly to the new arrivals , probably because they manifested such extraordinary emotion whenever he lifted up his voice and barked . I think the only thing that roused the father of the family from his sullen moods was my extraordinary acrobatic performances , which also threw the two little nigger boys into hysterics of delight .