midday
We must find out what this message is about . '' Yussuf went to tidying up the place , while Noureddin Ali and the alligator person talked excitedly in low tones in the corner near the scullery door . I lay on the floor with one eye open , expecting Grim every minute ; but it must have been four in the afternoon before he came , and all that while , with only short intervals for food and coffee , Noureddin Ali and the other man talked steadily , discussing over and over again the details of some plan . Shortly after midday Suliman began to whimper for food . Yussuf produced a mess of rice and mutton , of which the two Syrians ate enormously before giving any to the boy ; then they put what was left in the dish on the floor in front of me , pretty much in the way you feed a dog , and I hate to remember what I did to it . It is enough that I did not overlook Grim 's advice to eat like a lunatic , and however suspicious of me Noureddin Ali might otherwise have been he was satisfied at the end of that performance . Several people tried the door , and some of them made signals on it but Yussuf had a peep-hole where one of the heavy iron nails had been removed , and after a cautious squint through it at each arrival he proceeded to ignore them .