noon
Maurice knew what he meant , for they had only the one thought in mind just now , and that was getting into the Mississippi . He drew out his charts and studied them to make sure he was right , though from frequent use he knew the same by heart . `` I can see no reason why we should n't . As near as I can make out we 're now something like twenty-three miles above Cairo , and at the rate we 're sailing along we ought to pass there shortly after noon -- say by two o'clock anyway . That will give us time to move down a few miles and have our first night on the greatest of American rivers , '' he remarked . `` I 'm a little bit worried as to how we 'll get on . You see I 've heard so much about the tricks of the big river that I 'm nervous , '' admitted Thad .