Noon
`` It puts me in mind of the time I tried to ride the mule in the circus . It was a trick animal and got me into seven kinds of trouble . '' Randy had not had many opportunities to ride on the cars and he enjoyed the trip to Tarrytown very much . Noon found him in the city named and he crossed the river on the ferryboat . Then he hunted up a cheap but neat restaurant , where he got dinner . `` No use of bothering Mr. Shalley just at noon hour , '' he thought , and so did not go around to the steamboat man 's office until one o'clock . A clerk was present who said his employer would come in at two o'clock , so our hero had another hour to wait .