two o'clock
As Sandy said , laughingly , they were all fixed for the trip to St. Louis , and what was the use of fretting about the passage money until the time came to pay it ? When the lads , having exchanged their flannel shirts for white cotton ones , saved up for this occasion , came out from their room , they saw two long tables covered with snowy cloths set for the whole length of the big saloon . They had scanned the list of meal hours hanging in their stateroom , and were very well satisfied to find that there were three meals served each day . It was nearly time for the two o'clock dinner , and the colored servants were making ready the tables . The boat was crowded with passengers , and it looked as if some of them would be obliged to wait for the `` second table . '' On board of a steamboat , especially in those days of long voyages , the matter of getting early to the table and having a good seat was of great concern to the passengers . Men stood around , lining the walls of the saloon and regarding with hungry expectation the movements of the waiters who were making ready the tables .