noon
`` Orders is not to waste time . '' `` Well , I 'll speak to father , '' said Jack . `` I 'm sure he 'd let us try it just once . '' In this surmise he was correct , for the noon halt happened to be at the foot of a rapids that would necessitate a portage , and Dick and Art reported the graveled bank showed signs of `` color . '' Even Farnum , his mind concentrated on the task of getting his party along and on the job in hand , showed interest when addressed on the subject . With pick and pan , therefore , the two men got busy , while the boys watched with breathless interest the process of rocking the pan and washing out the gravel . `` Whoopee , '' cried Dick , suddenly .