noon
But we could n't take the girls along very well . '' `` No , we could leave them with their friends at the plantation . '' On the following day it began to rain , and all had to keep to the cabin of the houseboat . At first , the rain came down lightly , but towards noon it poured in torrents . Out on the river the weather grew so thick that they could not see a hundred feet in any direction . `` Better run for the shore and tie up , '' said Dick to Captain Starr . `` We do n't want to run the risk of a collision , especially when our time 's our own . ''