noon
There was no means of telling how far they had been borne by the current during the long hours of that awful night , but as soon as it was light again Sam took the pole and resumed his position as helmsman . As they were swept on he looked to the right and left in the hope of finding a place where they might make a landing . They were wet , hungry and weary , but the coming sun revived their drooping spirits . It was not till near noon that the precipitous walls expanded into an area a quarter of a mile in diameter , that looked , in its flooded state , like a subterranean lake . Here the current was much slower , and with Ulna 's help , Sam succeeded in gliding the raft to a ledge of sloping rocks , where it was made fast , and again the passengers carried the cargo on shore . The sun shone on their landing place , which , being on the south bank of the river , Sam decided to explore thoroughly in the hope of finding a way out of the cañon , for he did not lose sight for a minute of his father 's trying situation . This expansion of the cañon walls was much greater than the one from which they had come the day before , and there were so many recesses and irregularities that getting out appeared to be an easy matter indeed .