about nine o'clock
It was cool that night , almost cool enough for frost , and the morning was chill when they rolled out of their blankets . A heavy mist rose from over the river , and while this obtained Leo refused to attempt to go on . So they lost a little time after breakfast before the sun had broken up the mist enough to make it safe to venture on the river . They were off at about nine o'clock perhaps , plunging at once into three or four miles of very fast water . The boats now kept close together , and at times they landed , so that their leaders could go ahead and spy out the water around the bend . In making these landings with heavy boats , as the boys observed , the men would always let the stern swing around and then paddle up-stream , so that the landing was made with the bow up-stream . The force of the river would very likely have capsized the boat if a landing were attempted with the bow down-stream .