noon
People lived in them yet , but it was dangersome , because sometimes a strip of land as wide as a house caves in at a time . Sometimes a belt of land a quarter of a mile deep will start in and cave along and cave along till it all caves into the river in one summer . Such a town as that has to be always moving back , and back , and back , because the river 's always gnawing at it . The nearer it got to noon that day the thicker and thicker was the wagons and horses in the streets , and more coming all the time . Families fetched their dinners with them from the country , and eat them in the wagons . There was considerable whisky drinking going on , and I seen three fights . By and by somebody sings out : `` Here comes old Boggs !