noon
Then he told them how Captain Sears had first made long shallow troughs and filled them with the sea-water , and the sun dried up the water , leaving the salt in the bottom of the vats . `` And now , '' continued Mr. Freeman , `` I hear he has had big kettles made , and with huge fires under them boils the water away and gets good salt in that fashion . We 'll stop and have a look , if time allows . '' Just before noon the sky began to grow dark , and there was a distant rumble of thunder . They were driving through a lonely stretch of country ; there was no house in sight , and Mr. Freeman began to watch the sky with anxious eyes . He knew that , on the bare sandy plain over which they were now traveling , the wind would sweep with great force , sufficient perhaps to overturn the chaise . Rose and Anne grew very quiet as they heard the thunder and watched the threatening sky .