Bobby Blake on a Plantation; Or, Lost in the Great Swamp
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CHAPTER XXI
A TERRIBLE MOMENT
All three boys jumped for safety, but Fred’s ankle turned in the softsand, and he fell, striking his head against a stone as he went down.Stunned, he lay an easy prey for the alligator, that made for him withall the speed of which it was capable.
For a brief second Bobby and Lee stood rooted in their tracks, appalledat the horrible menace to their friend. Then, quick as a flash, Bobbyleaped toward the ugly monster, picking up the stick Lee had been usingfor hunting eggs.
The alligator was not ten feet from Fred when Bobby leaped in front ofit, and using the stick as a club, dealt the ferocious brute a stingingblow on the end of its snout. The vicious little eyes blinked, but themonster did not stop. Again Bobby struck, with all the strength of hissinewy young arm. The great jaws snapped wickedly, but the alligatorcould not stand this severe pain in the only sensitive part of hisanatomy, and it stopped a moment, glaring at this presumptuous human wholooked so small and yet could hurt so much. Following up his advantage,Bobby struck again, and at the same second Lee dashed in and, exertingall his strength, lifted Fred in his arms and staggered off with him.
The alligator, infuriated at being thus deprived of its prey, made awild lunge at Bobby, who tried to land another effective blow on thesensitive snout. But this time he missed, and the big reptile caught thestick in its jaws, snapping it to splinters. Bobby was thrown off hisbalance and nearly followed the stick, but recovered his poise just intime, for the alligator turned with surprising agility and slashed athim with its heavy tail. Had that deadly blow reached its mark Bobby’scareer would have ended. He could not recover his balance in time torun, but as the powerful tail whizzed toward him he seized the onlychance left him, and leaped clear over it. The alligator never gotanother chance at him, for when he landed he was off like a shot afterhis chums. The alligator followed him for a few steps, but apparentlysaw that it was hopeless to try to catch him, and turning, draggeditself down to the water, which it entered with a sullen splash.
Bobby, seeing this over his shoulder, slowed down and called to Lee, wholaid Fred on the ground and started trying to revive him. By the timeBobby arrived Fred had opened his eyes, and now, with Lee’s help, hemade shift to sit up.
“What happened to me?” he inquired, feebly.
“Not near as much as almost happened to you,” said Bobby. “You camepretty near waking up inside an alligator. But how do you feel now,Fred?” and he knelt beside his chum to examine a bad looking cut justover his temple.
“Oh, a little dizzy but I guess I can still sit up and take notice,”said Fred, with a weak grin. “I remember falling now, and I suppose Imust have knocked my head on something. What happened after that?”
“Oh, nothing much,” said Bobby. “I took the alligator’s attention offyou, and Lee toted you away to a safer place than the neighborhood ofthat nest. I’ve got an idea that must have been the owner of those eggsthat attacked us.”
“The way you tell it, it doesn’t seem like much, but I’ve got an ideayou and Lee saved my life,” said Fred.
“Oh well, we only did what you would have done for either of us if wehad been down and out,” said Bobby, “so let’s forget about it. The worstpart of it is we’re as far as ever from having alligator egg omelet.”
“Well, let’s go back and get them, then,” said Fred coolly, getting tohis feet. “My head still feels a little funny, but anyway I can keep alook-out, while you two get the eggs. We won’t be caught napping thistime, and I guess we can run faster than any ’gator.”
“I like your nerve, anyway!” exclaimed Lee, “Here you’ve been within anace of being gobbled up by that ugly brute, and still you want to goback and have another try at her precious eggs. Likely enough she’ll getyou for good this time.”
“I’m game to try it, anyway,” said Bobby. “But I don’t think you’dbetter come, Fred. That was a pretty bad crack you got, and you’d betterwait here while we try it.”
“Not a bit of it,” protested Fred. “I feel all right now, and I’m goingto have alligator eggs for supper if I have to go for them alone.”
“All right then, back we go,” said Bobby, and the three boys retracedtheir steps to where they had all three narrowly escaped death only afew minutes before. When they arrived, there was no sign of thealligator, however, and it did not take them long to uncover the eggs.There was a large number of them, each one about the size and shape of alarge goose egg, and the boys took off their coats and wrapped as manyof the eggs as they could carry in them. But they took no chances ofbeing surprised this time, and kept a sharp look-out. And it was wellthey did, for they had no more than got the eggs wrapped up than Leegave a shout of warning.
“Here she comes, fellows!” he yelled, “let’s go!”
The boys needed no second admonition, but after a startled glance, tookto their heels in most earnest fashion. For sure enough, the motheralligator, after cooling her smarting nose in the water, had had anuneasy feeling that all was not well, and had started up the bank toinvestigate. When she caught sight of the boys she gave a bellow anddragged herself through the sand at increased speed, but the boys didnot wait for her coming this time, and were soon at a safe distance.
“Gee!” exclaimed Bobby, slowing down. “It’s a lucky thing thatalligators can’t run fast. If they could, I guess we’d have to live intrees.”
“They’re slow enough on land, but you ought to see them in the water,”returned Lee. “They can go fast enough then, believe me.”
“I’ll believe you right away, without putting it to a test,” laughedFred. “An alligator’s mouth seems too full of teeth to suit me.”
“Yes, they have got a pretty complete outfit,” said Lee, “and they keepgrowing in all the time, the new ones forcing out the old. I’ve heardthat a ’gator has four or five sets of teeth during a lifetime.”
“Gee!” exclaimed Bobby. “I should think one set like that would last anyanimal a lifetime.”
“Yes, but they often break them taking bites out of people who try tosteal their eggs,” said Lee. “It must hurt the poor alligators when theybreak a tooth that way.”
“That’s the only reason I ran so fast,” said Fred. “I wasn’t afraid ofthe alligator, but I didn’t want the poor thing to hurt its teeth onme.”
“Oh, we believe that,” said Lee sarcastically.
“Well, if you believe that, you’ll believe anything,” said Fredbrazenly. “I’ll have to think up something real good next time.”
“I don’t mind telling you fellows the real reason why I ran, if you coaxme,” declared Bobby.
“I’ll bite,” said Lee. “Why did you run?”
“Because I couldn’t fly,” replied Bobby.