“Not exactly; but then there are other things besides alligators to look out for in this region.”
The two speakers were young men, eighteen or nineteen years of age.
They were seated upon the trunk of a fallen tree, on a small island, situated at the lower end of Lake Okechobee, Florida.
A few feet from them a negro lad was busily engaged in cooking a haunch of meat over a brightly burning fire.
The first speaker was Leo Malvern, the son of a wealthy St. Augustine merchant, and his companion was his cousin, Dick Vincey, of New York City.
Dick had come to the South to spend the fall and winter with his relatives, and his cousin had proposed that the two should make a trip as far as the Everglades.
Both liked adventure, and the idea of penetrating into that unexplored region pleased them to a great extent.
They procured all necessary supplies needful for such an undertaking, and set out for their destination, after traveling as far as they could by rail.
The young negro who was engaged in preparing their evening meal—for it was near sunset—was a comical-looking personage, to say the least.
He was not as black as some of his race, but the spread of his nose and mouth, and the habitual grin on his face gave him a decidedly humorous appearance.
He had lived at the home of Leo Malvern’s folks since his earliest infancy, and was a faithful servant.
This interesting young coon, who is to figure as one of the characters in our story, was known as Lucky.
He never knew any other name, and, consequently, was satisfied.
Like the majority of his people, he loved a banjo, and had brought one along on the trip for the amusement of himself and his two young masters, as he chose to call the boys.
“Is supper ready?” asked Dick, as he noticed that the darky was looking at them.
“Yes, sah; it am all done. Ready for ter dive in, you bet,” was the reply, accompanied by a broad grin.
“All right,” said Leo Malvern; “we may as well eat, then.”
The two boys now made their way to the white cloth spread upon the ground, and prepared to do justice to the tempting meal before them.
The odor of coffee and roasted possum made them hungry, although their appetites were not lacking, by any means.
But just as they were about to attack the tempting morsels, the sounds of an angry discussion were heard in the near vicinity.
Leo and Dick sprang to their feet at a bound and seized their rifles.
Their canoe was but a few feet distant, and it was but the work of a minute to spring into it and push off in the direction the sounds came from.
Up to this moment they had judged they were the only human beings in this out-of-the-way place.
But now it seemed that they were not. The voices were those of two men in a dispute, and the boys determined to catch a glimpse of their owners.
Dick paddled with all his might, while Leo held his rifle ready for instant use, in case those they heard might be enemies.
Rounding a bend, they suddenly came in sight of a small sailboat and two struggling men.
It was the Maid of the Marsh, and the two men were Prof. Remington Easy and the Yankee.
While the canoe containing the boys was yet a hundred feet away from the boat, the two men suddenly fell overboard.
Then it was that they first observed the alligator making for them.
As the professor and Martin Haypole arose to the surface and began shouting lustily for help, Leo raised his rifle to his shoulder.
Crack!
As the report rang out the hungry alligator ceased his forward progress and began floundering about in the muddy water.
The bullet had pierced his right eye, and in less than half a minute it expired.
Meanwhile the Yankee succeeded in grasping the gunwale of the Maid of the Marsh, and at length drew himself safely on board.
Then he hastily lifted his employer from the water, after which he gazed pantingly in the direction of the approaching canoe.
“Much obliged to yer, boys,” said he, addressing our two young friends. “Whichever of ye it was that plugged that ugly critter are a good shot, swan if he ain’t!”
Leo and Dick at once perceived that the men were not likely to prove enemies, so they lost no time in urging their canoe to the side of the sailboat.
“Glad to meet you, young gentlemen!” exclaimed the professor, rubbing his hands. “I thought us two were the only ones in this wild place. I am glad that such is not the case, though, I assure you. For had it not been for you, both Haypole and myself would surely have been devoured by that ferocious monster. All on account of his pig-headedness, too.”
“Now, see here, professor,” put in the Yankee, “I ain’t a-goin’ ter quarrel with you ag’in under no consideration. This oughter be a lesson for us both. Why, I swan ter Guinea! that little foolishness nearly cost us both our nat’ral lives! Come aboard, boys; I’ve got some fine, old Medford rum here, an’ gosh! if I don’t stand treat.”
The smell of the blood from the dead alligator was drawing others to the spot, and both Leo and Dick deemed it advisable to board the boat.
They at once clambered over the gunwale of the Maid of the Marsh, and then, tying their canoe to the stern, questioned the professor and Haypole as to where they had come from, and what they were doing there.
In a very matter-of-fact way Prof. Easy related his whole story, word for word, and in conclusion said:
“Now, then, young gentlemen, tell us how we came to find you in this dangerous and unhealthy place.”
It did not take Dick Vincey long to do this, and when he had finished all four seemed glad that the meeting had taken place.
“Leo Malvern and Dick Vincey, eh?” said Prof. Easy. “Well, I’ll tell you both bluntly that I like you. I am now going to make a proposition to you, which you can accept or decline as you see fit.”
“What is it?” asked Leo.
“I would like to have you accompany me on my exploring trip. You are both made of the right sort of material for such an undertaking; and, if my theory proves correct, you will assist me in making one of the greatest discoveries the world has ever known.”
“Before we give you an answer I would suggest that you move your boat over to our island, just beyond the bend. We have a darky there who has supper waiting for us, and we are both hungry. Besides, we have a fire burning there, and it is getting dark. I think it will be pleasanter for all hands,” observed Leo.
“A good idee,” said Haypole. “Here, boys, is ther Medford rum I spoke about; have some?”
His offer was declined, greatly to his astonishment.
“Great haystacks!” he exclaimed, swallowing a big mouthful of the liquor; “this stuff won’t hurt ye any more’n apple cider.”
The longer Leo and Dick remained in the company of the two men, the better they liked them.
There was something about Prof. Easy that was bound to make him friends wherever he went, and Martin Haypole—well, he was one of those comical, unsophisticated people whom almost everybody likes.
Dick grasped a pole and assisted to shove the boat out into the stream, and thence to the little island, where Lucky, the darky, was anxiously awaiting the return of the two boys.
When he saw the sailboat approaching through the