CHAPTER II. AN ACCEPTED PROPOSITION.
“Dick this is a pretty wild spot, isn’t it?”
“Well, I should say so, Leo; and not only wild, but dangerous, as well.”
“Dangerous? Why, you are not afraid of the ’gators, are you?”
“Not exactly; but then there are other things besides alligators tolook 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 haunchof meat over a brightly burning fire.
The first speaker was Leo Malvern, the son of a wealthy St. Augustinemerchant, and his companion was his cousin, Dick Vincey, of New YorkCity.
Dick had come to the South to spend the fall and winter with hisrelatives, and his cousin had proposed that the two should make a tripas far as the Everglades.
Both liked adventure, and the idea of penetrating into that unexploredregion 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 couldby rail.
The young negro who was engaged in preparing their evening meal--for itwas 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 andmouth, and the habitual grin on his face gave him a decidedly humorousappearance.
He had lived at the home of Leo Malvern’s folks since his earliestinfancy, and was a faithful servant.
This interesting young coon, who is to figure as one of the charactersin 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 broughtone along on the trip for the amusement of himself and his two youngmasters, as he chose to call the boys.
“Is supper ready?” asked Dick, as he noticed that the darky was lookingat them.
“Yes, sah; it am all done. Ready for ter dive in, you bet,” was thereply, 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 theground, and prepared to do justice to the tempting meal before them.
The odor of coffee and roasted possum made them hungry, although theirappetites were not lacking, by any means.
But just as they were about to attack the tempting morsels, the soundsof 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 aminute to spring into it and push off in the direction the sounds camefrom.
Up to this moment they had judged they were the only human beings inthis out-of-the-way place.
But now it seemed that they were not. The voices were those of twomen in a dispute, and the boys determined to catch a glimpse of theirowners.
Dick paddled with all his might, while Leo held his rifle ready forinstant use, in case those they heard might be enemies.
Rounding a bend, they suddenly came in sight of a small sailboat andtwo struggling men.
It was the _Maid of the Marsh_, and the two men were Prof. RemingtonEasy and the Yankee.
While the canoe containing the boys was yet a hundred feet away fromthe 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 beganshouting lustily for help, Leo raised his rifle to his shoulder.
Crack!
As the report rang out the hungry alligator ceased his forward progressand began floundering about in the muddy water.
The bullet had pierced his right eye, and in less than half a minute itexpired.
Meanwhile the Yankee succeeded in grasping the gunwale of the _Maid ofthe Marsh_, and at length drew himself safely on board.
Then he hastily lifted his employer from the water, after which hegazed 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 proveenemies, so they lost no time in urging their canoe to the side of thesailboat.
“Glad to meet you, young gentlemen!” exclaimed the professor, rubbinghis hands. “I thought us two were the only ones in this wild place. Iam glad that such is not the case, though, I assure you. For had it notbeen for you, both Haypole and myself would surely have been devouredby that ferocious monster. All on account of his pig-headedness, too.”
“Now, see here, professor,” put in the Yankee, “I ain’t a-goin’ terquarrel with you ag’in under no consideration. This oughter be a lessonfor us both. Why, I swan ter Guinea! that little foolishness nearlycost 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 tothe 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 andHaypole 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, wordfor word, and in conclusion said:
“Now, then, young gentlemen, tell us how we came to find you in thisdangerous and unhealthy place.”
It did not take Dick Vincey long to do this, and when he had finishedall four seemed glad that the meeting had taken place.
“Leo Malvern and Dick Vincey, eh?” said Prof. Easy. “Well, I’ll tellyou both bluntly that I like you. I am now going to make a propositionto 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 areboth 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 thegreatest discoveries the world has ever known.”
“Before we give you an answer I would suggest that you move your boatover to our island, just beyond the bend. We have a darky there who hassupper waiting for us, and we are both hungry. Besides, we have a fireburning there, and it is getting dark. I think it will be pleasanterfor all hands,” observed Leo.
“A good idee,” said Haypole. “Here, boys, is ther Medford rum I spokeabout; have some?”
His offer was declined, greatly to his astonishment.
“Great haystacks!” he exclaimed, swallowing a big mouthful of theliquor; “this stuff won’t hurt ye any more’n apple cider.”
The longer Leo and Dick remained in the company of the two men, thebetter they liked them.
There was something about Prof. Easy that was bound to make him friendswherever he went, and Martin Haypole--well, he was one of thosecomical, 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 anxiouslyawaiting the return of the two boys.
When he saw the sailboat approaching through the gathering darkness,he uttered a cry of alarm and hastily seized his rifle, which stoodagainst a tree.
“Hold on, Lucky! it is all right,” shouted Leo.
“Fo’ de Lor’ sakes! Whar did youse done git de boat, Massa Leo?” askedthe darky.
“We found her out here with two men in her,” returned Dick, as the prowof the craft struck the little island.
A line was thrown out, which Lucky quickly tied t
o a tree, and then thefour sprang out upon the ground.
The darky still had the possum and coffee warm, and, as there wasenough to go around, all hands did ample justice to the meal.
When supper was finished, Leo and Dick thought over the professor’sproposition, and, after a while, concluded to accept it.
The five sat about the fire for a long while, chatting over thematter, and finally, when they began to get drowsy, Leo suggested thatthey should turn in upon the bottom of the boat, leaving one man onguard for the first part of the night, and when his time was up, tomake a change.
“I think it advisable to do this,” said he, “for we can’t tell whatmight happen while we slept.”
“A good idea,” promptly returned the professor. “Martin will take thefirst watch.”
“I will, sartin,” said the Yankee.
“And I’ll take second,” put in Dick. “To-morrow night some one else canhave a show.”
This seemed to be satisfactory, so all turned in save Haypole, who,rifle in hand, sat down upon the ground near the boat, with his back toa tree.
He kept the fire burning brightly to keep prowling animals away, andlistened to the regular breathing of his companions, who were soon fastasleep.
The hours flitted by.
Martin Haypole’s time was nearly up, and he was still seated in theposition he had taken on commencing his watch.
Up to this time he had remained wide awake, but now he began dozing.
Suddenly he was brought to his full senses by hearing the crackling ofa twig at his elbow.
The Yankee glanced hastily up, and was surprised to see the figure of aman within two feet of him.
Before he could make a move the stranger seized the rifle from hishands, and bounded from the spot with the speed of an antelope.
“Hey!” exclaimed Haypole, springing to his feet and firing his revolverat the retreating form. “Who in thunderation be you, anyhow?”
But a splash told him that the man had taken to the water.