Mass' George: A Boy's Adventures in the Old Savannah

  CHAPTER EIGHT.

  "There," said Morgan, one day, as he gave the soil a final pat with hisspade, "that job's done, and now I'm going to have a bit of a rest.Leaving-off time till the sun gets a bit down."

  "What have you been planting?" I asked.

  "Seeds, my lad; flower seeds, as I've picked myself. I like to keepraising the useful things, but we may as well have some bright flowerstoo. Where's the master?"

  "Indoors, writing."

  "Then what do you say to a bit of sport?"

  "Another rattlesnake?" I cried.

  "No, thank ye, my lad; meddling with rattlesnakes may mean bringing downthe Indians, so we'll let them alone."

  "Nonsense!"

  "Well, perhaps it is, my lad."

  "But what have you found?"

  "What do you say to a 'coon?"

  "Oh, they get into the hollow trees, where you can't catch them."

  "Well then, a bear?"

  "A bear!" I cried; "a real wild bear?"

  "Ah, I thought that would set you off; but it arn't a bear; they're upamong the hills."

  "What is it then? How you do hang back from telling!"

  "Course I do. If I let you have it all at once, you wouldn't enjoy ithalf so much."

  "Oh, I know," I cried, "it's going to fish after those ridiculous littleterrapins, and they're such horrid things to take off the hook."

  "Guess again."

  "Birds? An eagle?"

  "No; guess again, nearly right; something as lays eggs--"

  "A turtle?"

  Morgan shook his head.

  "Not an alligator, is it?"

  He wrinkled up his face in a hearty laugh.

  "Alligator it is, sir. I found a nest yesterday."

  "And didn't tell me. I want to see an alligator's nest. I never couldfind one."

  "Ah, you didn't look in the right kind of tree, Master George."

  "Don't talk to me as if I were a baby, Morgan," I said; "just as if Ididn't know better than that."

  "Oh, but you don't know everything. I got awfully laughed at once forsaying squirrels build nests in trees."

  "Oh, but they do," I said; "I've seen them."

  "'Course you have; but when I said so, some one laughed, and asked howmany eggs you can find in a squirrel's nest.--So you don't believe the'gators build in trees, don't you?"

  "No; but I believe they lay eggs. How many are there in this?"

  "Oh, it isn't that sort of nest. I mean a nest where he goes to sleepin; and you and me's going to wake him up, and try if we can't catch himand bring him home."

  I could not help thinking of the Indians, as I went with Morgan to makethe preparations, which were simple enough, and consisted in arminghimself with a long pole and giving me one similar, after which he put apiece of rope in his pocket, and declared himself ready.

  We went off in the same direction as that chosen when we killed therattlesnake, but turned off to the left directly, and made for the bankof the river, that bore away from the landing-place, towards a low,moist part, intersected by the meandering stream which drained themarshy part.

  Here we had to proceed rather cautiously, for the place was full ofdecayed trees covered with brilliant green and grey moss, and lookingsolid, but which crumbled away at a touch from the foot, and oftenconcealed holes into which it would have been awkward to fall, since wedid not know what kind of creatures lived therein.

  "Seem to have lost the place," said Morgan, after we had been goingalong for some time pretty well parallel with the river.

  "Oh, Morgan!" I exclaimed, impatiently.

  "No; I have it," he cried. "I remember that tree with the long mosshanging down so far. The ground's harder here too. More to the left,Master George. There you are at last."

  "But where's the nest?" I said.

  "Why, there it is, my lad; can't you see?"

  I looked round, but there was nothing visible but a few footprints in amuddy spot, and a hole of very moderate size, evidently going somedistance down into the moist, boggy soil.

  "Is this it?"

  "Yes, of course."

  "But you said a nest."

  "Well, I meant, as I told you, his nest, his snuggery. Now I'm going tosee if he's at home."

  I looked on full of doubt, for the whole proceeding seemed to me to bevery absurd, and I felt sure that Morgan was mistaken.

  "I don't believe he knows any more about alligators than I do," I saidto myself, as I saw him thrust the long pole down into the hole.

  "I tried this game on yesterday, Master George, and he said he was athome."

  "Nonsense!" I cried, pettishly.

  "But I'm afraid he has gone out for a walk this time, and it's a case ofcall again to-morrow. No," he added, energetically, "it's all right.Says he's at home."

  "Why, what do you mean?" I cried.

  "Got a bite," said Morgan, grinning. "You try. But mind he don't comeout with a rush. He might be nasty."

  I hesitated for a moment, then leaning my own pole against a bush, Itook hold of the one Morgan gave into my hands, and moved it slightly.

  "Well?" I said. "I don't feel anything."

  "Give it a bit of a stir round, my lad," he said.

  I moved the pole a little, and then jumped and let go.

  "What's the matter?" cried Morgan, laughing.

  "Something bit the pole, and made it jar right up my arm."

  "That's him. I told you he was at home. Now then, you aren't afraid,are you?"

  "Not a big one, is it?"

  "No, not very; only tidy size; but we shall see if we get him out."

  I looked rather aghast at Morgan, for the idea of getting a largealligator out there in the marshy place, and both of us unarmed, wasrather startling.

  "Now then, give him a good stir up."

  Sooner than seem afraid, but with my heart beating heavily, I took holdof the pole, and gave it a good shake, and left go again, for it seemedas if some one had given it a good rap with a heavy stick, and a jarringsensation ran up my arm.

  "No mistake about it this time," said Morgan, grinning. "Puts me inmind of sniggling for eels, and pushing a worm at the end of awillow-stick up an eel's burrow in a muddy bank. They give it a knocklike that sometimes, but of course not so hard. Well, why don't you goon?"

  "Go on with what?" I cried, wishing myself well out of the wholebusiness.

  "Stirring of him up, and making him savage. But stop a moment, let'shave this ready."

  He took out the piece of rope, and made a large noose, laying it on somethick moss, and then turning to me again.

  "Now then, my lad, give him a good stir up. Don't be afraid. Make himsavage, or else he won't hold on."

  With a dimly defined notion of what we were aiming at, I gave the pole agood wrench round in the hole, feeling it strike against something, andalmost simultaneously feeling something strike against it.

  "That's the way, sir. Give it him again."

  Growing reckless now, and feeling that I must not shrink, I gave thepole another twist round, with the result that it was snatched out of myhand.

  "He has it," cried Morgan, excitedly. "Feel if he has got it fast,Master George."

  I took hold of the pole, gazing down with no little trepidation, in theexpectation of at any moment seeing some hideous monster rush out, readyto seize and devour me.

  But there was no response to my touch, the pole coming loosely into myhand.

  "Give him another stir up, Master George. They tell me that's the waythey do it to make them savage."

  "But do we want to make the creature savage?" I said.

  "Course we do! There, you do as I tell you, my lad, and you'll see."

  I gave the pole a good poke round in the hole again, just as if I wasstirring up something in a huge pot, when almost before I had gone rightround--_Whang_! The pole quivered in my hand, and a thrill ran throughme as in imagination I saw a monstrous beast seize the end of the stickin its teet
h and give it a savage shake.

  "Hurrah!" cried Morgan. "He has got it tight now. That's right, MasterGeorge; let me come. We'll soon haul him out."

  "No, no," I said, as excited now as the Welshman. "It may bedangerous."

  "We'll dangerous him, my lad."

  "But he may bite."

  "Well, let him. 'Gators' bites arn't poisonous, like snakes. I shouldjust like to see him bite."

  "I shouldn't," I said, mentally, as Morgan pushed me a little on oneside, and took hold of the pole.

  "Now then, don't you be scared; I'll tackle him if he's vicious. Bothpull together. He's so vexed now that he won't leave go if his teeth'll hold."

  "No," I said, setting my own teeth fast, but not in the pole. "Am I topull?"

  "To be sure. Both pull together. It's like fishing with a wooden line.Now then, haul away!"

  There was a length of about ten feet of the pole down in the hole as wetook hold together and began to haul, feeling something very heavy atthe end, which came up in a sullen, unresisting way for some distance,giving me courage and making me nearly as eager and excited as our man.

  "That's the way, sir. We'll soon--Hi! Hold tight! Wo--ho, there; wo--ho! Ah!"

  For all at once the creature began to struggle furiously, shaking thepole so that we dragged at it with all our might; and then--_Whoosh_!The alligator left go, and we went backward on the soft mossy earth.

  "I _am_ glad!" I thought, as we struggled up.

  "There, Master George, what d'yer think o' that? Can't have such gamesas this at home in the old country, eh?"

  "No," I said. "But you're not going to try again, are you?"

  "Not going to try again? I should think I am, till I get the great uglycreature here at the top. Why, you're not skeart of him, are you?"

  "Wait till he's out, and then we'll see," I replied, as I thrust thepole down again, giving it a fierce twist, and felt it seized once more.

  "That's the way. This is a bit of the finest sport I ever had, and it'sjust dangerous enough to make it exciting. Haul away, my lad."

  I set my teeth and hauled, the reptile coming up quickly enoughhalf-way, and then beginning to writhe and shake its head furiously,every movement being communicated to our arms, and giving us a goodnotion of the strength of the enemy we were fighting, if fighting itcould be called. Up we drew it inch by inch, and I must confess thatwith every change of the position of my hands I hoped it would be thelast, that the creature would leave go, and drop back into the hole, andthat Morgan would be so disappointed that he would not try any more.

  That is just how I felt, and yet, odd as it may sound, it is not as Ifelt, for mingled with that series of thoughts--just as a change ofposition shows another set of colours on a bird's back or in a piece ofsilk--there was another, in which I was hoping the alligator would holdon tightly, so that we might get it right out of the hole, and I couldattack and kill it with the pole, so that I could show Morgan and--muchmore important--myself that I was not afraid to behave as boldly as theman who had hold with his hands touching mine.

  My last ideas were gratified, for as we hauled together there wasanother savage shaking of the pole, which quivered in our grasp; then astrong drag or two, and we knew by the length of the pole that we musthave the reptile within a yard of the surface, when Morgan looked downwhere a bright gleam of the sunlight shot from above.

  "All right, Master George," he cried; "this way--over with you!" andsetting the example, he dragged the pole over in the opposite directionto that in which we had it bent, when I perforce followed with him, andthe next moment we were dragging a great alligator through the wet mossand black mud, the creature making very little resistance, for it was onits back, this being the result of Morgan's last movement when hedragged the pole across the hole.

  The shape of the reptile's head and back made our task the more easy,and we had run with it a good fifty feet before it recovered from itssurprise, loosened its hold of the pole, and began to writhe and thrashabout with its tail as it twisted itself over into its proper position,in a way that was startling.

  "Now, Master George, we've got him. I'll keep him from running backinto his hole; you go and get the rope."

  I could not stir for a few moments, but stood watching, as I saw Morganraise up the pole, and bring it down bang across the alligator's back,but without doing it the slightest injury, for the end struck ahalf-rotten log, and the pole snapped off a yard above Morgan's hands.

  "Never mind! I'll keep him back," roared Morgan, as the reptile keptfacing him, and half turning to strike at him with its tail. "Quick,lad! The rope--the rope!"

  I started off at once, and picked up the rope with its noose all ready,and then seized my pole as well, too much excited now to think of beingafraid. Then I trotted back to Morgan just as he was having a fiercefight with the creature, which kept on snapping and turning at him in away that, to say the least, was alarming.

  "Ah, would you!" Morgan kept crying, as the brute snapped at him, andhe presented the broken pole, upon which the reptile's teeth closed,giving the wood a savage shake which nearly wrenched it out of Morgan'shands; but he held on, and had all his work to do to avoid the tangledgrowth and the blows of the creature's tail.

  "That's it, Master George. Now quick: drop that rope, and next time heopens his pretty mouth give him the pole. Aren't afraid of him, areyou?"

  I did not answer.

  I did not want to answer just then, but I did exactly as I was told,dropping the rope and standing ready with my pole on one side, so as tothrust it into the brute's mouth.

  I did not have long to wait for my opportunity, and it was not thealligator's fault that he did not get right hold, for throughnervousness, I suppose, I thrust short, and the jaws came together withan ugly snap that was startling.

  "Never mind; try again; quick, my lad, or he'll get away back to thehole."

  To prevent this Morgan made a rush, and gave the brute a sounding thwackwith his broken pole, sufficiently hard to make it turn in anotherdirection, when, thoroughly excited now, I made a poke at it with thepole, and it snapped at it viciously.

  I made another and another, and then the teeth closed upon the end, andthe pole quivered in my grasp.

  "Well done! Brave lad!" shouted Morgan, for he did not know I was allof a tremble. "That's the way; hold on, and keep him thinking about youjust a moment. Pull! Let go! Pull again!"

  As he gave me these directions, he got the end of the pole from me for amoment so as to pass the noose of the rope he had picked up over it, andthen once more shouting to me to pull, he boldly ran the wide noose downover the pole; and as the brute saw him so near, it loosed its hold tomake a fierce snap; but Morgan was too quick for the creature, andleaped away with a shout of triumph, tightening the rope, which wasright round the reptile's neck, and running and passing the other endabout a tree.

  "Got him now," panted Morgan, as the alligator thrashed at the rope withits tail, and tugged and strained with all its might, but of course onlytightening the noose with every effort.

  "Yes," I said, breathlessly, as I stood now well out of danger; "we'vegot him now."

  "Yes, we've got him now," said Morgan again, as we made the end of therope fast to a branch. "That would hold one twice as big. Let's see;'bout how long is he?"

  "Seven feet," I said, making a rapid guess.

  "Well," said Morgan, in a slow, hesitating way; "here, hi! Keep yourtail still, will you, while you're being measured."

  But the reptile seemed to thrash all the harder, dragging the noosetight, and flogging at the rope in a way which promised, if time enoughwas given, to wear it through.

  "Oh, well, if you won't, I must guess. Yes, sir, he's quite seven feetlong--nearer eight; but he must be pretty young, for he's a lean,lizardly-looking brute. Not nice things to tackle, are they? Look yehere at the marks of his teeth."

  As he said this, Morgan held up his broken pole, first one piece thenthe other. "I say, M
aster George, he can nip. If that had been yourleg or my arm, we should have wanted a bit or two of sticking-plaster,even if we hadn't had the bone cracked in two."

  "It's a horribly ugly brute," I said, as I approached it a littlenearer, and examined it by the warm ruddy glow which shone down here andthere into the gloomy swamp forest.

  "Yes; his mother ought to be very proud of him," said Morgan, laughing;"wonder what his brothers and sisters are like. Ha! Ha! Ha!"

  "What are you laughing at?" I said.

  "I was only thinking, Master George. The idea of me coming out ofCarnarvonshire across the sea to find things like that!"

  "Yes; it's different to home," I said.

  "This is home," replied Morgan, stolidly--"home now. I've set andtended many a lot of eggs; but I say, Master George, only think of athing like that coming out of a new-laid egg. Do rattlesnakes!"

  I could not help smiling at the idea, but my face felt strange, andthere was a twitching about my temples as the last words fell upon myears.

  "Halloa! What's the matter, lad?"

  "You--you said rattlesnakes," I whispered hoarsely.

  "Well, what of it? This is 'gator country. Rattlesnakes, they tell me,likes the high, dry, hot, stony places."

  "Yes--father said so," I replied in a whisper, as I looked cautiouslyround.

  "Well then, what are you looking for?"

  "Indians," I whispered, for I had recalled how the savages hadsurrounded us while our attention was taken up by the last noxiouscreature we had attacked.

  At my words Morgan made a bound, and then began to move past a tree.But he stopped short, and returned to my side, looking wildly round thewhile.

  "See 'em--see any of 'em?" he whispered.

  "No; but suppose they have stolen upon us again as they did before!"

  "Yah! What do you mean by frightening a man? I teclare to cootnessit's too bad of you, Master George."

  I smiled once more, for Morgan's speech had sounded very droll andWelsh, as it often was when he grew excited.

  "You tit it to scare me," he said, angrily.

  "Indeed, no."

  "Yes, inteet," he said; "and look you--I say, Master George, was itmeant for a choke?"

  "Indeed, no, Morgan; I really felt startled."

  "Then it's all right," he said. "There's none of 'em here, so let's gethome."

  "But what are you going to do with the alligator?"

  "Eh? Oh, I never thought of that. I wanted to catch him so that youmight have a bit of fun."

  "But now we have caught him?"

  "Well, dunno, my lad. Might take him home and chain him up. Turn downa barrel to make him a kennel; he can bark."

  "Oh, nonsense! We can't do that."

  "He's no good to eat, though they say the savages eat 'em. Here, Iknow; let's take him home, and ask master what's to be done with him."

  "Take him home?" I faltered.

  "Ay, to be sure. I'll lead him by the string, and you can come behindand give him a poke with the pole when he won't go. Ought by rights tohave two ropes, like they do at home with a vicious cow; then when heran at me, you could pull; and when he ran at you, I could pull himback."

  "But we haven't two ropes. That isn't long enough to cut, and I can'tstop him if he runs at you."

  "Might pull his tail," said Morgan.

  "Ugh!" I ejaculated, as I recalled the use the creature could make ofit, giving blows that I knew would knock me off my feet.

  "Well then, I tell you what; let's leave him tied up as he is, and getback. The master will be wondering where we are, and fancying all sortsof trouble."

  "Seems cruel," I said. "The creature will be strangled."

  "Not he. If he does, he'll strangle himself. I never feel verymerciful to things that go about doing all the harm they can as long asthey live. Say, shall I kill him at once?"

  "No; let's leave him, and see what my father says."

  Morgan examined the knot he had made, and then started away, for thereptile made a lash at him with its tail, and in retort he took out hisbig-bladed knife, opened it, and held it out threateningly.

  "It's all very well, look you," he said; "but if you'd hit me with thattail of yours, I'd have had it off as sure as you're alive."

  It was Morgan's farewell to the alligator as we turned off with ourpoles, broken and sound, and hurried back to find my father with a gunover his arm, fast coming in search of us.