“Well, boys,” replied Mrs. Fellows, appearing on the scene, “you have no one to blame but yourself.  Nobody has touched your things, and they are just where you left them.”

“Where is that?”

“You ought not to be told.  You should be made to look for them.”

“Oh, please tell us, mother, for we’re in such a hurry.”

“’Gator skins are selling high now,” added Stam, opening his eyes, “and we know where we can get some big ones.”

“That’s no reason why you shouldn’t be made to find your things.  You must be cured of your careless habits in some way.  This is a good time to begin.”

“Oh, don’t lecture us now, mother.  Do it when we come back.”

“Please tell us where we can find the gun and game-bag,” pleaded Jed, putting an arm around his mother’s waist.

Mrs. Fellows could not resist this appeal, and she directed the boys to the wood-shed, where they found the desired gun and game-bag standing near a pile of wood.  The boys had left them there two days before after returning from a hunt, and the gun was somewhat the worse for rust and exposure.

Down by Loon Lake the great saurians were basking themselves in the hot sun, and the appearance of the boys among them made a slight disturbance along the edges of the water.

“These are only small ones,” whispered Jed, with contempt.  “We want some big four-dollar hides.  Snag Creek’s the place for them.  The big fellows always hang out there.”

The young hunters paddled their small skiff rapidly around the edge of the clear-water lake, and then shoved her gently up a narrow, muddy creek.

Enormous cypress trees lined either bank, and scores of buzzards were perched on the dead branches, watching the solitary skiff glide through the water.  The buzzards seemed to know that they were protected by law, and they did not deign to jump from their roosts.

At the end of the creek was a smaller lake, or rather a small muddy pond, in the centre of which was an island which nearly touched the mainland at one end.  Between this island and the land the big alligators basked in numbers, and Jed truthfully exclaimed, as he caught sight of the saurians: 

“We’ve got a regular corner in ’em, sure!  We’ll land and pelt ’em like fun!”

The boys had only one gun between them, but they were both so excited that they enjoyed the anticipated sport as much as if each held one of the deadly weapons in his hand.

As the skiff touched the island, they leaped out of it together.  Stam hurried up to a huge alligator and took deliberate aim before pulling the trigger; but, to his chagrin, the alligator still blinked at him after the hammer struck the cap.

The gun was so rusty from its two days’ exposure that it refused to go off.  Several caps were exploded with the same unsatisfactory result.

The boys began to worry and fume while the alligator eyed them menacingly.