In a few moments the rowboat was fast to the motor craft and the smaller one came to a stop. Then there was a flurry in the water just ahead, and an ugly black snout was thrust up.
“An alligator!” exclaimed Jerry. He grabbed for his gun and sent a bullet into the saurian. A greater commotion beneath the surface of the lake, which was tinged with red, showed that the leaden missile had gone home.
“You killed him!” exclaimed Ned.
“Yes, but it wasn’t much of a kill,” responded his chum as the alligator came to the surface, disclosing the fact that it was a small one, only about five feet long. “Regular baby. How did you girls come to get fast to it?”
“We didn’t. It got fast to us,” replied Olivia. “Rose had baited a big hook on a stout line, expecting to catch a shark I guess. We laughed at her but she said she’d catch something with it.”
“And I did,” cried Rose. “I let it trail over the side and the first thing I knew something took my bait and hook and the boat began to move off. We were scared to death.”
“How did you get here? Where is the houseboat? We left you on Lake Okeechobee,” inquired Jerry.
“Isn’t this Lake Okeechobee?” asked Rose in some alarm.
“We named it Butterfly Lake,” said Jerry, and he told what had happened since they last visited Mr. Seabury and his daughters.
“That’s queer,” said Rose. “We have been cruising about on some lake, and we supposed it was Lake Okeechobee. I noticed that we went through quite a narrow place the other evening, made a short circuit and returned to it, but I thought nothing of it. We anchored the boat near the passage and we’ve been there ever since except to-day when we thought we’d go fishing.”