“Shoot it! It tried to eat me up!” he yelled.
Jerry fired point blank, but he evidently missed for the black object, dimly seen in the shadows cast by the lantern seemed to flop away. An instant later a loud splash told that it had entered the river.
[CHAPTER VII]
KILLING A MANATEE
“What was it?” cried Jerry.
“I don’t know,” answered Bob, who was almost too frightened to speak. “I was dreaming one of you fellows was pulling me from bed by my foot and I woke up to discover that some animal had me. I looked and saw something black! Then I yelled.”
“Let’s make an examination,” suggested the professor. “Is your foot much hurt?”
“A little,” admitted Bob.
But an investigation showed that though his shoe was dented as if by the marks of broad teeth, the leather had not been penetrated, and, on taking off his shoe, Bob found his foot was only bruised.