They were at that enjoyable diversion now.
Suddenly there was a loud whoop of fright from the direction of the orchard where Mustard Prophet had gone to gather some figs for lunch. The boys ran to the door and looked out. They saw Mustard climb down from a rickety step-ladder, fold that ladder together and hurl it in the direction of some object. Then he came out of that orchard, stepping high like a turkey wading through mud, looking constantly behind him, and making as many different noises with his mouth as a whole brass band.
Hopey, thinking he had been bitten by a snake, met him half-way to the house.
“Whut ails you, Mustard?” she asked.
“My Gawd, Hopey!” he panted. “Dar’s a alligator out in dat orchard fawty feet long! I seen it!”
The noise Mustard made had brought all the members of the family out to see what the trouble was. When he told them of seeing the alligator, Org said nothing, and the others of the household were skeptical and laughed at him.
“How do you know you saw an alligator?” Colonel Gaitskill asked.
“I throwed a step-ladder at it, Marse Tom,” Mustard wailed. “It wus longer dan de ladder.”
“Come back to the orchard and show me,” Gaitskill ordered.
“Naw, suh!” Mustard whooped. “Go look fer yo’se’f, boss. Dis nigger is done seen aplenty!”