“I’m game to try it, anyway,” said Bobby. “But I don’t think you’d better come, Fred. That was a pretty bad crack you got, and you’d better wait here while we try it.”
“Not a bit of it,” protested Fred. “I feel all right now, and I’m going to have alligator eggs for supper if I have to go for them alone.”
“All right then, back we go,” said Bobby, and the three boys retraced their steps to where they had all three narrowly escaped death only a few minutes before. When they arrived, there was no sign of the alligator, however, and it did not take them long to uncover the eggs. There was a large number of them, each one about the size and shape of a large goose egg, and the boys took off their coats and wrapped as many of the eggs as they could carry in them. But they took no chances of being surprised this time, and kept a sharp look-out. And it was well they did, for they had no more than got the eggs wrapped up than Lee gave a shout of warning.
“Here she comes, fellows!” he yelled, “let’s go!”
The boys needed no second admonition, but after a startled glance, took to their heels in most earnest fashion. For sure enough, the mother alligator, after cooling her smarting nose in the water, had had an uneasy feeling that all was not well, and had started up the bank to investigate. When she caught sight of the boys she gave a bellow and dragged herself through the sand at increased speed, but the boys did not wait for her coming this time, and were soon at a safe distance.
“Gee!” exclaimed Bobby, slowing down. “It’s a lucky thing that alligators can’t run fast. If they could, I guess we’d have to live in trees.”
“They’re slow enough on land, but you ought to see them in the water,” returned Lee. “They can go fast enough then, believe me.”
“I’ll believe you right away, without putting it to a test,” laughed Fred. “An alligator’s mouth seems too full of teeth to suit me.”
“Yes, they have got a pretty complete outfit,” said Lee, “and they keep growing in all the time, the new ones forcing out the old. I’ve heard that a ’gator has four or five sets of teeth during a lifetime.”
“Gee!” exclaimed Bobby. “I should think one set like that would last any animal a lifetime.”