“All right,” said Chap and Phœnix; and turning the boat, they began to row down-stream.
“You’d better go slowly when you get among them,” said Phil; “and of course we won’t fire at them. I guess that Coot was right when he thought that it wouldn’t do to rouse their angry passions when we are among them.”
“It is a shame to leave all those splendid teeth and hides here, but I suppose it can’t be helped,” said Chap.
“I’d rather leave the teeth here than to have them in me,” said Phœnix; “and I guess I wouldn’t want to wrestle with an alligator for his hide, either.”
They soon reached the part of the creek where the alligators began to be numerous, and as they rowed on, they found that the sun had got higher, and as the day had become warmer the number of the ugly creatures who were basking in the sunshine was much greater than before.
The boys rowed very gently, and the alligators paid but little heed to the boat, except as they regarded it as an object of curiosity.
Many of them seemed engaged in crossing the stream, and Phil frequently called out to the boys to slacken up a little or they would run into the lazy fellows.
On the banks some of them were lying perfectly still, as if they were asleep, while others moved sluggishly about, occasionally turning their heads and yawning, opening their great mouths so wide that the boys could see half-way down their throats.
Sometimes the boys were quite frightened, especially when the swimming beasts came near them; and once, when an enormous fellow rose close to the boat, and suddenly turning gave it a tremendous stroke with his tail, the boys thought, for an instant, that it was the creature’s intention to upset them. But the blow was not repeated, and they breathed easier.
It was impossible, however, to look upon the horrid heads and writhing bodies of these great, lizard-like creatures without disgust and fear, especially when they were so numerous and so near.