The ponies were led in till only their necks were out of the water, and then turned towards the shore; but they stopped twice to drink, and were approaching the spot where the mule stood, when Chris uttered a cry and caught at his saddle to save himself, his pony at the same moment making a plunge and snorting violently.
“What’s the matter?” cried Ned anxiously.
“Some big fish struck at me suddenly. No, I know, it must have been a big alligator.”
Ned’s jaw dropped and his eyes opened very wide as he began to splash through the water as hard as he could go, the pony following willingly enough, but only to snort and plunge as a swell of water rose before them where the water was very shallow, and a dark, bark-like, glistening back was seen for a moment, followed by a tapering tail, as a reptile glided by.
“I wonder whether the brutes would bite,” said Ned.
“I shouldn’t like to trust them,” was the reply. “But oh, what a change since last night,” continued the boy, half-wild with delight, as the sun began to show a little over the edge of the horizon, flooding the world with golden light and turning the pale, silvery lake as it were into glowing fire.
The boys only glanced for a moment or two at the glorious scene before them of lake and undulating country backed by mountains. Then, after tying the trailing lariat about the mule’s neck, they mounted their ponies, all dripping as they were, ready for the march to camp, but only to suffer a chill of misery as the same thought struck both—
Which was the way back?
“Why, we shall never find them!”
“Coming here as we did, fast asleep as we must have been,” groaned Ned.