“Oh Lawd! oh Lawd! I didn’t mean no harm when I stole ole Aunt Liza’s white pullet,” here he was half-choked by water. “Oh Lawd, git me out ob dis widout been all chawed up by crokindiles an’ I won’t never steal folks’ fowls agin, Lawd. O-o-o-o-oh!”
He broke off with a yell of real terror. Frank swimming toward the Carrier Dove felt a huge body brush by him in the water and frantically stroked toward his goal. Harry was safe, he could hear him breathing as he swam. But poor Pork Chops! The unfortunate black had given himself up for lost when there was a sudden blinding flash of light from the sloop and at the same minute two rifles cracked. The amazed boys, struggling in the water to gain the sloop, saw in the sudden white glare the reptile’s black head with monstrous opened jaws suddenly checked in its rush on the apparently doomed Pork Chops as Billy Barnes and Ben pumped the lead out of the rifles into the wounded crocodile’s mate as fast as they could work them.
The huge body swung clean out of the water in its death agony and fell back with a mighty splash. Great clouds of awakened herons flew from the islets round about and the whole forest rang with the cries of aroused birds.
Ben Stubbs had had the presence of mind to seize and ignite one of the signal flares and it was by its powerful light that they had saved the lives of Pork Chops and possibly of the boys. With the illumination afforded by the glare it didn’t take long for the boys to get aboard the Carrier Dove where Lathrop in a very shamefaced way related how he came to tumble overboard.
“It’s all the fault of your rotten rigging,” he said indignantly, looking at the dripping Pork Chops who was still so scared that he could hardly speak. The insult to his Carrier Dove, however, fired him with a righteous wrath.
“What you all mean, Marse Lathrop, by saying dose unkindnesses ’bout dis yar ship of mine?” he sputtered indignantly. “I’d have you to understan’ dat she’s jes’ as fine a craf’ as der is on dis yer Flahda coas’, yes, sah.”
“I beg your pardon,” laughed Lathrop, who now that the danger was over had quite recovered his usual flow of spirits, “I didn’t mean to insult you. However,” he went on more gravely, “if it hadn’t been for Billy and Ben here I doubt if any of us would have been alive now to even hurt your feelings.”
Of course a great handshaking between the boys and their rescuers took place, and as for Pork Chops he swore that he would not leave the boys whom he hailed as his “sabyers.”
The original plan had been that he was to sail the Carrier Dove back to Miami as soon as the boys started into the ’glades, but he absolutely refused to hear of this now.
“No, sah, you saved mah wuthless life, an’ ah means ter stick ter yer jes’ as long as mah laigs ul carry me,” he declared.