"Well, please leave enough pieces of me so I can eat an orange or two when we get to Florida," laughed Amy.
"Also enough to catch a few alligators," added Betty.
"Don't you mention the horrid things!" cried Grace with a nervous shiver. "Are there really any there, Amy? Say no, my dear, and I'll give you two chocolates."
"Well, there are some," said Amy, who never could seem to dissimulate. "But Uncle Stonington says they are small—at least, near where we are going. Some people have them for pets."
"Mercy!" cried Grace. "I'd as soon have a pet snake."
"Well, we won't worry about them until we get bitten," suggested Mollie. "And perhaps their bark is worse than their bite. Do they bark, Amy?"
"I'm sure I don't know."
"No, they cry—like babies," said Grace. "Don't you remember 'alligator tears?'"
"She's thinking of crocodiles," said Betty. "Or else alligator pears."
"Worse and worse," protested Mollie. "We'll have the fauna and flora of Florida hopelessly mixed before we get through. Now let's see if we have everything packed," and they went over their list of belongings for the tenth time.