There was nothing visible except part of the anchor rope that extended from the ring-bolt in the forward deck, over the stem and slanting down into the water.
"The alligator may be swimming just below the surface," was Mollie's opinion. "He may come up pretty soon, and we can throw stones at it. That's it, Betty. We must stone the creature and make it let go. Come on!"
Betty laughed. The others looked at Mollie curiously.
"She—she's hysterical," murmured Grace.
"I am not!" protested Mollie indignantly.
"But the idea of throwing stones at an alligator!" cried Grace. "Why, its hide will turn a bullet!"
"Oh!" exclaimed Amy blankly. "Then what can we do? We have no bullets!"
"It isn't going very fast," observed Mollie as she watched the boat moving slowly up the river. "We can run along the bank after it, and maybe the beast will let go, or run ashore with the Gem. Then we could get it."
"Who—the boat or the alligator?" asked Betty, who seemed to be in better spirits now, even in the face of trouble.
"The boat, of course."