Bobby Blake on a Plantation; Or, Lost in the Great Swamp
Page 22
CHAPTER XXII
THE DISTANT HOWL
“That sounds like one of Billy’s jokes,” declared Fred, “and I can’t sayanything worse than that about it.”
“No, that’s a pretty hard knock, all right,” admitted Bobby, “but I’lltry not to do it again.”
“As a punishment, I vote that we appoint Bobby to try the firstalligator’s egg,” suggested Lee.
“Second the motion!” shouted Fred enthusiastically. “You’re unanimouslyelected, Bobby.”
“Well, somebody had to try Limburger cheese the first time,” said Bobby,“so I suppose I might as well be the goat this time. But you’ll have totell me how to cook them, Lee.”
“You can cook them any way, the same as a hen’s egg,” said Lee. “But Isuppose, seeing we’ve nothing to boil water in, that we’d better roast afew and try them that way.”
“It doesn’t matter to me,” said Bobby. “As long as I’m to be officialtaster, they’ll probably taste just as bad one way as another.”
During this conversation, the boys had been heading for the spot wherethey had eaten lunch, and having reached it they proceeded to build afire. They soon had a good blaze going, and in accordance with Lee’sdirections, let it burn down until there was nothing but red embersleft. Then they dug out a space under the ashes, placed a few of theeggs in the hollow, and raked the hot ashes over them.
“Leave them there a few minutes, and they’ll be fit for a king to eat,”said the Southern boy.
“Seems to me you’re what Mr. Leith would call an unbounded optimist,”said Bobby. “I’ve got my doubts if they’ll even be fit for me to eat,let alone a king.”
“Well, we won’t have long to wait to find out,” said Lee. “I imaginethey’re pretty nearly cooked now.”
“Oh, don’t be in a hurry,” said Bobby. “I’m perfectly willing to wait awhile, you know.”
“Maybe you are, but we’re not,” retorted Lee, as he scraped the fireaside and fished out an egg. “Here you are, Bobby, I’ve tasted thembefore and they’re not really so bad, especially when you’re hungry. Goto it.”
“How do you eat the things, anyway?” asked Bobby, looking doubtfully atthe strange object. “I suppose neither of you happens to have an egg cupand a spoon in your pocket, have you?”
“I usually carry them around with me, but I reckon I must have lostthem,” said Lee, sarcastically. “Just chip the end off, and go to it,Bobby. You’ll enjoy it, believe me.”
“I’d like to believe you, but I’m afraid I can’t,” said Bobby. “Well, Ican only die once. Good-by, fellows. Here goes.”
He chipped part of the thick outside covering off the egg, and verygingerly took a small bite.
“What’s it like?” questioned Fred, watching him anxiously. “Is it as badas I think it is?”
“It isn’t bad at all, if I only had a little salt to go with it,” saidBobby, taking another and larger bite this time. “You fellows had betterdig in, or there won’t be any left.”
“What does it taste like, anyway?” asked Fred, doubtfully.
“Alligator egg,” returned Bobby, munching away. “I was elected to trythese eggs first, but there was nothing in it about telling you fellowswhat they tasted like. Try ’em for yourselves.”
“But that was the idea that you should taste them, so you could tell uswhether they were good or not,” complained Fred.
“You should have thought of that at the time, then,” said Bobby. “It’stoo late now. Help yourself. After all, the only way to learn is byexperience, as the coach is always telling us back at Rockledge.”
“Well, I’m getting hungry enough to eat an alligator, much less itseggs. Pass me over one of those things, will you, Lee?”
“Sure thing,” said that individual, “and while I’m about it, I reckonI’ll have one for myself.”
Presently all three boys were munching away, and after they had eacheaten two of the eggs the general verdict was that they “were not halfbad.”
“I only wish I could get a few home with me,” said Bobby, with amischievous twinkle in his eye. “I’d like to give a few to our cook,Meena, and see what she’d do about it. She says she doesn’t like boys,and I’ve got a hunch she’d like this one less after that.”
“I wish I had a few of her doughnuts,” sighed Fred. “I don’t think shelikes me much, but sometimes I can’t help liking her after I’ve eatensome of the good things she cooks.”
“Please don’t mention it,” returned Bobby. “It makes my mouth water justto think of it. Those eggs are filling, but that’s about the best youcan say of them. But I suppose we ought to be thankful to have eventhem. Those and what fish we can catch wouldn’t keep us going very long,though. When shall we make another try to get out of this everlastingswamp?”
“I think we’d better start as soon as it’s light enough to see,to-morrow,” said Lee. “I hate to think of tackling the bog again, butwe’ve just got to do it.”
“Well, then, that’s settled,” came from Fred. “We’ll get a good sleepto-night and start strong, anyway. Don’t you think it would be a goodidea to cook a lot of those eggs and take them along with us? There’s notelling how long it may be before we find any other food.”
“That’s a good idea,” said Bobby. “Let’s get busy and cook some rightnow. Thank fortune they are fresh.”
Before long the boys had a dozen of the alligator’s eggs cooked hard. Bythe time they had finished this task, it was nearly dark, and aftergathering a good supply of firewood they built up the blaze and lay downto discuss their plans for the morrow.
As night came on all manner of strange noises arose from the swamp,chief among them being the snorting bellow of the alligators. Suddenly,in a momentary lull, they heard, far off, a wild, long-drawn cry, thathushed their voices and set their hair creeping.
The shrieking wail, carrying an indescribable note of ferocity andmenace, rose and fell, and then was gone, eclipsed by the nearer noisesof the swamp, that now resumed their usual volume.
“What was that?” whispered Fred, as the boys gazed wide-eyed at eachother.
“That was the cry of a cougar,” said Lee, his voice a trifle shaky.
“A cougar!” exclaimed Fred, “what’s that?”
“Its a kind of panther,” explained Lee. “There used to be a lot of themaround here, but now there aren’t many left. What there are, though, arefierce enough to make up for that.”
“Gee!” exclaimed Bobby. “I hope that fellow doesn’t take it into hishead to pay us a visit.”
“He wouldn’t be likely to come into the swamp this far,” said Lee,although there was not much conviction in his voice. “But we’ll have tobe on our guard anyway. We’d better stand watches to-night and keep thefire going.”
“We’d probably have had to do that, anyhow,” said Fred. “Your Southernwinters aren’t like the ones we’re used to up North, but just the sameit’s pretty cold sleeping out at night without any blankets.”
“I should say so,” said Bobby. “It’s fairly warm when the sun’s shining,but I thought I was going to freeze to death last night, sure.”
The boys listened anxiously for a repetition of the wild cry that had sodisturbed them, but apparently the cougar was not coming in theirdirection, for they heard nothing further to indicate his presence.Nevertheless, they kept a good fire going all that night, whichprevented the one on watch from seeing two glowing green eyes whoseowner prowled restlessly about just beyond range of the firelight, assilent as any shadow but more to be feared than the bellowingalligators, who made the night hideous with their noise.