Dick in the Everglades Part 16

"I'd like to know who taught you that, you rascal, playing roots on your poor old chum, who never had your chance to see the world."

While they were waiting for Ned's hand to get well, d.i.c.k got out the fly-rod and cast-net that came with his canoe and spent all his spare time trying to learn to throw the net. Johnny had given him a few lessons, until he thought he had learned to cast it. It was the kind of net which is used by the Florida Cracker, to the knowledge of which he is born, which he can cast when he leaves his cradle.

The net was conical, six feet long with a ten-foot mouth, lined with leaden sinkers. The top of the net was closed, excepting for a small hole in which was fitted a small ring, through which puckering strings led from the mouth of the net to a 25-foot line, which was to be fastened to the fisherman's wrist.

For casting, about half of the net is thrown over each wrist and one of the sinkers held between the teeth. The net is then swung behind the fisherman, thrown forward with a whirling motion, the sinker in his mouth released at exactly the right instant and the net falls in an almost perfect circle wherever, within thirty feet, the fisherman wishes. That is the way the net behaved when Johnny threw it. And when Johnny arranged the net on d.i.c.k's arms, told him just what to do and watched him, d.i.c.k made some respectable throws, and thought he had learned the game; but now, away from his teacher, when he tried to cast it, net and leads went out in a solid ma.s.s that never could have caught anything, though it might have killed a fish by knocking it in the head. d.i.c.k, however, was bound to learn, and practiced by the hour, without seeming to make any progress, when suddenly the net began to go out in circles and his casts became creditable. He was so fearful of losing his new-found facility that he practiced for the rest of that day, and lay down at night with what he called the toothache in every muscle.

But from that day fish was on the bill of fare of the young explorers.

When Ned's hand was well enough to be used a little, he began by fis.h.i.+ng, sitting in the bow of the canoe, with the fly-rod, while d.i.c.k paddled. He caught several of the big-mouthed black ba.s.s, often called in the South fresh-water trout, and other small fish which they saved for the pan. Then the line was carried out with a rush by a fish that twice jumped one or two feet in the air.

"Got a tarpon, sure," said Ned, who had never taken one, and he became most anxious lest the fish escape.

For nearly half an hour he carefully played the fish, which never jumped again. When the tired fish was ready to be landed Ned found that his prize, instead of a tarpon, was a ten-pound fish which he did not recognize, but which he afterwards learned was a ravaille.

"Well, it was mighty good fun, almost as exciting as if it had been a tarpon," said Ned, who didn't know how foolishly he was talking.

They were down the river bright and early the following morning but, for the first hour, failed to hook any of the fish that struck. Then the hook was s.n.a.t.c.hed and instantly a silver, twisting body shot ten feet up in the air. As it fell back in the water, the reel began to buzz and Ned's fingers were burned where the line touched them.

Again and again the great fish leaped high in the air, while the line ran low on the reel.

"Paddle, d.i.c.k, paddle all you know," shouted Ned.

But d.i.c.k was already doing his very best. The tarpon changed his course, came back a little, leaped once more and again started off.

But Ned had got a good many yards of line back on his reel, and was getting hopeful of landing his first tarpon. He was beginning to lose line again, when the tarpon turned around and, swimming straight for the canoe, leaped against Ned with such fury that the craft was nearly capsized, and when Ned had recovered from the shock his line was nearly out and the fish headed for a little creek that was almost overgrown with trees and vines. The first jump of the tarpon as he entered the stream carried him up among the bushes that hung over the water, but fortunately the line did not catch in the branches and, as the fish swam slowly up the little channel, the canoe was close behind him. Ned held the point of his rod low, that it might not catch in the bushes, but his heart was up in his mouth every time the tarpon sprang in the air.

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE TARPON LEAPED AGAINST NED WITH FURY"]

"It's no use, d.i.c.k, we've got to lose him. He isn't a bit tired and the tangle is getting worse. Then if he turns back I won't have room for the rod and you can't turn the canoe."

"Never say die, Ned. If he gets away from you, I'll go overboard and pick him up."

"The creek's opening out into a big river, d.i.c.k. We may land him yet."

The tarpon stayed in the big river, swimming a mile or so and then turning back, while Ned put all the strain he dared on rod and line and, excepting when the tarpon made a rush, d.i.c.k held his paddle still and let the fish tow the canoe by the line.

"We've got all the scales we want," said d.i.c.k, "and I move we don't gaff another tarpon. When we have tired this one so it's through jumping, let's turn it loose. We don't need it to eat and I hate to feed sharks with such a beautiful creature."

"Sure!" said Ned. "And if it is as tired as I am it will give in pretty soon or die."

The tarpon grew weaker, his leaps lower and soon the canoe was held close to him, while Ned even laid his hands on the tired fish.

"Think we can take him aboard, d.i.c.k?"

"I think you can swamp the canoe and break the rod, all right."

"I don't mind swamping the canoe and we can take care of the rod. If you'll take the rod now, I'll hang on to his jaw and take out the hook, which I can see in the corner of his mouth. Then, if you will look out for the rod and balance the canoe, I'll slide that tarpon over the gunwale--"

"And we will all go overboard together," added d.i.c.k.

"No, we won't, but just as soon as we have fairly caught him and got him in the canoe, we'll slide him overboard again."

d.i.c.k took the rod, Ned removed the hook from the mouth of the tarpon and hoisted its head over the gunwale. The canoe canted over until water poured over its side, and the attempt would have failed but for the tarpon which, with a blow of its tail, threw itself up in the air and fell on top of Ned, who had tumbled into the bottom of the canoe. The sight of Ned hugging the big fish, which was spanking his legs with its tail, was too much for d.i.c.k, who sat down on the gunwale of the canoe in a spasm of mirth, and of course the craft was capsized. Ned clung to the fish for a few seconds until his captive had b.u.mped him with its head and slapped him with its tail a few times, when he was glad to let it go. He then joined d.i.c.k, who was holding the rod with one hand and clinging to the canoe with the other, as he swam to the bank.

On the way back to camp d.i.c.k had several fits of laughter that made him stop paddling for a minute at a time and caused Ned to say:

"It's all right to laugh now, but that was my tarpon. I had him safe in the canoe and if you hadn't tipped us all into the river I'd have hung on to him."

"I'm awful sorry, Ned, but if only you could have seen yourself, you'd have had to laugh or bust. Besides, you had your fun. You caught your tarpon and you wouldn't have done any more if you had lain in the bottom of the canoe and let it spank you all night."

CHAPTER XIII

EDUCATING AN ALLIGATOR

The boys wished to explore the Whitewater Bay country, and spent several days following to their sources streams that led in that direction, until satisfied that no stream connected the two regions.

Returning to Tussock Bay, they crossed it and entered a branch of Shark River, which led to Little Whitewater Bay. As they neared the bay a loggerhead turtle rose near them and d.i.c.k wanted to hunt it.

"We need the meat," said he. "We can smoke it and then it is as good as jerked venison."

"We haven't time to smoke it. We are in a salt-water country with only two or three days' supply of fresh water. We may not find any more for a week. We've just got to keep moving. I wish we had a keg of water. If we were to spill what we've got in that canoe we would have to hike in a hurry, back to the Glades or some other place where we knew there was fresh water."

On the eastern side of Little Whitewater Bay, the boys found a straight and narrow creek which led to Whitewater Bay. Paddling for six miles, east-southeast, across the bay, they were fortunate enough to strike the narrow mouth of what soon proved to be a broad river. They paddled long and late without Finding the fresh water they looked for, and camped on ground so wet that they had to cut branches to sleep on. As they kept on in the morning, the river they followed forked and they took the deeper branch. This in turn split in two and again they followed the deeper branch. Near the close of a day of hard work the stream they were following opened out on a beautiful park-like prairie, while beside the canoe was an ideal camping site fitted by Nature to that end.

It was a circular bit of high ground, surrounded by big trees whose spreading branches, draped in moss, shaded it on all sides, while an immense growth of wild grape-vine canopied it overhead. The water that flowed past the camp was pure and sweet, fresh from the Everglades. There was heavy timber about the camp and more than once during the night the boys heard the tread of a wild animal. Once it seemed to be the step of a deer in shallow water near the camp, then it was the soft footfall of some catlike animal and when Ned raised himself on his elbow to listen to a heavier tread, the "_wouf_" of the startled beast told that Bruin had caught the offensive scent of the white man's camp. As the boys lay awake and talked while they watched the stars peeping through the canopy of vines above them, they heard the distant bellowing of a Bull alligator.

"d.i.c.k," said Ned, "do you s'pose we could find that 'gator? He must be fifteen feet long, from the noise he makes. I'd like mighty well to rope him. We could stake him out so he'd never, never get away and he would live for weeks if it took us that long to get him carried to Fort Myers. Dad would sure be delighted and pay all the bills like a major."

"Don't you think he'd throw in new rifles with silver plates and our names on 'em?"

"He sure would."

"Well, we haven't got the big alligator yet, but we'll hunt for him to-morrow."

Just as d.i.c.k spoke the distant report of a gun was heard.

"There goes your fifteen-foot alligator and both of our new rifles with silver plates and our names on them. Good-night."

The boys started out across the meadow in the morning on the hunt for the big 'gator. They carried a rope for the 'gator and Ned took his rifle to be ready for the bear that spoke to them in the night.

There was no more danger of their losing their camp, for Ned had made a chart every night, of their course during the day, until his memory had learned to map every scene his eyes looked upon. As they crossed a bit of wooded swamp, they heard the step of some heavy animal in a jungle near them, but they could get no sight of the creature and the slushy mud through which it had waded left no prints that inexperienced eyes could read. They found little ponds from which small 'gators rose to their calls, but none of a size worth thinking of. They saw one big alligator sunning itself on a dry bank, and spent an hour in creeping near it only to find that it was not over ten feet long. As it grew late and they turned homeward, d.i.c.k said:

"Ever since that otter of yours died I've wanted a pet in camp. We need one for a watchdog. 'Most any night we might be eaten up for want of one. Let's take home a young alligator and I'll train it.

These ponds are full of 'em."

"I don't want you to go wading in any more ponds, d.i.c.k."

"That's all right. Don't have to. There are 'gator caves all round these ponds. You find one of 'em and I'll do the rest."