"Alligators!" screamed Amy. "Don\'t you dare say that, Grace!"

"But it\'s so—I saw one—I nearly put my hand on his big black head. Oh, isn\'t it horrid!"

Grace and Amy were clinging to each other now in the middle of the boat. Betty had turned about at their exclamations, and Mollie was gazing curiously into the swirling water.

"I don\'t see any alligator," she announced, unbelievingly. "Are you sure you saw one, Grace?"

"Of course I am. Oh, Betty! There\'s one now, just ahead of you. You\'re going to run into him!"

Betty turned her attention to guiding the boat only just in time. Certainly something long and knobby and black was almost at the bow. She veered to one side, and then exclaimed:

"Alligator! That was nothing but a log, Grace Ford! How silly of you!"[76]

"Silly? Nothing of the sort. I tell you I did see an alligator."

"It was a log—but it does look like one of the big creatures, though," said Amy. "Oh, if it should have been one!"

"Well, it couldn\'t eat us—here in the boat," said Mollie.

"No, but it might have capsized us, and then—" Grace paused suggestively.

"\'All\'s well that ends well,\'" quoted Betty, as she turned the boat nearer shore. "Some day we must take our lunch, and have a picnic ashore. See the lovely Spanish moss hanging down from the trees. It\'s like living history over again. Just think of it, how Balboa came here and discovered the land, and——"

"It wasn\'t Balboa, it was Ponce de Leon who located Florida," corrected Mollie. "Don\'t you remember—Flowery Easter?"

"Oh, so it was. Well, anyhow——"
"THERE! THERE!" SCREAMED GRACE. "THERE\'S AN ALLIGATOR!" "THERE! THERE!" SCREAMED GRACE. "THERE\'S AN ALLIGATOR!"—Page 76.
The Outdoor Girls in Florida.

"There—there!" screamed Grace. "There\'s an alligator, surely. It\'s alive, too! Oh, dear! An alligator!"

She pointed to something long and dark floating in the river—something that seemed to be covered with scales and ridges—something that suddenly turned up an ugly head, with bulging eyes, which looked fishily at the girls in the boat.[77]

Then, with a swirl of its tail, the creature sank below the surface.

"Yes, that was an alligator," said Betty quietly.

"I told you it was," spoke Grace. "And to think I nearly had my hand on it. Oh, I don\'t want to remember it."

"But it didn\'t bite you," said practical Mollie.

"If it had—well, the less said the better," remarked Betty. "Now let\'s forget all about it and enjoy ourselves. Maybe there are only a few of them here in the river."

"I wonder what alligators are good for, anyhow?" came from Amy, as she resumed her seat. "They don\'t seem fit for anything."

"You forget about alligator bags," corrected Mollie. "What would we do for valises and satchels if we had no alligators, I\'d like to know?"

"That\'s so," admitted Amy.

Grace was looking over the surface of the river as though to see if any more of the ugly creatures were in sight, but the water was unruffled save by the wind.

Not knowing the character of the stream Betty did not want to venture to far. So, after going down about a mile or so, she turned the boat and headed up stream. They passed a number of[78] small boats, manned by colored boys who were fishing, and the youngsters suspended operations to gaze with mingled wonder and fear at Betty\'s swiftly-moving craft.

They tied up at the small dock which extended out into the river at the foot of the orange grove, well satisfied with their first trip,............