These ponds are full of 'em."

"I don't want you to go wading in any more ponds, Dick."

"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."

The boys hunted around several ponds till Ned found a hole in the
bank of one, just under the surface of the water. Dick handed Ned a
pole, which he had cut in the last bit of woods they had passed, and
then made a noose on the end of the harpoon line which he carried.
He arranged the noose around the hole in the bank and stood a little
back of it holding the line in his hands.

"Now, Ned, just poke that pole down in the mud, all around, about
fifteen feet back of this hole, and pretty soon you'll punch
something. Then, you'll see fun."

Ned poked around in the soft ground for awhile, then:

"Look out, Dick! Something is wiggling."

"I'm all here. Let her come!"

Out came the reptile's head from the cave, straight through the
noose which tightened around the alligator's neck, as Dick threw his
weight back on the line. At first it tried to back into the cave,
but the line held it. Then it plunged into the pond, but Dick soon
yanked it out on the prairie. It scuttled over the prairie like a
great lizard and when the boy jerked it back it ran toward him, but
he side-stepped quickly out of reach of that open mouth. When the
reptile became a little quiet, Dick dragged it to the pole which Ned
had left sticking in the ground and walking twice around it had the
alligator's head fast to the pole. Then stepping quickly up to the
creature he seized it by the head, holding its jaws firmly together
with both hands.

[Illustration: "OUT CAME THE REPTILE'S HEAD FROM THE CAVE"]

"Now, Ned, if you'll tie these jaws together, he'll be gentle as a
lamb and we'll have a real pet that won't get away like a manatee or
die like an otter."

"I'll tie it, and bully for you, Dick, boy! You did that in great
shape. I shouldn't wonder if it made a pretty good pet, and I don't
care how big its mouth is, it couldn't have a bigger bite than that
otter of ours."

The 'gator was less than five feet long and quite babyish in its
ways, but it gave Dick a lot of trouble as he was leading it toward
their camp.

"Just boost him up on my back, Ned. He's only a baby and wants to
be toted."

Ned found it a pretty vigorous baby when he tried to boost it and he
got some spanks from its tail that made him think of his tarpon of a
f