The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1910-05-04

clothes offered little protection. They
dashed in his mouth when he tried
to shout, and their buzz was like the
humming of mill. There are por-
tions of the south coast along Ver-
million Bay where cattle have died
from the mosquitoes torture, and
Bayou Dupont is almost as badly in
tested.
Allen called again and again, and
once he thought he heard an answer
ing halloo. The gator was now
Quilted, although the gag was out Of
his mouth and the ropes all but off.
Cautiously the young man sat down
cross-legged, his knees not foot
from the ugly snout, watching the
closing dull eyes of the saurian.
Allen had literally nothing for de-
fense or escape.
He might have swum to shore, half
mile distant, but this would mean
losing his camera. So he sat slap
ping the mosquitoes and scolding
"Old Man Captain Fowb's fool pup"
which tore round on the other seat,
nipping the gators horny hide and
barking. Already the huge alligator
had smashed the upper boarding of
the fiat-sided boat. He was all but
free, and If he charged ahead, Allen
would have nothing to do but dive
off. And the gator would surely up
set the bateau, leaving Allen to take
his chance of getting ashore in the
swamp, which offered no escape, had
no fresh water, and not even solid
footing.
After a while he heard faint
shout. The captain and the creoles
were out looking for him. He
shouted, and the far answer came.
But the others had gone up Dupont,
and they could not imagine that the
bateau had crossed the wash" and
was drifting on to open water.
Allen had hoped to ground on a
muddy point which shone in the STAR
light to his left, but the John-boat
floated quarter-mile from this with
the splashing gars all about. Again
he yelled, and again Ponto howled
dismally. The gator moved uneas-
lily; once he surged forward, thrust
ing his snout over the gunwale, and
Allen hoped gingerly to one side.
And there he crouched, holding his
pack, the mosquitoes torturing his
bent back and face, the evil smell of
the saurian making him sick. Dis
couraged, he knew now that the cries
were fainter and fainter. He was
drifting on to the big lake, and the
men were padding the other way.
Now he saw, too, that the bateau was
leaking badly; and at the next shift
of the gator 1t took bad list. He
reasoned that if once the gator saw
the water he would plunge for it and
sink the craft.
Allen was so far away on the un-
known waterways that he might not
be found for a day, and day in the
salt marsh might mean death from
sun, insects and thirst. The captain
would look everywhere for him ex-
cept across the lake. And while he
shouted, now and then, weaker and
more hoarse, grasping at some plan
of signaling, an idea dawned on him.
He had his flash-light machine and
powder, always carried on the
chance of getting some night pictures
of bird life.
Cautiously he swung the camera
about on his shoulder, got out the
metal box and tube and powder.
Then, measuring the distance from
his feet to the gators jaws, and bal
ancing carefully on the seat, he ele-
waited the apparatus as high as pos
sible, shouted as long as he could,
and touched the friction key, igniting
the fash.
It seemed, on the wide lake, that
the whole heavens were lighted up.
And instantly he felt the bateau
surge under his feet. He dropped
back at once, but too late, for the
alligator had made his last charge up
to the shattered gunwale and over,
going down with mighty splash.
Allen fell, holding his camera and
plate-box high. He heard Ponto's
yelp, and then felt the tug of the
swamped boat as the alligator tore
about in the tangle of rope. The
bateau was jerked here and there,
the mud boiled up and spattered on
the castaway, who thought Of moth
ing except holding aloft his plate
carrier. And then at last the disturb
ance ceased, and in a minute Allen
saw a great swirl in the water yards
away.
Allen held to the side of the John
boar, the camera and holder i'll his
grasp. The cases were wet, bat they
had not been under. His feet were
down in mud, and presently in chok-
ing growth, where he found some
semblance of footing. And here he
clung and splashed water to keep
the mosquitoes off, while Ponto, ON
the mangrove shore, howled back at
him.
But after half an hour. when Allen