CHAPTER XX
DENIZENS OF THE FLORIDA SWAMPS
After all it was perhaps a wise determination on the part of Jack tothus take time by the forelock and endeavor to learn the lay of the landwhile a fitting opportunity lasted. To start out when darkness lay overeverything, with no knowledge whatever concerning the prospect beforethem, would have doubled the chances for some grievous calamityovertaking them even before they were ready to strike their first blow.
Jack had a pretty strong suspicion they were in the neighborhood of somestretch of swampland--he was backed in this supposition by severalthings--the general low lay of the ground bordering the great lake andalso the fact that snowy white egrets, as well as cranes, flew to andfro during the early morning, as though they must have a roost not faraway and he had been told that as a rule these gathering places were tobe found in the gloomy depths of a swamp.
If they should chance to lose their way in those dark and dismal swampsand find themselves mired in the mud holes, they would be in a sorryfix, and they might even be forced to shout for assistance in order tosave their lives, thus revealing themselves to their enemy, for thetenacious muck had a tendency to act in the same treacherous fashion asquicksand, clutching the victim and dragging him down, inch after inchinto its unfathomable depths.
Hardly were they started than one pleasing discovery was made. Just asJack had hoped might be the case, a dim trail was struck not far backfrom the border of the silent lake, that gave promise of leading them inthe course they planned to go.
Jack made certain that there were no signs of this trail having beenused by human beings--at least in recent times; possibly it may haveoriginally been an Indian trail in those days when Osceola and hisgallant followers dared defy the powers at Washington and declare openwar upon the few white squatters at that time in the southern portionsof the Florida peninsula. Or, what was more probable still, it might beonly the pathway used for ages by innumerable four-footed denizens ofthe swamp,--deer, panthers, raccoons, 'possum, foxes, wildcats and thelike.
It was a meandering trail, evidently following the path of leastresistance for on both sides the shrubbery, together with wildgrape-vines and various other climbers, made a solid barrier that even aweasel might have found difficult to negotiate.
Presently their road skirted the border of the swamp Jack had felt socertain could not be far away. Here new and wonderful sights greetedtheir eyes and Perk in particular stared with all his might, taking inthe flowers that festooned many of the trees--palmetto, live-oaks, wildplum, gumbo limbo, and queer looking cypress, with their cumbersomebutts rising several feet from the ooze in which they grew. Most of thetrees were festooned with long trailing banners of gray Spanish mossthat gave them a most unusual appearance.
Since it was Perk's first hand knowledge concerning the looks of agenuine Southern swamp, he felt justified in making frequent halts inorder to gaze and wonder. Particularly was he impressed with the giantalligator that had been sunning himself on a half-submerged log and hadslid off with a splash at their approach, also the multitude of watermoccasins to be seen on stumps and other objects, looking most viciouswith their checkered backs and dusty bellies.
"You want to take particular notice of those dirty looking boys," Jacktold him in a low tone, pointing to a bunch of the reptiles as he spoke,"for they are water moccasins, cowardly enough, but always ready to giveyou a sly stab and I've been told they are so poisonous that even if aman didn't die after being struck, his wound would never heal properlyand his life become a burden to him. Give the critters a wide berthalways, partner."
"Huh! you jest better believe I will, Jack--never did care much forsnakes, even the harmless kinds an' I'd jump three feet in the air whenout West, if ever I heard a locust buzz, thinkin' it must be a rattler.Me an' the crawlin' breed don't mix, that's what."
Hardly three minutes after Perk had given expression to his dislikes,Jack caught him by the arm and with a trace of excitement that wasreally foreign to his nature, pointed to some object close to the trailthey were following.
"Jeru-salem crickets!" gasped Jack, possibly a bit louder thandiscretion would warrant but Jack felt there was some measure of excusefor his outburst.
There a monstrous diamondback rattlesnake, fully five feet long and asthick through the body as a good-sized man's thigh, had just raised itsenormous flat head and opened its jaws to display its terrible fangs.Even as the two stood there and stared, the rattle began to whirr itsdeadly warning.
"It's all right, Perk," said Jack soothingly, not certain what theeffect of so dangerous a neighbor might have upon his sensitive pal, "wecan pass him by out of reach. A rattler, unless madly in earnest, nevertries to strike further than his length for he has to get back in hiscoil in a hurry, being helpless to defend himself unless curled up."
Jack showed that this was true by passing the spot, with the venomousreptile only increasing his rattle and drawing back his head. Then Perkshut his teeth hard and followed suit but it might have been noticedthat he kept to the extreme edge of the narrow trail and had his musclesall set, as if in readiness to make a mighty spring if he thought thesnake was about to launch his coils forward.
"Whew!" hissed Perk, after he had safely negotiated the peril that layin the road, "I'm a'thinkin' what risks we got to run tonight when wecome a'snoopin' 'long this way. Nigh makes my hair curl to figure onthat baby comin' slap up against my leg. Wish now I had my old leatherhuntin' leggings with me to ward off them terrible fangs, each one aninch long, seemed like to me."
"Between us, brother, I myself don't seem to hanker traveling along thistrail after dark, and I mean to carry that small flash of mine, turningthe light on every few seconds for I don't believe it would be noticed.But they tell me these whoppers are rather scarce around thesesections--there may not be another inside of five miles."
"Glory! I should hope not," said the still trembling Perk, "but I justcan't forget we've got even one here to bother us. If only I dared usemy gun, I'd soon knock spots out o' him, bet you a cookey, Jack."
"Nothing doing, so forget that, partner. On the way back, if he's stillholding the fort, we might get a couple of long, stout poles, and try toknock him on the head if it can be done with little confusion--he won'tmake any noise outside of whirling his rattlebox and we could keep ourlips buttoned tight. Yes, that would be the best way to fix things, Ireckon."
Really Jack was saying this so as to comfort his mate; he realized thatPerk had received a severe shock at sight of the diamondback crawler andit might affect his desire to do any prowling around after nightfallwhich would throw the entire burden of so doing on his, Jack'sshoulders. Besides, there was a fair chance that the snake would havewithdrawn from his self-imposed task of guardian of the swamp trail andtaken himself off to other pastures.
They resumed their forward progress, with Perk keeping a watchful eyeout for other lurking perils--how were they to know but that an angrybobcat, bent on disputing this invasion of his tangled realm, might makea sudden spring from some limb of a live oak and land upon their backsto commence using his keen claws, tearing and stripping and snarlinglike a devil, such as these beasts always were reckoned in such sectionsof the country as he, Perk, had hunted.
Ten minutes, fifteen, passed then Jack again caught his chum's arm andwith a finger pressed on his own lips to betoken the necessity forsilence, pointed to something ahead that must have just caught hisattention. And Perk, looking, saw a sight that afforded him a sense ofsatisfaction both deep and profound.