THE BOOK OF THE TARPON 



dering eyes upon us and seeing that we had for- 

 gotten our guns pursued their unhurried way. 

 Alligators fled from their mounds in the flooded 

 meadows and we pushed hard on the paddles till 

 we touched the tail of the frightened, fleeing 

 saurian with the bow of the canoe. 



We paddled so far and so thoughtlessly, 

 changing our course so frequently as we chased 

 the creatures of the wild, or followed wandering 

 leads of clear water, watching fish and turtles in 

 its depths, that when we thought to return there 

 was nothing to point out the path. We had 

 neither watch nor compass and as the sun was 

 near the zenith we had the whole horizon to 

 choose from. The afternoon was well advanced 

 when the trees on the western border of the Ever- 

 glades showed up and the landscape was un- 

 familiar when we reached it. We fancied we 

 were too far south, which was a mistake, and 

 paddled to the north for an hour before changing 

 our minds. 



It is not always easy to follow the borders of 

 the Everglades by day, and darkness so confused 

 us that we would have spent the night in the 

 canoe had we not been guided, first by the report 



174 



