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TorchiiV for 'Gators 
By P. C. TUCKER 
Concluded from page 130. 
A S the sun, like a huge globe of crimson, 
seemed to drop from sight behind the 
sea cone and cut grass of the big marsh, 
Cauge slid the bow of the flat up the sloping 
bank of the landing at the foot of the avenue of 
water oaks, hung with the long gray streamers of 
Spanish moss, that led up to the big house. 
Its wide galleries and row of fluted columns 
flanked broad front steps whose generous width 
seemed made for a larger crowd than that 
now descending them. As Marse Hennery and 
the judge followed by James and several darky 
boys, laden with guns, ammunition, belts, jack- 
lights, lunch, bucket, .etc., surrounded by a group 
of frisking, leaping hounds came to meet him, 
the dogs made merry music with their long- 
drawn chase cry and yelps of anticipation. 
“Down Red! you Jupe, get back there, sir. 
No, you are not going with us. Be quiet, sirs; 
begone. You see, judge, how quickly those ras¬ 
cals recognize our preparations? They think a 
deer hunt is on, and if James and the boys don’t 
watch them they will follow us along the bayou 
banks clear to the lake. Howdy, Cauge! I 
hear you had good luck last night, ’gatoring. 
Think we can get two or three to-night? This 
is Judge Lasiter. He has never shot a ’gator 
at night, and I told him that you could give him 
a decidedly interesting hunt, and facts about 
them that few others could.” 
“Evenin’, Marse Hennery; evenin’, sah. Yaas, 
sah, middlin , jes’ middlin’. Mighty proud teh 
meet yeh, sah. Reclaim I knows whar dars two 
er foah beeg uns dat de jedge kin try bees han’ 
at. Dev’s mighty pernickey teh kill, sell. Yaas, 
Marse Hennery, yeh bettah tek de middle seat. 
“Heah, yer boys, whad yeh t’inkin’ erbout 
teh let dem dorgs splash erroun’ heah een dat 
fashion. Doan’t yeh see deys er muckin’ up 
de jedge? Yeh ‘freedom trash’’ ent wuf yoh 
salt. Tek dem houn’s baick teh de house ter- 
reckly. Fus t’ing yeh knows dey be er fol- 
lerin erlong de bank en sum ole ’gator dun gib 
um er flip wid hees tail en dat’ll be de eend 
er dat dorg. Wouldn’t count eef ’twus sech 
trash es you all, but dem houn’s cos’ money. Go 
on erlong, yeh fool niggah s, foah I tek dis heah 
pole teh yeh. Marse Jeems, chase urn foah me. 
Lord, Lordy! Marse Hennery, ef we all dun 
cut up dat er way w’en we wuz boys wat would 
er cum teh us—eh, huh.” 
Shoving off, he slowly poled the flat upstream. 
A bend soon shut the group of boys and dis¬ 
appointed dogs from view, but their disconsolate 
howls followed them for some time. The after 
glory of the sunset soon faded and dusk rapidly 
drew on. Along the banks lusty frogs were tun¬ 
ing up their throats to practice the prelude of 
their nightly chorus. Overhead, noisy flocks of 
red-wmged blackbirds, rusty grackles and rice 
birds were winging their way to roosts in the 
marsh or settling for the night among the canes 
and rushes. Corn crake and poules d'eaux were 
sounding their evening song from the depths of 
the cut grass, and as the flat approached the lake, 
darkness had settled, millions of lightning bugs 
(not fireflies) were flitting across the stream, 
and over the marsh, flashing their double head¬ 
lights like twin stars. Above, the mournful cry 
of the bull?at (first cousin to the whippoor¬ 
will) came in constant succession, interspersed 
by the peculiar flir of his wings as he dropped 
like a plummet in midflight, only to tower and 
circle again in his unwearied hunt for mos¬ 
quitoes and other winged nocturnal insects. 
From the woods came the first notes of the 
mockingbird even song, his fledglings’ supper 
hour past, and his day's routine near its end- 
Now and again the hoot of an owl echoed from 
the depths, telling that the tragedies of the night 
had begun. 
Marse Henry and the judge were busy over¬ 
hauling their outfit and preparing for the com¬ 
ing sport, while old Cauge offered chuckling 
comment and advice freely, but with due respect. 
The jacklights were lit and properly adjusted on 
the leather bands of their soft felt hats. A small 
lump of white candle wax was carefully affixed 
to the front sights of the ten-gauge duck guns, 
and a couple of shells of heavy buckshot cham¬ 
bered, the hook pole examined and laid along 
the thwarts. 
“Marse Hennery, sah, has yer dun ’splain’ 
eibout de gators’ eyes en jes how teh shoot 
em, caze yeh knows ef yeh holes too high yeh 
only scratches dey baicks, en ef yeh hits em teh 
low yeh jes smashes dey noses. Yaas, sah, 
judge, dey eye dun luk laik er half dead cole 
er fiali, en yeh waits till yeh kin almos’ tech 
dem wid de muzzle er de gun, den yeh shoots 
rite ’tween ’em, en den grab dat hook pole en 
spike heem. Doan’t mine de watah dat he flings, 
en geet er good holt, feh once he sinks he’s dun 
gone, feh dey’s alles got ernuff life een em teh 
swim off teh er hole les’ yer hook em queek. 
Dey only floats er minute eh so. 
“Des turn yeh jack er leetle mite dis way, ] 
Marse Hennery; dar. See dat beeg coon he eye 1 
1 eeg en roun’, sah. Yaas, sah, jedge, he's er 
ketchin frogs en clamses. See dem two beeg 
lights ober dar teh de right, sah, en range er 
yeh jack? Das er baby ’gator. Now he dun 
turn. Hole her dah, seh. Yer see heem closter. 
No, he teh leetle teh bodder with. Yah, Marse j 
Hennery, dat ole wil’cat dun gotter scaih, suah. 
Yeh shine he eye good, yesseh. Deh eye kin er 
green en narrah. Min’, now, Marse Hennery, 
we’se down en de Black Slough. See dose eyes. 
Yesseh. yer bettah handle de hook en let de 
jedge do de shootin’. W’en yeh spike heem 
jes’ slide heem back teh me. I’se gotter couple 
er lines teh de stern, en we-alls des tow heem I 
ahint. No, sah, dis niggah doan’t count on tekin’ 
’em erboard. Dat’s good nuff w’en I’se ’lone 
en gotter nuther niggah wid me. W’at yeh t’ink 
de jedge goin’ do w’en he ’gins teh flap hees tail 
en hah er spasm een de flat? No, sah; no, sah! 
Dat no wey teh treat cumpany, en yeh knows 
hit, Marse Hennery. Keerful, now; we-alls go 
rite up teh dat ole sinnah.” 
Two immense globes of brownish-red were 
visible in the rays of the judge’s headlight. They 
zig-zagged across the path of the boat. Now 
only one was visible, then both would gleam out 
as the huge lizard slowly reconnoitered the light 
that bewildered while it fascinated him. With 
skillful paddle strokes the old negro propelled 
the boat until it seemed to be almost upon the 
alligator, whose whole head and part of his 
back were sharply visible above the black sur¬ 
face of the water. A softly whispered, “Now, 
judge,” from Marse Henry, and the darkness 
was reft by a blinding flash, and the crash of 
the report went booming off across the water. 
1 he darkness closed down more dense seem¬ 
ingly than before, while a thousand new sounds 
broke on the ear. Frightened bird calls and 
hurried wing beats, cry of bittern and roebeck, 
and rush of animals, probably cattle or half 
wild hogs, feeding near the bank, and the plung¬ 
ing splash of some large animal, as it took to 
the lake in alarm—all rose in momentary dis¬ 
cord. But the occupants of the flat had other 
things to interest them. 
Almost at the flash of the gun a surge of spray 
deluged them as the lizard plunged in its death 
throes. Then, as Cauge swunsr the flat broad- 1 
side to, Marse Henry, by a skillful lunge, had 
gaffed the alligator and swung him aft, where 
Cauge quickly secured him with a slip noose 
as he hung supine to the hook pole, though an 
occasional surge of the tail or snapping of the 
jaws showed life was not wholly extinct, al¬ 
though the entire crest of its head was shat¬ 
tered by the charge of heavy shot. 
Dat er good shot, sah, jedge. Yeh sure dun 
heem up brown; yes, sah. Reckum dah’s er- 
nother down en Blue Gum reach, en den dah’s 
