arm, fast coming in search of us.

CHAPTER NINE.

"I was afraid something was wrong," he said. "And look here, Morgan, I
want to live at peace with all the world, but self-preservation is the
first law of nature, and I would rather you did not leave the place
again unarmed.--Well, George," he continued, turning to me, "where have
you been?"

I told him of our adventure, and he was thoughtful for a few moments.

"You must go together in the morning and kill the thing," he said. "I
don't like destroying life, but these wild creatures of the forest and
swamp must give way to man. If they do not they must perish. All
deadly creatures must be killed without mercy. There is not room in the
parts of the earth we chose to live in for both."

Consequently, after making our arrangements, I called Morgan at
daybreak, and we took a gun and ammunition to execute the alligator.

"Be a lesson for you in the use of a firelock, Master George," said
Morgan, as we travelled on across our clearing, and paused at the edge
of the forest. "Now then, my lad," he cried, giving his orders in a
military way, and bidding me load.

I had seen the charging of a gun often enough to be able to go through
the task sufficiently well to get a few words of commendation, but a
good many of blame.

"Ram well home, my lad. I like to see the rod hop again, and the powder
solid."

"What difference does it make?" I asked.

"All the difference in the world, my lad. Powder's rum stuff, and good
loading makes it do its work well. Bad loading makes it do its work
anyhow."

"I don't understand you," I said.

"It's easy enough, sir. S'pose I take a charge of powder, and lay it
loose on a stone. If I set light to it there's a puff and some smoke,
and that's all, because it has plenty of room. But if I shut it up
tight in a gun-barrel rammed down hard, it goes off with a loud bang,
because it has to burst its way out. If you ram lightly, the bullet
will go only a little way. If you ram hard, your bullet will go
straight to the mark."

"There it is then, rammed hard," I said, as I made the ramrod ring.

"That's right. Now you shall shoot the 'gator. Some folks say their
skin's too hard for the bullet to go through. We shall see."

We went on together toward our landing-place, and then on and away to
the left, following our previous day's trail more and more into the
swamp, beside the river, talking about the fight we had had wit