d you children ever get
here, anyhow? But don't be afraid. The 'gators won't hurt you. They'll
all jump into the river!"
And, surely enough, no sooner had the man pulled his boat close to the
island, so that the keel grated on the sand, than, with great splashes,
the alligators all plunged into the river.
"What made 'em go away?" asked Sue, as she and Bunny went down to the
shore.
"Oh, alligators are timid," said the man, with a laugh. "Did they scare
you? Well, if you had only run at them or thrown something at them, they
would all have crawled into the water. But who are you, anyhow?"
"I'm Bunny Brown and this is my sister, Sue," said the little fellow.
"Well, I'm Mr. Bunn," was the man's reply, and he smiled at the
children. "I raise alligators a few miles down the river. Some of 'em
got away last night, and I've rowed up here to see if I could find 'em.
I did."
"But they all got away!" exclaimed Bunny, for now not one of the scaly
creatures was in sight.
"Oh, I'll get 'em again," said Mr. Bunn. "They won't go very much
farther up Squaw River. It's too shallow. They'll soon turn and swim
down, and they can't get past my place for I have a net stretched across
the river to hold 'em back. Well, I'm glad I have found my 'gators. I
was afraid some one had taken them. Now shall I put you children in my
boat and row you home? Where do you live?"
"We're staying at Mr. Halliday's," Bunny answered.
"Oh, at Orange Beach. Yes, I know him and I know his place. You're quite
a way from there. How'd you get here?"
"On a raft," Bunny replied. "It's over on that other island," and he
pointed to the larger one.
"Our shoes and stockings are away back near the orange trees," said Sue.
"Oh," laughed Mr. Bunn. "Well, I'll let you come in my boat without any
shoes or stockings on. Get aboard!"
A little later he was rowing the children up the river. Sue was no
longer afraid, even though she could see some alligators swimming around
in the water. She felt safe in the big boat, and so did Bunny.
"What do you keep 'gators for?" asked Bunny, when the boat was near the
place where he and Sue had started out in the raft, some hours before.
"For their hides," answered Mr. Bunn. "I sell the hides, and pocketbooks
and valises are made from them. But I guess there are your folks looking
for you," and he nodded toward shore.
And there, on the bank stood Daddy and Mother Brown and Mr. Halliday,
looking anxiously up a
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