e assures them of that;
and again he is drawn up, foot by foot, until half his body is out on
the bank. He is a monster, and Jan with an uplifted axe approaches him
very carefully.

"Look out, Jan!" shouts Frank.

The warning comes too late; like lightning the great tail sweeps round,
and man and axe are flung ten feet into the bushes.

Luckily no bones are broken, but poor Jan is badly bruised and
decidedly shaken up. He does not care to renew the attack, and Frank
runs to the house for a rifle. Taking steady aim, while standing at a
respectful distance from that mighty tail, he sends a bullet crashing
through the flat skull, and the struggle is ended.

That evening was spent in telling and in listening to alligator
stories, and Frank was the hero of the hour for having so skilfully
captured and killed the alligator that had been for a long time the
dread of the community.

CHAPTER XV.

A FIRE HUNT, AND MARK'S DISAPPEARANCE.

Besides showing Mark how to catch otter and alligators, Frank taught
him how to kill or capture various other wild animals. Among other
things he made plain the mysteries of fire hunting for deer, and this
proved a more fascinating sport to Mark than any other. As explained by
Frank, fire hunting is hunting at night, either on foot or horseback,
by means of a fire-pan. This is an iron cage attached to the end of a
light pole. It is filled with blazing light-wood knots, and the pole is
carried over the hunter's left shoulder, so that the blaze is directly
behind and a little above his head. While he himself is shrouded in
darkness, any object getting within the long lane of light cast in
front of him is distinctly visible, and in this light the eyes of a
wild animal shine like coals of fire. The animal, fascinated by the
light, as all wild animals are, and being unable to see the hunter,
stands perfectly still, watching the mysterious flames as they
approach, until perhaps the first warning he has of danger is the
bullet that, driven into his brain between the shining eyes,
permanently satisfies his curiosity.

When he goes afoot, the hunter must take with him an assistant to carry
a bag of pine knots to replenish the fire; but on horseback he can
carry his own fuel in a sack behind the saddle.

Some fire hunters prefer to carry a powerful bull's-eye lantern
strapped in front of their hats; but our boys did not possess any
bull's-eyes, and were forced to be content with the more