I rang again to stop the engine, and then to start it. It went hard, and I heard some snapping near the stern. It was evident that the screw had been fouled in a root, and I was afraid it might have been twisted into the propeller. I stopped the engine again. When I found the screw did not move freely I ran aft, and found Hop Tossford had climbed over the stern with a boat-hook in his hand, and was punching in the direction of the propeller.
"It's a crocodile!" he exclaimed. "There it goes!"
I saw the creature rise to the top of the water. Hop was English, and Englishmen are apt to call all saurians by this name. I should not have expected to see the real alligator so near the salt water, for I had heard that only crocodiles proper lived or thrived in salt water. It may have been one washed out from some bayou by the high water, which was prevailing at this time, or it may have been the real crocodile. I did not stop then to reason about this case in natural history; but as soon as I saw the mangled reptile, which was about ten feet long, on the surface of the water, I hastened to the pilot-house, and started the screw again. This time it moved freely, and I concluded that the saurian had been resting on the blades of the propeller when it began to turn.
By this time the Islander had made about a quarter of a mile, as I judged, against the swift current. But there was now no chance for her to dodge us. Our fires were in excellent condition, for the fireman had been forcing them for twenty minutes.
"A miss hit," said Captain Cayo, coming into the pilot-house, when it was clear that the capture would not come off immediately.
"I suppose that alligator went down to drink when we came up to the bank of the river," I replied. "But he has the worst of it, for the screw has smashed him."
I saw the saurian floating motionless down stream, and the screw had evidently made short work of him.
"I am sorry the rascal interfered with our affair," added the pilot.
"The game is not up yet. We shall have an opportunity to learn which is the faster steamer," I replied.
"The current must be running five or six miles an hour here," said Captain Cayo.
"About five miles an hour is the usual rate of the Mississippi," I answered. "But it runs just as fast for the Islander as it does for the Sylvania."