The boys agreed to remember these admonitions, and everything having been put aboard, The Rolling Stone set sail up the river, with a good wind almost directly from the south, which, as they were sailing northward, ought to have carried them rapidly along; but for some reason or other, the boat did not seem to behave as well as when Adam was at the helm. Coot Brewer put her directly before the wind, and sometimes she would sail on at a good rate, and then she would begin to rock, the end of her boom almost dipping into the water as she went over on that side. Phœnix had just remarked that the boat had never been so much like a rolling stone as now, when the motion became so violent that Brewer was a little frightened, and put her about so suddenly that the boom came round with tremendous force, just grazing the top of Chap’s head. “I should think that sort of thing would upset her,” said Phil, who did not look upon Coot Brewer as much of a sailor. “But it didn’t, you see,” remarked the helmsman, complacently. “She’s a pretty stiff little boat.” After this, they tacked across the river for a while. Then they went before the wind again. Then they lay to while Mr. Brewer took in some reefs of the main-sail, which he said he would have done before had he thought about it. “It’ll make it easier for your heads,” he said, “if she jibes.” After a sail which lasted a great deal longer than Mr. Brewer said it would, the boat arrived at the mouth of the creek. “You can’t sail up the creek, you know,” said Brewer. “We go up there in the dinky. The way to hunt the ’gators here is to row up the creek a good long way, and then haul in oars and float down. That don’t frighten ’em, you see, and you kin easy git near enough to shoot ’em. But it’s too late to go up this evenin’, and so we’d better anchor the boat, git our supper, and go to bed, so’s to be up bright and airly to-morrow mornin’. We kin kill all the ’gators we want before noon, and then we’ll have plenty of time to git back to town before it’s dark.” This plan was agreed to, although the boys had hoped to begin their sport that afternoon, and the night was spent on the boat at the mouth of the creek. “Do you hear ’em roarin’ over there?” asked Mr. Brewer, after they had gone to bed. “I tell you we’ll have splendid times to-morrow!” [Illustration] CHAPTER XXV. AMONG THE ALLIGATORS. Early the next morning Chap awakened the party. The coffee was soon boiled, and after a hasty breakfast the two guns were put into the row-boat, together with some drinking water and a small luncheon, which Chap thought they might need, and Coot having taken the oars, they proceeded up the creek.