Emerging from the tall tropical bushes which were on either side of the railroad track, I saw a man standing there, and I was not long in learning that he was the owner of the grounds on which I had been intruding, and when I told him of my adventure with the alligator in the pond, he laughed heartily. In reciting my story to him he interrupted me by asking if I had thought of Jonah and the whale when that big pet alligator of his was staring me in the face. Well, not on your life! I learned that the station was only a ten minute walk, and I made a bee-line for it. I soon arrived, and behind some box cars I sat down to await the train, but, hungry again, I stole over to a small house nearby and secured a snack from the good housewife. With the food wrapped in a piece of newspaper, I returned to my seat behind the car, partook of my noontime meal, finishing off with mixed candies. The first train that came along was a local freight. I hid myself between the two front box-cars, but before the train drew out I was discovered by the conductor, who made me leave my perch on the couplers. He inquired where I was bound for, and I promptly told him I lived in Orlando and was trying to make my way home. I asked him to allow me to work my way and to this he consented. The freight was soon off and I was on my way once more. At stations I helped the train crew to load and unload the freight. About five o'clock that afternoon we reached Orlando, where I spent the night in an empty box-car. Kissimmee, a distance of thirty miles, was the next town of any size on the line to Tampa, so I decided to walk the entire distance. Thirty miles when accurately measured is no short walk, and especially so when over cross-ties and cinders. Well, it was a long, long walk, and before I reached Kissimmee that evening I was both hungry and tired. Thirty miles! It seemed like sixty! Along the route I met several tramps, but did not stop to talk with them. At a house I asked for food, but was refused, the woman telling me that half a dozen of my kind had been there that very day with the same request. On insisting, she sicked the dog after me, and I lost no time in clearing out. After covering about twenty-five miles of the journey my shoes began to hurt and blister my feet so badly I had to take them off and finish the journey in bare feet. Here another trouble arose, for the sharp cinders cut me. This was slow walking, but it was a great deal better than walking in new shoes. At dusk I limped slowly into Kissimmee with the new tans swinging idly on my arm. I truly felt tired and footsore. I was so hungry I could scarcely pull my weary limbs along the highway. Arriving at the station, I left the track and made my way to the main street. I walked casually into a sixth rate restaurant, and after some bargaining with the proprietress, an old maid from the swamps, I succeeded in inducing her to give me supper in exchange for the shoes I carried under my arm.