The Mystery of the Alligator Swamp Read Online Free

said, “What happened to that pirogue?”
    “Pirogue?” repeated Jessie in a puzzled voice.
    “It’s what we call boats here. They’re special boats that float easily in shallow water,” Rose said impatiently. “And they’re hard to turn over. Have you kids been fooling around with it?”
    “No!” said Benny indignantly.
    “We just got here,” Henry explained. “That’s how we found it.”
    Swampwater steered his pirogue out to the middle of the bayou. “It’s Billie’s old pirogue,” he said. “The one made out of a hollow cypress log. Not one of these newfangled boats we just call pirogues, but a real one. Cher, she is going to be mad when she sees this. That old boat is her favorite.”
    “Let’s get it back to the dock, then,” said Rose.
    As the Aldens watched, the three swamp guides turned Billie’s boat over and towed it back to the dock. Rose began to tie it back to one of the pilings. She stopped. “Look,” she said. “This rope’s been cut!”
    It was true.
    “Someone did that on purpose, then,” said Swampwater.
    “And that’s not all,” said Eve. She pointed. “Look.”
    Along one edge of the pirogue a large, jagged chunk was missing.
    Swampwater frowned. “What on earth is that?” he said.
    “It looks like something bit the boat,” Violet said.
    “What would bite a boat?” asked Jessie.
    “An alligator!” said Benny. He was very excited. “We heard it last night. It came swimming up the bayou and bit the rope and bit the boat!”
    Everyone stared at Benny.
    “What are you talking about?” asked Swampwater.
    Benny told the guide what he’d heard in the night. “Swish, swish, swish,” he said. “That’s what it sounded like. An alligator swimming.”
    “That’s crazy,” said Swampwater.
    “No, its not,” said Eve. She was sitting bolt upright in the boat, her hands to her cheeks. “It’s not crazy at all.”
    “The boat got loose, or maybe, someone cut it loose for a joke, and it bumped into something,” said Swampwater.
    “If that’s what happened, then what’s this?” asked Rose. She leaned over and pried something out of the bite-shaped place on the pirogue. She held it up.
    “That’s an alligator tooth,” said Swampwater slowly. “And from a big alligator, too. Well, I’ll be swamped.”
    No one spoke for a long moment.
    Then Eve said quietly, “Swish, swish, swish. That’s the sound I heard right before I saw the ghost alligator in Crying Bayou.”

Chapter 4
The Ghost Alligator
    “Eve, there’s no such thing as a ghost alligator,” said Swampwater loudly. His voice echoed in the quiet dawn.
    Again no one spoke. But Rose looked nervous.
    Then Violet asked, “If it wasn’t an alligator, what was it?”
    “Someone mean as a swamp rat, thinking it’s a funny joke,” said Swampwater.
    “Or maybe someone trying to scare Billie,” suggested Henry.
    “Scare Billie? Who would want to do that?” asked Eve, looking surprised.
    “Travis Bush. He’s staying at the camp. He wants to buy it from Billie, but she doesn’t want to sell it to him,” said Jessie.
    “Him. Huh.” Swampwater snorted. “I’d like to see him sneak around in the bayou in the middle of the night. If he tried to do something like this, he’d fall in. He can’t walk without tripping over his feet.”
    “No one’s trying to scare Billie,” Rose said. “Maybe it was an alligator.”
    “A ghost alligator,” said Eve stubbornly.
    Rose gave her a sharp look. She shook her head slightly, then said, “Let’s get started. Put on those life jackets and climb into the Swamp Flower one at a time.”
    Quickly the Aldens obeyed and Swampwater pointed the boat out into the bayou.
    Henry looked at Eve. “Crying Bayou,” he said. “Where’s that? And why is it called Crying Bayou?”
    “It’s a long way from here,” said Rose quickly.
    Eve nodded. “It’s called Crying Bayou because that’s how the wind sounds when it blows through that part of the swamp,” she