18 - Outdoor Girls in Florida by Laura Lee Hope

A Florida vacation becomes an adventurous journey when the Outdoor Girls explore orange groves and trek into the mysterious interior. Sun, surprise, and southern charm await!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Org read by Christine Okialda. The Outdoor Girls in Florida
by Laura Lee Hope Between two perils? What what are
we going to do? Grace, she, as Betty said afterward,
seemed always to be the first to ask questions that
were hard to answer in an emergency. They may attack us.

(00:25):
Why can't you say something less less scary, demanded Mollie, who,
after the first gasp of fright, had come forward to
stand beside Betty. Amy had already shrunk to a place
in the rear near Grace. It seemed to always be thus,
with Betty and Molly facing the immediate danger, and Grace
and Amy needing protection. Not that they were not brave

(00:48):
when occasion demanded it. They would not have been outdoor
girls else, But somehow the first fear of something menacing
sent Amy and Grace scurrying to the rear, whence it
needed considerable persuasion to bring them to the van again.
They don't seem to see us, ventured Amy, after a
few ten seconds during which the four had stared at

(01:10):
the alligators. They won't see you and Grace at all
if you stayed behind us, said Molly, a bit sharply,
there's no present danger as far as I can see.
Why don't you come out and help Betty and me
throw stones at them? Oh you're never going to do that,
gasped Grace. Why that would make them mad? Well, answered

(01:30):
Betty with a shrug of her shoulders. I don't know
that a mad alligator is any worse than any other kind.
They're all mad as far as I'm concerned, and throwing
stones at them can't make them any worse. I rather
side with Molly. We may drive them away, Yes, and
it me drive them towards us, cried Amy. Please don't.
We won't coax them this way if we can help it,

(01:52):
said Betty. You may be sure of that, but we
must do something. We can't stay out on this almost
island much longer. We'll have to eat. And where's Tom, suddenly,
asked Grace. He ought to be able to rescue us.
He knows all about alligators and such things. Yes, maybe
he can charm them away, suggested Molly, half sarcastically. But

(02:15):
I don't see him. The girls looked toward where they
had left their escort. Setting the table on the grass,
They had a glimpse of the white cloth and the
various things upon it, but Tom was not in sight.
Maybe maybe an alligator ate him, said Grace. She was
half crying. Now, don't be silly, directed Betty in a

(02:36):
stern tone. It was sometimes necessary to be severe with
Grace when she was likely to give way to her feelings,
but in this case Betty did not want to be
too much so, for she realized all that her chum
had suffered in the disappearance of her brother. The two
big alligators, and they were exceptionally large, so the girl

(02:57):
said afterward, seemed to have taken permanent possession of the
narrow neck of land that connected the peninsula with the
main shore. The girls were practically prisoners on what, with
the rise of the river, would be an island. They
don't seem to be coming after us, remarked Molly, looking
about for some stones or anything else to use as

(03:18):
a weapon of offense. No, they're just waiting their time,
said Amy, who was still clinging to Grace. When they
get ready, they'll crawl out here. And and what is
it alligators do to you anyhow? Charm you? You're thinking
of snakes, said Betty, narrowly watching the saurians. Alligators knock

(03:41):
you down with their tails. I understand sort of stun
you and spare as the horrible details, interrupted Mollie, and
she drawled it out in such a funny way that
the others laughed. The alligators evinced no intention of coming forward.
They were moving about, seeming to scoop out resting places

(04:03):
in the hot sand on which the sun poured fierce rays. Then,
having made themselves comfortable, stretched out at full length, the
creatures sunned themselves. The girls were getting uncomfortable now, for
they were in an exposed position, and the day was warm.
There was very little shade on that small peninsula. We've

(04:25):
got to get help, decided Molly at length. For some reason,
our escort has deserted us. And oh, don't say that,
cried Betty. I'm sure he can't have done that. Well,
he isn't here, is, he demanded Mollie, waving her hand
toward the distant spread on the grass. And I'd like
to know where he is. Maybe some of those men

(04:46):
who were hanging about the orange grove, or who were
after that poor ragged young man, have taken Tom away,
suggested Amy. Comforting, isn't, she asked Mollie, appealing to the others. Well,
I mean, oh, never mind, don't make it any worse,
interrupted Molly. The question is what can we do. Let's

(05:06):
call for him, suggested Grace. He can't have gone very far,
and it's a still day. He'll hear us. It is
rather strange where he could have gone, mused Betty anxiously.
She looked toward the main shore. There was no sight
of tom Osborne. Together, the girls raised their voices in
a shout that must have carried far. They wailed, but

(05:28):
there was no response. Then they called again with like result.
The outdoor girls looked anxiously at one another. The alligators
seemed disposed to maintain their position indefinitely, and the neck
of the land was so narrow that the Sourians occupied
the entire width of it. Well here goes, cried Betty.

(05:49):
When it was evident that their calls were not going
to be heated. With that, she threw a stone at
the nearest alligator. Her aim was exceptionally good. Betty admitted
that herself afterwards, the missile falling on the broad and
scaly back of the reptile. Oh oh, cried Grace. Now
you've done it, bet They all looked and waited. Nothing happened.

(06:12):
The alligator merely moved his tail slightly and did not
open his eyes. Well, I don't see that, I did
very much, said Betty, calmly. I'm going to try again.
Don't beg grace. They may come for us. At that moment, Amy,
who had gone back a little way toward the far
end of the spit of land, uttered a cry. What

(06:34):
is it? Cried Molly. Is there another alligator there? No,
but I have found a way to get off and
back to the shore without going near those creatures. See
here is a sand bar curving from the side here
right around to that other point of land. You can
see the bottom all the way to shore. It isn't
more than a few inches deep. And we can wait.

(06:55):
They all ran to where Amy stood forgetting for the
time being the alligators that held them. That's so it
can't be done, cried Betty, taking in at a glance
Amy's plan. We can wade right along that raised bar.
The water is deep on either side of it, but
as she says, it is only a few inches deep
on top of the bar. Come on, girls, and she

(07:17):
sat down and began unbuttoning her shoes. Don't don't, cried Molly,
keep them on. What if we do get wet, our
shoes will soon dry. It so hot, and there might
be crabs or little fishes, or little alligators on the bar.
We'll wait in our shoes, all right. I just as
soon agreed Betty little Captain that she was. She prepared

(07:41):
to take the lead. She was about to step out
into the shallow water when she drew back with a gasp.
What's the matter, cold, asked Mollie. No, but look, snakes
Betty pointed to were pursuing their sinuous way in the
shallow water. Over the bar were a number of reptiles moccasins.

(08:01):
Whispered Molly. We we can't go with thou way either,
and she glanced back toward the sleeping alligators. Both ways
of escape were blocked. End of Chapter eighteen.