Blue Shoe Lake

Chapter 7

The Night They Tranquilized the Wrong Gator

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Mark and Miss Ellie got up from their chairs on the porch and headed for the cabin door. As always, Mark was careful to open the screenless screen door for her. Sweeping his arm in a gentlemanly fashion, he gave a slight bow.

“Welcome to Blue Shoe Manor, ma’am!”

Miss Ellie placed her hand over her heart and replied in an overly dramatic Southern accent.

“Why, I don’t mind if I do, my good sir.”

They both burst into laughter as they stepped inside and the screenless screen door slammed behind them.

Out on the porch, Gator climbed from his old rocker and made his way toward the door.

Unfortunately, his rather sizeable tail had other plans.

The end of it caught in the big hole Mark had cut in the back of the rocker so Gator could sit comfortably.

“Now hold on just a dadgum minute…”

He took another step.

SCRAAAAAPE!

The rocker lurched forward.

Gator stopped and looked behind him.

The rocker looked back.

He took another step.

BANG! CLATTER!

A flowerpot tipped over.

A lantern rolled across the porch.

The old coffee can full of fishing lures flipped upside down, sending hooks and bobbers in every direction.

Inside the cabin, Mark stopped and tilted his head.

“You hear somethin’?”

Miss Ellie nodded.

“It sounds like a tornado wrestling a junk store.”

Another tremendous racket came from the porch.

CRASH!

The old minnow bucket rolled across the boards and banged into the wall.

Mark sighed.

“Gator.”

Another crash.

“Gator!”

The screenless screen door slowly creaked open.

There stood Gator.

The old rocker was still attached to his tail.

A fishing net hung over one shoulder.

A clothesline was wrapped around one leg.

And somehow, one of Mark’s flip-flops was dangling from one of his teeth.

He blinked.

Miss Ellie bit her lip trying not to laugh.

Mark folded his arms.

“Gator…”

“Yes, sir?”

“Why are you wearin’ half my porch?”

Gator looked behind him.

“I was just comin’ in for supper.”

At that exact moment the rocker finally slipped free and shot backward across the porch, crashing into the wall.

Everyone stood silent for a moment.

Then Miss Ellie lost the battle.

She laughed so hard she had to lean against the door frame.

Mark pointed toward the kitchen.

“Get in here before you tear up Blue Shoe Manor.”

Gator shuffled inside, still dragging a piece of clothesline behind him.

As the screenless screen door slammed once more, Miss Ellie wiped a tear from her eye.

“You know, Mark…”

“What’s that?”

“I don’t think life could possibly get any stranger around this lake.”

From somewhere outside came a loud splash.

Then a deep bellow.

ROOOOOWWWWRP!

Gator froze.

Mark slowly looked toward the window.

Miss Ellie raised an eyebrow.

From the darkness came another bellow.

ROOOOOWWWWRP!

Gator swallowed hard.

“I believe…”

“What?”

“…Spartacus has arrived for dinner.”

Mark peered out the little window above the sink, the one with the little checkered curtains.

The evening darkness had settled over Blue Shoe Lake. Out by the water, a whole flock of lightning bugs drifted through the air, their tiny tails blinking like floating stars.

Then Mark’s eyes narrowed.

There…peeking up from the water like two bobbers floating side by side…was a pair of very large, glistening red eyes.

Beside them was another pair.

Smaller.

Pink.

The little pink eyes kept dipping beneath the water and popping back up, causing ripples that slapped gently against the buckets tied to the dock.

Mark smiled.

“Well, I’ll be…Pearl’s out there.”

But then he looked back at the larger red eyes.

His smile disappeared.

“Gator…”

“Yeah?”

“I think we gonna have to deal with ol’ Spartacus.”

Just then—

WHOOOOSH!

A tremendous commotion erupted in the water.

The entire dock lurched.

Buckets bounced.

Ropes creaked.

The old boat rocked so hard it nearly untied itself.

Then it happened.

A very frightened and very Southern female voice rang out across the lake.

“GATOR! HELP ME!”

Another splash.

“He done got me in a bad pre-dicament here! HELP!”

Gator’s eyes got as big as saucers.

Pearl’s voice came again.

“GATOR! If you don’t get out here right this minute, this rascal’s fixin’ to court me right into next Tuesday!”

A deep, rumbling bellow rolled across the lake.

ROOOOOWWWWRP!

Pearl squealed.

“He’s splashed my eyelashes off!”

Mark slapped both hands on the counter.

“Well, don’t just stand there! Your girl needs ya!”

Gator swallowed hard.

“My girl?”

Another splash.

“GATOR! HE’S WRITIN’ MY NAME IN THE WATER WITH LILY PADS!”

Mark grinned.

“Oh, he done gone romantic.”

Miss Ellie laughed so hard she had to hold onto the sink.

Gator took a deep breath.

Then another.

He straightened his suspenders.

Adjusted his hat.

And marched toward the door.

“I’m goin’ in.”

⸻

Outside, the lake looked like it had turned into a boiling pot of gumbo.

Whatever was going on beneath the surface was stirring up things that hadn’t seen daylight in years.

Bubbles rose everywhere.

Then—

BLOOP!

An old tennis shoe floated to the top.

Then another.

A rusty coffee can.

A broken fishing pole.

An ancient tackle box.

A lawn chair.

A bicycle tire.

Even a toaster.

Gator raced to the end of the dock, ready to rescue his beloved Pearl.

Then he stopped.

Floating right in front of him was a battered straw hat.

The very one he’d lost three summers ago.

He picked it up and smiled.

“I wondered where you got off to.”

A tremendous splash erupted behind him.

WHOOOOSH!

“GATOR! A little help here!”

He looked up.

Then back at the hat.

“Just one second, honey.”

He lovingly placed it on his head.

Perfect fit.

Another giant splash.

“GATOR!”

He straightened the brim.

“Mercy…I’ve missed this hat.”

⸻

The water suddenly exploded.

All kinds of stuff from over the years came bubbling up from the bottom as the two gators wrestled together.

Old shoes.

Fishing poles.

A coffee mug.

Even an old lantern.

Then Mark peered into the darkness and gasped.

“Oh Lordy Beans!”

He turned toward Miss Ellie.

“It looks like ol’ Spartacus and Mr. No Shoulders done tandem teamed up! We gotta help Pearl! It’s gonna take all of us!”

Miss Ellie sprang into action.

She ran to her backpack and pulled out what looked very much like a gun.

Mark’s eyes got as big as saucers.

He put both hands up.

“We don’t need no mass violins around here, Miss Ellie! You might hit Gator!”

Miss Ellie laughed.

“It’s not that kind of gun.”

She reached into her backpack again and pulled out a small glass vial.

“We’re gonna put us some critters to sleep.”

She carefully loaded the vial into the device.

“I’ll shoot and you reload the vials.”

Mark had never seen anything like this before.

He whispered beneath his breath.

“Dang…this here’s a real woman.”

⸻

It was easy enough to tell which combatant was Pearl.

She was the only one that was all white with bright pink eyes.

Mark picked up one of the lanterns and held it high over his head.

“There! Just don’t hit the white one!”

Miss Ellie nodded.

She aimed.

PFFFT!

A dart sailed through the darkness.

ROOOOOWWWWRP!

“I got somethin’!” she yelled.

Another dart.

PFFFT!

THUNK!

It hit something solid.

A loud hiss erupted.

SSSSSSSS!

“Mr. No Shoulders!” Mark shouted.

Out in the water, Gator had somehow climbed onto Spartacus’s back and was riding him like a lizard on a bear.

“YEEEEE-HAW!”

Spartacus spun in circles.

Water flew everywhere.

“Get him, Gator!” Mark hollered.

Pearl popped her head above the water.

“Hang on, sugar!”

Miss Ellie looked down.

One vial remained.

The last one.

Mark carefully loaded it into the gun.

Then he patted her on the back like some kind of military mortar man.

“Make this one count, Miss Ellie.”

She nodded.

“I intend to.”

She laid the gun over her forearm.

Closed one eye.

Took a deep breath.

The lake became strangely quiet.

Even the lightning bugs seemed to pause.

She squeezed the trigger.

PFFFT!

A second later—

“YOWZAH! THAT HURTS!”

Everything froze.

Mark slowly lowered the lantern.

Miss Ellie slowly lowered the gun.

Pearl blinked.

Spartacus blinked.

Mr. No Shoulders stopped hissing.

And there, standing at the end of the dock…

was Gator.

The dart was sticking right out of his backside.

He looked over his shoulder.

Cross-eyed.

“Well…that don’t seem ideal.”

Miss Ellie’s eyes got as big as dinner plates.

“Oh no.”

Gator took one wobbly step.

Then another.

“I suddenly feel…”

He yawned.

“…kinda…sleep—”

PLOP!

He fell face-first into the water.

A few bubbles came up.

Then nothing.

“GATOR!” Pearl cried.

A moment later Gator floated back up.

Snoring.

HOOOOONK…SHOOOO…HOOOOONK…

Even Spartacus looked confused.

Pearl slowly swam over and nudged him.

“He went to sleep in the middle of rescuin’ me.”

Mark scratched his head.

“Honestly…that seems about right.”

The whole lake went silent.

Then, for the first time all evening…

Pearl started laughing.

Then Spartacus made a strange grunting sound that almost sounded like laughing too.

Even Mr. No Shoulders gave a little hiss that seemed suspiciously amused.

Miss Ellie sat down on the porch steps and buried her face in her hands.

“I tranquilized the hero.”

Mark sat down beside her.

“You sure did.”

They both watched Gator floating peacefully under the moonlight, snoring loud enough to scare fish clear across the lake.

Finally Mark smiled.

“You know…this may be the dumbest rescue mission in Blue Shoe Lake history.”

Just then Gator mumbled in his sleep.

“Tell Pearl…she’s…purdy…”

Pearl blushed even pinker than her eyes.

And somewhere out in the darkness…

a bullfrog croaked:

“Y’all ain’t gonna believe this…they tranquilized the wrong gator!”

To Be Continued…