Free The Mystery of the Alligator Swamp by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Authors: Gertrude Chandler Warner
the pirogue out into the main channel and in front of the pirogue in which Rose and Eve sat.
“Oh!” cried Eve, jumping back and dropping a piece of chicken into the bayou.
“What are you doing here?” Rose demanded.
“Catching a ghost alligator,” said Benny. “And you’re it!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Rose.
“Yes, you do,” said Jessie. “We’re talking about Marshmallow. That’s the name of your alligator, isn’t it? We heard you talking about her and we know she’s no ghost. She’s a white alligator with blue eyes — like the ones in the zoo in New Orleans.”
Rose scowled fiercely at the children without answering.
Eve’s mouth dropped open. “H-how did you know?” she stammered.
“Why don’t we go back to Billie’s,” said Henry. “We can talk about it there. And you can tell Billie what’s been going on.”
Chapter 10
An Alligator Birthday
“I don’t believe it!” Billie cried. “A white alligator? A real one?” She shook her head in amazement.
The Aldens, Billie, Rose, and Eve were sitting on the restaurant porch. Billie had put a sign on the restaurant door saying, DINNER DELAYED. COME BACK LATER.
“But albino alligators can’t live in the wild. They get eaten almost as soon as they’re born,” said Billie.
“Marshmallow’s not an albino,” Eve explained. “She’s a … a leucistic alligator, like the ones in the zoo in New Orleans. They have blue eyes. But they can still die of sunburn. And get eaten because they aren’t camouflaged like regular alligator babies.”
“I found Marshmallow when she was just hatched,” Rose explained. “Right by a nest. She was the only one. I don’t know if the others got eaten or if she was the only white alligator. She was very small. I scooped her up in my fishing net and I fixed a shady, safe pen for her where nothing could catch and eat her, and then I raised her. She’s over four years old now and big for her age, because I’ve fed her well.”
“It’s hard to keep a secret that long,” Grandfather observed.
“I figured it out,” Eve said. “I wondered what Rose was doing with all the fish she caught. I followed her one day when she went fishing and saw her take the fish to Marshmallow’s pen and feed her.”
“And then Marshmallow got away — we caught her again, but not before someone saw her. That’s when Eve and I started telling stories about the ghost alligator,” Rose said. “We wanted to keep people away from that part of the swamp.”
“You took Gaston’s binoculars,” Benny said to Eve.
Eve nodded, then looked down. “I’m sorry I did that,” she said. “I hope Uncle Gaston won’t be too angry. But it was an emergency. Marshmallow had gotten out again and those two fishermen had seen her. We had to find her in a hurry, before someone else caught her.”
“Or she died of sunburn,” added Rose.
“It may have been Marshmallow that took a bite out of your pirogue,” Eve said. “I’m sorry about that, Billie. That was another reason we wanted to catch her as soon as we could.”
“The chicken — you used it as bait to set the trap,” said Violet.
“The chicken from my restaurant?” Billie sat up in her chair on the restaurant porch.
“Just a couple of times,” Eve said.
“The phone calls to New Orleans. Why did you call the zoo?” asked Jessie.
“How did you know?” asked Eve, startled.
“I couldn’t figure out where those calls on my bills at the phone here came from,” Billie said. She nodded at the Aldens. “That took real detective work.”
“Thank you,” said Jessie modestly. “But really, it just took a phone call. We called the number and it was the zoo.”
“I called,” confessed Eve. “The first time to ask about white alligators — that was right after I’d found out about Marshmallow but hadn’t told Rose I knew yet. The second time was right after she got away. To find out the best way to catch
“Oh!” cried Eve, jumping back and dropping a piece of chicken into the bayou.
“What are you doing here?” Rose demanded.
“Catching a ghost alligator,” said Benny. “And you’re it!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Rose.
“Yes, you do,” said Jessie. “We’re talking about Marshmallow. That’s the name of your alligator, isn’t it? We heard you talking about her and we know she’s no ghost. She’s a white alligator with blue eyes — like the ones in the zoo in New Orleans.”
Rose scowled fiercely at the children without answering.
Eve’s mouth dropped open. “H-how did you know?” she stammered.
“Why don’t we go back to Billie’s,” said Henry. “We can talk about it there. And you can tell Billie what’s been going on.”
Chapter 10
An Alligator Birthday
“I don’t believe it!” Billie cried. “A white alligator? A real one?” She shook her head in amazement.
The Aldens, Billie, Rose, and Eve were sitting on the restaurant porch. Billie had put a sign on the restaurant door saying, DINNER DELAYED. COME BACK LATER.
“But albino alligators can’t live in the wild. They get eaten almost as soon as they’re born,” said Billie.
“Marshmallow’s not an albino,” Eve explained. “She’s a … a leucistic alligator, like the ones in the zoo in New Orleans. They have blue eyes. But they can still die of sunburn. And get eaten because they aren’t camouflaged like regular alligator babies.”
“I found Marshmallow when she was just hatched,” Rose explained. “Right by a nest. She was the only one. I don’t know if the others got eaten or if she was the only white alligator. She was very small. I scooped her up in my fishing net and I fixed a shady, safe pen for her where nothing could catch and eat her, and then I raised her. She’s over four years old now and big for her age, because I’ve fed her well.”
“It’s hard to keep a secret that long,” Grandfather observed.
“I figured it out,” Eve said. “I wondered what Rose was doing with all the fish she caught. I followed her one day when she went fishing and saw her take the fish to Marshmallow’s pen and feed her.”
“And then Marshmallow got away — we caught her again, but not before someone saw her. That’s when Eve and I started telling stories about the ghost alligator,” Rose said. “We wanted to keep people away from that part of the swamp.”
“You took Gaston’s binoculars,” Benny said to Eve.
Eve nodded, then looked down. “I’m sorry I did that,” she said. “I hope Uncle Gaston won’t be too angry. But it was an emergency. Marshmallow had gotten out again and those two fishermen had seen her. We had to find her in a hurry, before someone else caught her.”
“Or she died of sunburn,” added Rose.
“It may have been Marshmallow that took a bite out of your pirogue,” Eve said. “I’m sorry about that, Billie. That was another reason we wanted to catch her as soon as we could.”
“The chicken — you used it as bait to set the trap,” said Violet.
“The chicken from my restaurant?” Billie sat up in her chair on the restaurant porch.
“Just a couple of times,” Eve said.
“The phone calls to New Orleans. Why did you call the zoo?” asked Jessie.
“How did you know?” asked Eve, startled.
“I couldn’t figure out where those calls on my bills at the phone here came from,” Billie said. She nodded at the Aldens. “That took real detective work.”
“Thank you,” said Jessie modestly. “But really, it just took a phone call. We called the number and it was the zoo.”
“I called,” confessed Eve. “The first time to ask about white alligators — that was right after I’d found out about Marshmallow but hadn’t told Rose I knew yet. The second time was right after she got away. To find out the best way to catch