Although troubled to find that his prisoners could thus easily escape from the fort, Laudonniere was relieved that the disposal of Has-se’s fate had thus been taken from his hands.  He said to Rene, “I am glad that thy friend has escaped, though I like not the manner of his going, and I trust he may come to no harm.  I would, however, that we had been able to send a company, or even one man, with him to this land of the Alachuas of which he told thee, for mayhap we might thus have obtained provision; but without a guide, I know not how it could be discovered.”

“Could I have gone, uncle?” inquired Rene, eagerly.

“Thou, lad?  No, thou art too young and tender to be sent on such a perilous mission.  It should be one of double thy years and experience.  Let no such foolish thoughts fill thy head yet a while.”

CHAPTER V

THE ESCAPE OF HAS-SE AND RENE

This speech from his uncle both pleased and troubled Rene.  He was glad to learn that it was deemed advisable for some one from the fort to visit the land of the Alachuas, and troubled to find that if he went with Has-se, he must do so without permission from his uncle.  Nevertheless he felt certain that he, being Has-se’s friend, and also regarded by the Indians as the son of the great chief of the white men, could undertake the mission with a greater chance of safety and success than any one else.  He would have urged this view of the case upon his uncle’s attention, but feared that speaking of the subject a second time would only result in his being absolutely forbidden to leave the fort on any pretence.  The lad felt himself to be truly a man, now that he was nearly seventeen years old, and like all manly, high-spirited boys of his age, he was most anxious to enter upon any adventure that promised novelty and excitement.

Rene’s appearance at this time was very different from that of the boy who, less than a year before, had left the old chateau of his fathers with tear-stained cheeks.  His long curls had fallen under the shears, and his closely cropped hair showed to advantage his well-formed head.  He was tall for his age, his muscles had hardened with constant exercise, and his face, neck, and hands were tanned to a ruddy brown by the hot suns beneath which he had spent so many months.  His brown eyes held a merry twinkle, but at the same time there was an expression of pride and fixed purpose in his face that well became it.

At this time he wore a small plumed cap, a leathern jacket, knee-breeches, stockings of stout yarn, and short boots, the legs of which fitted closely to his ankles.  Simon, the armorer, had made for him a light steel corselet, that he wore over his leathern jacket whenever he went beyond the walls of the fort.  Upon all such excursions he was armed with his well-tried cross-bow (for which he carried a score of steel-tipped bolts) and a small, but keen-edged, dagger that hung at his belt.