CHAPTER XII
ABANDONING THE FORT
Although the Seminoles and their newly made allies, the savages fromthe South, were thus put to flight by the timely arrival of the partythat accompanied Rene de Veaux, it was only because of the surprise ofthe attack, and because they had no knowledge of the strength of thesenew enemies, which they believed to be much greater than it really was.It was certain that when they discovered how few those were who hadthus surprised them, they would return with the chance of overwhelmingthe little party by mere numbers. Therefore Yah-chi-la-ne was anxiousto deliver the twelve canoe-loads of corn to the fort, receive thepromised reward, and depart for his own country that night if possible.
To accomplish this, he and his followers returned as speedily as theycould to the place where their canoes had been left, and under cover ofthe darkness which came on about that time, moved silently as shadowsup the river towards the fort. When they reached its vicinity a newdifficulty presented itself. They feared to hail the sentries anddemand admission lest they should be fired upon, and at the same timedraw upon themselves an attack from the savages, who would thusdiscover their whereabouts.
While they remained undecided as to what plan they should adopt to gainan entrance to the fort, Has-se drew Rene to one side, and in a whispersaid,
"Ta-lah-lo-ko, the time has come when I may share with thee the secretof my people. Since thy blood has flowed for my sake, and thou hastreceived the sacred Flamingo Feather, I am free to do so. First pledgethy word never to deliver this secret, even to those of thy own blood,and it shall be made known to thee."
Rene having satisfied Has-se that the secret should be kept, the lattercontinued:
"Know, then, oh my brother, that when my people aided thy people tobuild this fort of thine, they constructed secretly, and by Micco's ownorders, a passage beneath one of its walls, by which they might at anytime obtain access to the fort or escape from it, as they might desire.It was by this means that the Sunbeam left the fort when thy peoplewould have held him prisoner within it. It was easy to force a form asslight as mine between the bars of the guard-house window, and oncepast them I was as free as at this moment."
Rene was greatly surprised at this disclosure of the weakness of thefort, and not a little troubled to learn of it. He asked Has-se if theexistence of the passage were known to all of his people.
"No," said Has-se; "to not more than a score of them is the secretknown, and they are bound to preserve it as they would their lives.Thou art the first besides them to whom it has been disclosed."
"Well," said Rene, "so long as the passage thou namest exists, we mayas well make a use of it. Do thou show it to me, and I will enter thefort by means of it. Then will I seek my uncle and inform him of whathas taken place. Thou and the rest shall wait at the water gate, andthere deliver the provisions and receive the reward. After that thouand they are free to return to the land of the Alachuas; but, oh,Has-se!" he added, with a burst of sincere affection, "it grieves mesorely to part from thee, for thou art become to me dearer than abrother!"
Then the two returned to Yah-chi-la-ne, who had been somewhat troubledand aggrieved by their long whisperings, which he was not invited tojoin. He was much relieved when Has-se told him that Rene haddiscovered a safe way of communicating with his people, and readilygave his permission for the two to depart together in a canoe,promising at the same time to await patiently Has-se's return.
With the utmost caution the two boys approached the fort at a pointwhere its walls extended close to the river's edge. Here, beneath atangle of wild-grape vines, Has'se removed a great piece of bark thatclosely resembled the surrounding soil, and disclosing an opening sonarrow that but one man at a time might pass it. Leading the way intothe passage, that extended underground directly back from the river, hewas closely followed by Rene, and the two groped their way slowlythrough the intense blackness. It seemed to the white lad that theymust have gone a mile before they came to the end, though in reality itwas but about a hundred yards.
At length Has-se stopped, raised a second slab of bark that restedabove his head, and whispered that they were now directly beneath thehouse of the commandant, which was built on stone piers that lifted itnearly two feet above the ground.
Has-se then lay down in the narrow passage, while Rene crawled over hisbody, until he was directly beneath the opening. Then giving Has-se'shand a warm squeeze with his own, he raised himself to the surface,leaving the Indian lad to make his way back to those who awaited himoutside.
Upon gaining the fresh air once more, Rene found himself, even asHas-se had said he would, beneath a house, and in fact struck his headsmartly against one of its timbers before he realized how shallow wasthe space between it and the ground. Unmindful of the pain of the blowin his excitement, he replaced the slab of bark over the mouth of thetunnel, and crawled on his hands and knees from beneath the building,which, as soon as he passed beyond it, he recognized as that occupiedby his uncle Laudonniere.
A profound silence reigned throughout the great enclosure, nor was anylight to be seen save a faint gleam that found its way through acrevice in one of the lower window-shutters of the building in front ofwhich Rene stood. He was surprised not to meet the sentry who usedformerly to pace always before the dwelling of the commandant; for heknew nothing of the mutiny, nor that all save the sentinels at thegates had been withdrawn. After listening for a moment, and hearingnothing, he made his way to the window from which came the ray oflight, and tapped gently upon its shutter. He was compelled to repeatthe noise several times before it attracted attention from within. Atlast he heard the well-known voice of his old tutor, Le Moyne, theartist, who called out,
"What ho, without! Who goes there?"
Making no answer, Rene tapped again. This caused the light to beextinguished and one leaf of the shutter to be cautiously opened, whileLe Moyne asked, in a nervous voice,
"Who is here, and what is thy business with me at this hour?"
"Sh!" replied Rene, in a whisper. "It is I, Rene de Veaux. Ask menothing, but admit me, that I may instantly communicate with my unclethe commandant. I have tidings of the utmost importance for him alone."
Le Moyne had at once recognized the voice of his beloved and long-lostpupil, and with hands trembling with eager excitement, he hastened tothrow wide open the shutter and assist him to enter by the window.When he had got him safely inside he embraced the lad fervently, andkissed him on both cheeks. Then he said, "Thy uncle has been ill andis still weak; but if thy business is indeed as urgent as thourepresentest, I will instantly acquaint him with thy presence. I must,however, break the glad tidings gently and gradually to him, for fearof the effect of an overdose of joy."
So the good man shuffled away in his loose slippers towards the room inwhich Laudonniere lay, and without his knowledge, Rene followed himclosely.
In the commandant's room Le Moyne began with,
"Monsieur, I have a message from the dead."
"Ay, thou wert always a dreamer," replied the sick man, testily.
"Nay, but this time it is no dream, but a living reality."
"Then the dead have come to life, and thou hast had dealings not withthem, but with the living."
"It is even so, and he is one very dear to thee, whom thou hast deemedlost."
"What sayest thou?" cried the old chevalier, sitting up in bed in hisexcitement. "One dear to me, whom I deemed lost, and is now restored?It can be none other than Rene, my son. Where is he? Why tarries hefrom me?"
"He tarries not, uncle!" exclaimed a glad voice at the door, and inanother moment uncle and nephew were locked in a close embrace, whilesympathetic tears of joy stood in the eyes of the good Le Moyne.
As briefly as possible, and reserving the details for another occasion,Rene told his uncle that he had visited the land of the Alachuas, andhad returned with twelve canoe-loads of corn, for which he had promisedin his name twelve packages of trinkets such as he described, and thesa
fe dismissal of their escort from the fort. He added that those whohad come with him wished to depart that very night, and even nowawaited him at the water gate.
"Alas!" exclaimed Laudonniere, when this had been told him, "I have nolonger the power to make good thy word. While I have lain here ashelpless as one struck with a palsy, another has assumed command; forknow thou, my dear lad, that Fort Caroline and all it contains haspassed into the hands of a body of mutineers, headed by none other thanthy old friend Simon, the armorer. Go thou to him, and I doubt not hewill treat with these friends of thine even as thou hast promised; forprovisions such as thou sayest await even now an entrance to the fortare too rare a commodity within its walls to be scorned, even bymutineers. But, lad, return to me as speedily as may be, for the sightof thy brave face is as balm to the wounded, and thine absence hasdistressed me beyond that I can express."
So Rene departed in search of Simon, the armorer, and by his suddenappearance so frightened the old soldier that for some moments he coulddo nothing but stare, speechless, with a mixture of terror andamazement.
At length Rene succeeded in convincing the leader of the mutineers thathe was no ghost, but a real flesh and blood Rene de Veaux. He gave anevasive answer to Simon's question as to how he obtained entrance tothe fort, and hurried on to tell him, even more briefly than he had thecommandant, of the successful journey he had made, and of theprovisions that must be brought into the fort immediately.
"In good sooth, Master Rene," said Simon, when he fully comprehendedthat which the other told him, "I am heartily disgusted with thismutineering, and if thy uncle would but hold our views as to leavingthis country, I would gladly resign all authority to him. Even as itis I am most willing to be guided in all such matters as this of thineby his judgment. As he says receive the provisions, of which indeed weare sorely in need, and deliver the trinkets thou hast promised to thesavages who bring them, why so it shall be done. Thou canst vouch forthem, though, and art certain that when the gate is once open they willnot lush in with the intent of capturing the fort and murdering us incold blood?"
"Of a surety I am," answered Rene, indignantly. "Would those whowished thee harm have fought for thee so valiantly as did these samefriends of mine but a few hours since? It was their brave onsetdelivered thee from the savages near yonder mound of shells, andenabled thee to gain the fort in safety."
"What! How sayest thou! Was it indeed thy company who came sogallantly to our aid when we were so sorely beset by the savage ambush?Heaven bless thee, lad! These friends of thine shall be friends ofmine as well for this day's work. Let us hasten to them. It was nofancy, then, but thine own brave cry of 'France to the Rescue!' thatrang so cheerily through the forest, though I did misdoubt mine ownears at the time, and wondered greatly who our unknown friends couldbe. Thou art a noble lad and an honor to thy name."
Thus saying, Simon led the way towards the water gate, turning out theguard and bidding them accompany him as he went. At the gate theyfound Has-se, Yah-chi-la-ne, and the others awaiting them, according toagreement, and Simon and his soldiers rejoiced greatly when they sawthe twelve canoe-loads of corn; for it had arrived just in time toavert a veritable famine within the walls of Fort Caroline.
While under Simon's direction the provisions were transferred to thestorehouse with all possible despatch, Rene and Le Moyne made up thetwelve packages of trinkets which were to pay for them. On his ownaccount Rene also made up a package for Has-se, and another of suchthings as women prize for his sister, the beautiful Nethla. Nor wasthe brave Yah-chi-la-ne forgotten, but received in the shape of knivesand hatchets what seemed to him presents of inestimable value.
Rene also gratified the young Alachua warriors by taking them insidethe fort, and showing them, as well as he was able by the light oflanterns, the great "thunder-bows" whose voices they had heard thatmorning when still many miles away.
It was past midnight before the visitors were ready to depart, and thenRene and Has-se bade each other farewell with swelling hearts; for theyhad learned to love each other more dearly than brothers, and theyfeared they might never meet again.
One by one the canoes of the Alachuas glided away from the water gatenoiselessly as so many thistle-downs, and were instantly lost to viewin the night mist that hung like a soft gray curtain over the wholeriver. Rene watched the last one depart, and then going to his ownroom, he flung himself on a couch and was almost instantly buried in aprofound slumber, so thoroughly exhausted was he by the exciting laborsof the previous day.
The morning was well advanced when he awoke. For some moments hestared about him in bewilderment, unable to account for the absence ofthe open-air surroundings of his late life. As soon as he realizedwhere he was, he sprang up, dressed, ate a hurried breakfast, and wentto his uncle's room.
He found the commandant feeling so much stronger and better that he wassitting up for the first time in weeks, and, in a large easy-chair bythe window, was impatiently awaiting his nephew. A look of great joylighted up the old soldier's face as Rene entered the room, and heblessed Him who had once more restored to him this son of his old age.Then they talked, and several hours had slipped away before Rene hadrelated all the details of his remarkable journey through the unknownwilderness of the interior, and Laudonniere had in turn given all theparticulars of the mutiny, and made clear the present state of affairsin Fort Caroline.
At the conclusion of Rene's story his uncle said, "Thou hast carriedthyself like a man, my lad, and like a true son of our noble house.The successful issue of thy undertaking also insures thee a pardon forthe manner in which thou didst set about it. I must warn thee,however, that unless thou choose to be considered a mutineer or arebel, never again take upon thyself the ordering of such a matter whenunder command of a superior officer."
Rene hung his head at this mild rebuke, and promised his uncle that hisfuture actions should be entirely guided by him, so long as theysustained each other the relations they now bore.
He was amazed and troubled to learn of the plans of the mutineers inregard to abandoning the fort, and begged his uncle's permission toremonstrate against such a proceeding with Simon, the armorer. Itbeing granted, he held a long and serious conversation with the oldsoldier, but to no avail.
"It is of no use, Master Rene," the armorer said, in his gruffesttones, but not unkindly, for he felt a strong affection for the lad, asall did who knew him--"it is of no use arguing at this late day. Wehave fully determined to leave this country of starvation and misery,and at least to make an effort to lay our bones in fair France. Ourship is ready for launching, and the provisions thou hast so bravelyfetched will serve to victual her. We no longer dare to show our facesoutside the walls of the fort, for the forest is full of red savageswho thirst for our blood; and if we remain here much longer we shalldie like rats in a trap. So put you the best possible face on thematter, young master, and lend us thine aid in preparing for departure."
Although Rene could not do this and still remain loyal to has uncle, hecould and did prepare the chevalier for the abandonment of the fortthat was so fully determined upon, and he rendered the latter valuableservice in gathering together and packing his important papers forimmediate removal.
The newly built vessel, which was at best a poor affair in which toundertake so tremendous a journey, was launched, and so speedilyequipped, that within two weeks from the time of Rene's return she waspronounced ready for sea, and the business of getting her stores onboard was begun. It proceeded so rapidly that in one week more FortCaroline was dismantled of everything except its heavy guns and otherponderous articles that must be left, and the day for departure was set.
Soon after daylight, one fine morning early in the new year, thegarrison marched on board the vessel. Laudonniere, protesting to thelast, and accompanied by his nephew and by the faithful Le Moyne, wascarried on board. Then the sails were spread to a gentle breeze, andthe little company, who had only a few months before built the fortwith such brave
hearts and high hopes, sailed away from it, leaving itto its fate, though with the broad banner of France still floatingabove its walls. They expected, and even hoped, never to see it again,and even the terrible voyage they were about to undertake in a smalland crazy craft seemed to them less fearful than a continuance of thelife from which they were escaping.
The only farewells sent after them came in the shape of a few arrowsshot at the ship by the angry savages who lined the river-bank, andsullenly watched the departure of their intended victims.
That day they sailed to the mouth of the river, but found so great asea rolling in over its bar that they dared not attempt a passagethrough it, and were therefore forced to drop anchor while still withinshelter of the land, and await its abatement.