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Page 14
Finally pain conquered. "Well, well, Master R�n�," he said, gruffly,
"I must e'en take thy advice, and obtain speedy release from this pain,
or else be found here dead ere the post be relieved. Keep thou open
keen eyes and ears, and I pray that no harm may come of this my first
neglect of duty in all the years that I have served the King."
With these words the old soldier thrust his pike into R�n�'s hands, and
hurried away as quickly as his pain would permit towards his own
quarters in the smithy.
As soon as Simon was out of hearing, R�n� went and recovered his
cross-bow. Then he carefully and noiselessly undid the fastenings of
the great gate, and swung it open a few inches. This accomplished, he
shouldered Simon's heavy pike, and patiently paced, like a sentry, up
and down beneath the dark archway, until he heard approaching footsteps.
He called softly, "Is that thou, Simon?"
"Ay, lad," came the answer.
Then laying down the pike, and seizing his own cross-bow, R�n� slipped
quickly through the gate (which swung to behind him), and with
noiseless footsteps fled swiftly across the bridge that spanned the
moat, and disappeared in the black shadows of the forest beyond.
[Illustration: R�n� slipped quickly through the gate.]
Although the moon had risen, and was now well up in the eastern sky, so
that the bridge was brightly illumined by it, R�n� crossed unnoticed.
As the gate was still firmly fastened when he returned, Simon failed to
detect that it had been opened, but the old man spent some minutes
looking for the lad in the archway before he became convinced that he
was gone. Even then he considered that R�n� was only endeavoring to
tease him by thus slipping away, and muttering something about a boy
being as full of mischief as a monkey, the soldier shouldered his pike
and once more resumed his measured pacings up and down the archway.
At the edge of the forest R�n� stopped, drew from his bosom a note that
he had written before leaving his room, and thrust it into the end of a
cleft branch that he stuck into the ground near the end of the bridge.
It was addressed to his Excellency the Chevalier Laudonniere,
Commandant of Fort Caroline, and its contents were as follows:
"MY DEARLY BELOVED UNCLE,--Doubtless I am doing very wrong in thus
leaving the fort and undertaking an important mission without thy
sanction. It would seem, however, that circumstances are peculiarly
favorable to my success in this matter, and I feared lest thou wouldst
forbid the undertaking, out of a tender regard for my youth and
inexperience. I go with the Indian lad Has-se, my friend, to the land
of the Alachuas, on a quest for provisions for the fort. In case of my
success I will return again at the end of a month, or shortly
thereafter. If I fail, and return no more, I still crave thy blessing,
and to be remembered without abatement of the love thou hast ever
extended to me. No person within the fort has aided me in this matter,
nor has any one of thy garrison knowledge of my departure.
"I remain, dear uncle, with sincerest respect and deepest love, thy
nephew,
"R�N� DE VEAUX."
Having thus taken measures to inform his uncle of his departure and the
mission on which he had set forth, R�n� tightened his belt, shouldered
his cross-bow, and turned into the dark pine forest. He made his way
swiftly down the river-bank towards the appointed place of meeting,
where he hoped to find Has-se still waiting for him, though it was
already past the hour that the latter had mentioned. On the way he
stopped and recovered the package of trinkets that he had hidden in the
forest that afternoon.
As he neared the little stream on the bank of which the Indian lad had
promised to await his coming, he uttered the cry of Hup-pe the great
owl, which was the signal Has-se had taught him. To his joy it was
immediately answered from a short distance in advance. In another
moment he stood beside his friend, who without a word led him to where
a canoe was hidden beneath some overhanging branches. They stepped
in, a few strong strokes of the paddles shot them clear of the creek,
the bow of their craft was turned down-stream, and ere a word had been
spoken between them, they were gliding swiftly down the glassy moonlit
surface of the great river towards its mouth.
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