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Page 20
As they talked, their attention was directed to a dark moving mass
floating down the river, close under its bank. Cat-sha soon pronounced
it to be a fleet of canoes filled with people, and they watched them
with eager curiosity.
It was, indeed, the tribe from which Chitta had fled, moving, under the
leadership of their chief, Micco, towards the land of the Alachuas,
where food in abundance awaited them. At the outset of their journey
they kept as close as possible under the river-bank, to avoid
observation from the white men in Fort Caroline, who, they feared,
might oppose their departure if they learned of it. It was not until
they reached the bold bluff from the summit of which the two Seminoles
watched their progress that they felt they were safe from the eyes of
the fort, and might strike boldly out into the river. Here, aided by
the full strength of the ebbing tide, they proceeded rapidly on their
way towards its mouth.
Seeing that the canoes which were thus passing beneath them contained,
besides the warriors of the tribe, its women and children, and all of
its movable property, Cat-sha concluded that it was a general movement
of Micco's people towards some distant place; and from the direction
they were taking, he guessed that their destination was the fertile
land of the Alachuas.
"This is thy doing," he said to Chitta, who was regarding in bitter
silence this departure of his people, towards whom he still felt drawn
by old association in spite of what he had so recently done and become.
"This is thy doing, my young Seminole. Thou hast destroyed their store
of food, and thus compelled them to go in search of more. Now let us
follow them, and when we have seen them at a safe distance, we will
bring my brave warriors to the attack of the white men shut up in
yonder gopher hole."
When the departing tribe was nearly out of sight down the river, the
two Seminoles, drawing Chitta's stolen canoe from its hiding-place,
started in pursuit. They so arranged their own movements that they ran
no chance of discovery from those in advance of them, though they were
never far behind. They carefully examined each camping-place of the
moving tribe, to assure themselves that no person was left behind who
might discover them, and they always placed their own little camp so
that it should be entirely concealed from those whom they followed.
Cat-sha was much pleased to find that in thus following Micco's tribe
he was also journeying in the direction of his own band, who awaited
him in the depths of the great swamp. He even meditated an attack upon
his Indian foes as they travelled, with their women, children, and
baggage, before leading his warriors back to Fort Caroline.
It was these two, then, whose traces had so puzzled Has-se as he and
R�n� de Veaux in turn followed them, and it was their canoe of which
the two boys caught a fleeting glimpse in the great swamp.
"Look!" exclaimed Has-se, whose keen eye was the first to detect the
vanishing canoe. "These are either my own people, whom we have thus
overtaken, or those whom we know to be in close pursuit of them. Here
is work for us, Ta-lah-lo-ko, or rather for me, for it is my duty to
discover the meaning of this pursuit, and warn my people if danger is
near them, while I am also bound to keep thee as far as possible from
all harm."
"Nonsense, Has-se! It is well for thee to keep me out of danger so
long as thou keepest from it thyself; but since I have thrown my
fortunes with thine, thy friends are my friends, thy enemies are my
enemies, and thy safety or danger is mine to share with thee. So say
no more of my safety, save as it concerns thine as well, but lead on as
thou thinkest best, and I will follow thee as truly as though I were
enlisted beneath thy banner. Not that I suppose you Indians have such
things as banners, or understand their significance; but thou might
well have them, and be none the worse for the having."
Although Has-se made no reply to this brave speech, he accepted it as
an evidence of true friendship, and gave R�n� a grateful smile, which
the latter understood to mean "Very well, Ta-lah-lo-ko, I accept thy
offer of service as heartily as thou dost tender it."
Under ordinary circumstances, Has-se's Indian instinct would not have
permitted him to cross the open water of the bayou in broad daylight
when he suspected that an enemy might be lying in wait for him on its
farther side. On this occasion, however, it seemed so impossible that
the occupants of the canoe, of which he had caught but the merest
glimpse, should have looked back and detected them at the same instant,
that he decided to push on, and if possible discover more of it. So he
and R�n� crossed the open water as quickly and with as little noise as
possible, and as they approached its opposite side, Has-se gazed keenly
into the dark lanes between the moss-hung cypresses. He neither saw
nor heard anything to cause him alarm, and congratulating themselves
that they had not been discovered, the boys pushed on over waters of
another extremely narrow stream.
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