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Page 30
[1]Has-se doubtless referred to Mexico, which was known by the Indians
as "The Land of Gold."--K. M.
CHAPTER XII
ABANDONING THE FORT
Although the Seminoles and their newly made allies, the savages from
the South, were thus put to flight by the timely arrival of the party
that accompanied R�n� de Veaux, it was only because of the surprise of
the attack, and because they had no knowledge of the strength of these
new enemies, which they believed to be much greater than it really was.
It was certain that when they discovered how few those were who had
thus surprised them, they would return with the chance of overwhelming
the little party by mere numbers. Therefore Yah-chi-la-ne was anxious
to deliver the twelve canoe-loads of corn to the fort, receive the
promised reward, and depart for his own country that night if possible.
To accomplish this, he and his followers returned as speedily as they
could to the place where their canoes had been left, and under cover of
the darkness which came on about that time, moved silently as shadows
up the river towards the fort. When they reached its vicinity a new
difficulty presented itself. They feared to hail the sentries and
demand admission lest they should be fired upon, and at the same time
draw upon themselves an attack from the savages, who would thus
discover their whereabouts.
While they remained undecided as to what plan they should adopt to gain
an entrance to the fort, Has-se drew R�n� to one side, and in a whisper
said,
"Ta-lah-lo-ko, the time has come when I may share with thee the secret
of my people. Since thy blood has flowed for my sake, and thou hast
received the sacred Flamingo Feather, I am free to do so. First pledge
thy word never to deliver this secret, even to those of thy own blood,
and it shall be made known to thee."
R�n� having satisfied Has-se that the secret should be kept, the latter
continued:
"Know, then, oh my brother, that when my people aided thy people to
build this fort of thine, they constructed secretly, and by Micco's own
orders, a passage beneath one of its walls, by which they might at any
time 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 people
would have held him prisoner within it. It was easy to force a form as
slight as mine between the bars of the guard-house window, and once
past them I was as free as at this moment."
R�n� was greatly surprised at this disclosure of the weakness of the
fort, and not a little troubled to learn of it. He asked Has-se if the
existence of the passage were known to all of his people.
"No," said Has-se; "to not more than a score of them is the secret
known, 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 R�n�, "so long as the passage thou namest exists, we may
as well make a use of it. Do thou show it to me, and I will enter the
fort by means of it. Then will I seek my uncle and inform him of what
has taken place. Thou and the rest shall wait at the water gate, and
there deliver the provisions and receive the reward. After that thou
and 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 me
sorely to part from thee, for thou art become to me dearer than a
brother!"
Then the two returned to Yah-chi-la-ne, who had been somewhat troubled
and aggrieved by their long whisperings, which he was not invited to
join. He was much relieved when Has-se told him that R�n� had
discovered a safe way of communicating with his people, and readily
gave 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 point
where its walls extended close to the river's edge. Here, beneath a
tangle of wild-grape vines, Has'se removed a great piece of bark that
closely resembled the surrounding soil, and disclosing an opening so
narrow that but one man at a time might pass it. Leading the way into
the passage, that extended underground directly back from the river, he
was closely followed by R�n�, and the two groped their way slowly
through the intense blackness. It seemed to the white lad that they
must have gone a mile before they came to the end, though in reality it
was but about a hundred yards.
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