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Page 33
It was past midnight before the visitors were ready to depart, and then
R�n� and Has-se bade each other farewell with swelling hearts; for they
had learned to love each other more dearly than brothers, and they
feared they might never meet again.
One by one the canoes of the Alachuas glided away from the water gate
noiselessly as so many thistle-downs, and were instantly lost to view
in the night mist that hung like a soft gray curtain over the whole
river. R�n� watched the last one depart, and then going to his own
room, he flung himself on a couch and was almost instantly buried in a
profound slumber, so thoroughly exhausted was he by the exciting labors
of the previous day.
The morning was well advanced when he awoke. For some moments he
stared about him in bewilderment, unable to account for the absence of
the open-air surroundings of his late life. As soon as he realized
where he was, he sprang up, dressed, ate a hurried breakfast, and went
to his uncle's room.
He found the commandant feeling so much stronger and better that he was
sitting up for the first time in weeks, and, in a large easy-chair by
the window, was impatiently awaiting his nephew. A look of great joy
lighted up the old soldier's face as R�n� entered the room, and he
blessed Him who had once more restored to him this son of his old age.
Then they talked, and several hours had slipped away before R�n� had
related all the details of his remarkable journey through the unknown
wilderness of the interior, and Laudonniere had in turn given all the
particulars of the mutiny, and made clear the present state of affairs
in Fort Caroline.
At the conclusion of R�n�'s story his uncle said, "Thou hast carried
thyself 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 for
the manner in which thou didst set about it. I must warn thee,
however, that unless thou choose to be considered a mutineer or a
rebel, never again take upon thyself the ordering of such a matter when
under command of a superior officer."
R�n� hung his head at this mild rebuke, and promised his uncle that his
future actions should be entirely guided by him, so long as they
sustained each other the relations they now bore.
He was amazed and troubled to learn of the plans of the mutineers in
regard to abandoning the fort, and begged his uncle's permission to
remonstrate against such a proceeding with Simon, the armorer. It
being granted, he held a long and serious conversation with the old
soldier, but to no avail.
"It is of no use, Master R�n�," the armorer said, in his gruffest
tones, but not unkindly, for he felt a strong affection for the lad, as
all did who knew him--"it is of no use arguing at this late day. We
have fully determined to leave this country of starvation and misery,
and at least to make an effort to lay our bones in fair France. Our
ship is ready for launching, and the provisions thou hast so bravely
fetched will serve to victual her. We no longer dare to show our faces
outside the walls of the fort, for the forest is full of red savages
who thirst for our blood; and if we remain here much longer we shall
die like rats in a trap. So put you the best possible face on the
matter, young master, and lend us thine aid in preparing for departure."
Although R�n� could not do this and still remain loyal to has uncle, he
could and did prepare the chevalier for the abandonment of the fort
that was so fully determined upon, and he rendered the latter valuable
service in gathering together and packing his important papers for
immediate removal.
The newly built vessel, which was at best a poor affair in which to
undertake so tremendous a journey, was launched, and so speedily
equipped, that within two weeks from the time of R�n�'s return she was
pronounced ready for sea, and the business of getting her stores on
board was begun. It proceeded so rapidly that in one week more Fort
Caroline was dismantled of everything except its heavy guns and other
ponderous articles that must be left, and the day for departure was set.
Soon after daylight, one fine morning early in the new year, the
garrison marched on board the vessel. Laudonniere, protesting to the
last, and accompanied by his nephew and by the faithful Le Moyne, was
carried on board. Then the sails were spread to a gentle breeze, and
the little company, who had only a few months before built the fort
with such brave hearts and high hopes, sailed away from it, leaving it
to its fate, though with the broad banner of France still floating
above its walls. They expected, and even hoped, never to see it again,
and even the terrible voyage they were about to undertake in a small
and crazy craft seemed to them less fearful than a continuance of the
life from which they were escaping.
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