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Page 5
"Ay, that can I, Has-se, my lad," cried R�n�; "thou couldst not have hit
upon a happier expedient than that of asking advice of me. 'Tis but a
week since I removed a cinder from the eye of Simon the Armorer, and in
return for the favor he taught me a trick of wrestling that surpasses
aught of the kind that ever I saw. I have practised it daily since, and
would now confidently take issue with any who know it not without regard
to their superior size or weight. I will show it thee if thou wilt
promise to keep it secret. Ha!"
As they talked the canoe had drifted close in to the shore, until it lay
directly beneath the gigantic limb of a tree that extended far out over
the water, and from which hung a mesh of stout vines. As he uttered the
exclamation that finished his last sentence. R�n� seized hold of a stout
vine, and with a quick jerk drew the light craft in which they were
seated a few feet forward. At the same instant a tawny body was launched
like a shot from the overhanging limb and dashed into the water exactly
at the spot over which, but an instant before, Has-se had sat.
The animal that made this fierce plunge was a panther of the largest
size; and if R�n� had not chanced to catch sight of its nervously
twitching tail as it drew itself together for the spring, it would have
alighted squarely upon the naked shoulders of the unsuspecting Indian
lad. R�n�'s prompt action had, however, caused the animal to plunge into
the water, though it only missed the canoe by a few feet; and when it
rose to the surface it was close beside them.
Has-se seized his paddle, and with a powerful stroke forced the canoe
ahead, but directly into the mesh of trailing vines, in which it became
so entangled that they could not extricate it before the beast had
recovered from his surprise, and had begun to swim towards them.
A bolt was hurriedly fitted to R�n�'s cross-bow and hastily fired at the
approaching animal. It struck him near the fore-shoulder, and served to
check his progress for a moment, as with a snarl of rage he bit savagely
at the wound, from which the blood flowed freely, crimsoning the water
around him. Then he again turned towards the canoe, and seemed to leap
rather than swim, in his eagerness to reach it. A second bolt, fired
with even greater haste than the first, missed the panther entirely, and
the boys were about to plunge from the opposite side of the canoe into
the water, in their despair, when an almost unheard-of thing occurred to
effect their deliverance.
Just as one more leap would have brought the panther within reach of the
canoe, a huge, dark form rose from the red waters behind him, and a pair
of horrid jaws opened, and then closed like a vice upon one of his
hind-quarters. The panther uttered a wild yell, made a convulsive spring
forward, his claws rattled against the side of the canoe, and then the
waters closed above his head, and he was dragged down into the dark
depths of the stream, to the slimy home of the great alligator, who had
thus delivered the boys from their peril. A few bubbles coming up
through the crimson waters told of the terrible struggle going on beneath
them, and then all was still, and the stream flowed on as undisturbed as
before. For a few moments the boys sat gazing in silent amazement at the
place of the sudden disappearance of their enemy, hardly believing that
he would not again return to the attack.
When they had regained the fort, Laudonniere heard with horror R�n�'s
story of their adventure with the tiger and the crocodile, as he named
panthers and alligators, and bade him be very careful in the future how
he wandered in the wilderness. He did not forbid his nephew to associate
with Has-se, for he was most anxious to preserve a friendship with the
Indians, upon whom his little colony was largely dependent for
provisions, and he considered R�n�'s influence with the Indian lad who
was the son of the chief very important.
On the afternoon following that of their adventure, Has-se came into the
fort in search of R�n�, and anxious to acquire the promised trick of
wrestling. After securing his promise never to impart the trick to
another, R�n� led him into a room where they would not be observed, and
taught it to him. It was a very simple trick, being merely a feint of
giving way, followed quickly by a peculiar inside twist of the leg; but
it was irresistible, and the opponent who knew it not was certain to be
overcome by it. Has-se quickly acquired it, and though he found few
words to express his feelings, there was a look in his face when he left
R�n� that showed plainly his gratitude.
When next the silver sickle of the new moon shone in the western sky,
active preparations were begun among the Indians for their great Dance of
Ripe Corn. The race-course was laid out, and carefully cleared; clay was
mixed with its sand, and it was trampled hard and smooth by many
moccasined feet. A large booth, or shelter from the hot sun, under which
the chiefs and distinguished visitors might sit and witness the games,
was constructed of boughs and palm leaves. Bows were carefully tested
and fitted with new strings of twisted deer-sinew. Those who had been
fortunate enough to obtain from the white men bits of steel and iron,
ground them to sharp points, and with them replaced their arrow-heads of
flint. Has-se, with great pride, displayed to R�n� his javelin or light
spear, the tough bamboo shaft of which was tipped with a keen-edged
splinter of milk-white quartz, obtained from some far northern tribe.
Guests began to arrive, coming from Seloy and other coast villages from
the north, and from the broad savannas of the fertile Alachua land, until
many hundred of them were encamped within a few miles of Fort Caroline.
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