The lads conducted him directly to
where the little circle was formed in front of the chief's lodge. Here
one from among them explained that this stranger had come down the
river alone in a canoe, and had asked of them information concerning
the land of the Alachuas, and particularly for that tribe of Indians
led by a chief called Micco.
As the young warrior, whose person bore every evidence of long and
hasty travel, stood silently before him, the old chief said,
"I am Micco. Who art thou, and what is thy errand here?"
The stranger answered, "I am known as E-chee, and am of that place by
the great waters called Seloy. He whom I seek most anxiously among thy
people is named to me as thy son, Has-se, the Bow-bearer."
"Then is thy search ended," replied Micco, "for Has-se, my son and
Bow-bearer, is even here in attendance. What is thy business with him?"
As Has-se, greatly surprised at being thus singled out, stepped
forward, the stranger drew from his breast a scarlet flamingo feather.
It was exactly like the one that glowed so vividly amid the dark
tresses of the young Bow-bearer, and from it hung a slender gold chain,
to which was attached a golden pin. Handing it to Has-se, E-chee said,
"He who sends thee this token is in danger of speedily losing his life,
and he prays that thou wilt come to his rescue."
Eagerly seizing the feather, Has-se exclaimed, "It comes from
Ta-lah-lo-ko, the young white chief! Where is he, and in what danger?"
Then, while all present listened with the closest attention, E-chee
told of the destruction of Seloy and the capture of Fort Caroline by
the Spaniards; of his own capture, and that of Rene de Veaux and two
other white men, by the Seminoles; of his escape, and of the terrible
fate now awaiting those still in the hands of the outlaws.
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