Yah-chi-la-ne declared that as he had
taken the place of Has-se (the Sunbeam), so he had become a flood of
sunlight to them, and that in losing him they would be buried in
darkness.
These appeals stirred his feelings deeply, but could not alter his
fixed purpose; and when they saw that he was determined to leave them,
they opposed him no longer, but only begged of him that he would
speedily return.
So Rene de Veaux, at the head of his own war-party of picked Alachua
braves, set forth once more on the same journey that he had now made so
many times, and under such different circumstances.
As the canoe which bore him shot out from the shore into the middle of
the river, and was headed up against the current, there arose from the
multitude collected on the bank a mighty cry of lamentation for the
young chief who was departing from them. For answer Rene, standing up
so that all might see him, took the Flamingo Feather that was entwined
in his hair, waved it above his head, and replaced it. This was a sign
that, though he was leaving them, he would return again, and by it they
were greatly comforted.
Once started, the party moved with the greatest speed, those who plied
the paddles being frequently relieved by fresh men, and never before
had Rene accomplished the journey so quickly. At its various stages he
received many reminders of former passages over the same waters, and of
the brave and loyal Has-se who had accompanied him on most of them.
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