"Could I have gone, uncle?" inquired Réné, eagerly.

"Thou, lad? No, thou art too young and tender to be sent on such a
perilous mission. It should be one of double thy years and experience.
Let no such foolish thoughts fill thy head yet a while."




CHAPTER V

THE ESCAPE OF HAS-SE AND RENE

This speech from his uncle both pleased and troubled Réné. He was glad
to learn that it was deemed advisable for some one from the fort to
visit the land of the Alachuas, and troubled to find that if he went
with Has-se, he must do so without permission from his uncle.
Nevertheless he felt certain that he, being Has-se's friend, and also
regarded by the Indians as the son of the great chief of the white men,
could undertake the mission with a greater chance of safety and success
than any one else. He would have urged this view of the case upon his
uncle's attention, but feared that speaking of the subject a second
time would only result in his being absolutely forbidden to leave the
fort on any pretence. The lad felt himself to be truly a man, now that
he was nearly seventeen years old, and like all manly, high-spirited
boys of his age, he was most anxious to enter upon any adventure that
promised novelty and excitement.

Réné's appearance at this time was very different from that of the boy