were indeed the ships of his own people, whom he had never dared
hope to meet again. There was the emblem of his own land, which, when
he had last beheld it, had been torn, amid sorrow and defeat, from
above the walls of Fort Caroline, to give place to the yellow ensign of
Spain.

When Rene had controlled his tumultuous feeling sufficiently to speak,
he gave orders for his warriors to proceed to the shell mound in the
midst of the marshes, on which he and Has-se had rested after their
flight from Fort Caroline, and there encamp and await his coming. His
own canoe he ordered to be directed, with all speed, towards the ships.

As he approached them closely, he saw that he was observed by many
curious eyes from their decks, and finally a hoarse voice commanded him
to halt and explain his presence there.

At his order, his men backed water so stoutly with their paddles that
the canoe rested motionless. Standing erect in it, Rene, speaking in
French, to the great surprise of those whom he addressed, and wearing a
bold air that sat well upon him, asked,

"Who commands here? and in which ship is he to be found?"

There was a slight stir on the quarter-deck of the ship nearest him;
and, from a group of gentlemen who occupied it, one, wearing a plumed
hat and a velvet mantle, from beneath which peeped the richly jewelled
hilt of his sword, stood forth and answered courteously,

"I, Dominique de Gourges, chevalier of France, am admiral here at thy
service. Who art thou, that while in savage guise yet speakest our
tongue as though born to it?"

"I am known as Ta-lah-lo-ko, and am chief of that western tribe of
Indians called Alachuas," answered Rene, who was not yet ready to
reveal his true identity. "If it suit thy convenience, I would have a
word with thee in private concerning important matters."

Upon this De Gourges invited his visitor to come on board the ship and
meet him in his own cabin, where he would with pleasure converse with
him.

As Rene stepped upon the quarter-deck, and passed through the group of
gentlemen who still occupied it, they regarded him with the liveliest
curiosity. It was not unmixed with admiration; for his tall and
handsome though slight figure was set off by a costume which, though
becoming to him and fashioned with the best of Indian art, was strange
to their civilized eyes.

The long tresses of his sunny hair were bound by a simple fillet, and
in them was twined the Flamingo Feat