e, and invited to occupy seats of
honor in the great booth. Upon their arrival the signal was given for
the games to begin.

First of all came the races for wives, for at this feast only of all the
year could the young men of the tribe get married. Even now they were
obliged to run after their sweethearts, who were allowed so great a start
in the race that if they chose they could reach the goal first and thus
escape all further attentions from their pursuers. They generally
allowed themselves to be caught, however, and thus became blushing
brides. Thus, on this occasion, and in this manner, Yah-chi-la-ne (the
Eagle), a young Alachua chief, gained the hand of Has-se's beautiful
sister Nethla, which means the Day-star.

The contests among the boys to decide who of them should be Bow-bearer to
their chief for the ensuing year followed, and as the great drum,
Kas-a-lal-ki, rolled forth its hollow, booming notes, twenty slender
youths stepped forward, of whom the handsomest was Has-se the Sunbeam,
and the tallest was dark-faced Chitta the Snake. All were stripped to
the skin, and wore only girdles about their loins and moccasins on their
feet; but Has-se, as the son of the chief, had the scarlet feather of a
flamingo braided into his dark hair.

From the very first Has-se and Chitta easily excelled all their
competitors in the contests; but they two were most evenly matched.
Has-se scored the most points in hurling the javelin, and Chitta won in
the foot-race. In shooting with the bow both were so perfect that the
judges could not decide between them, and the final result of the trial
became dependent upon their skill at wrestling. When they stood up
together for this contest, Has-se's slight form seemed no match for that
of the taller and heavier Chitta; and when in the first bout the former
was thrown heavily to the ground, a murmur of disapprobation arose from
the white spectators, though the Indians made no sign to express their
feelings.

In the second bout, after a sharp struggle, Has-se seemed suddenly to
give way, and almost immediately afterwards Chitta was hurled to earth,
but how, no one could tell, except Rene, who with the keenest interest
watched the effect of his lesson. As Chitta rose to his feet he seemed
dazed, and regarded his opponent with a bewildered air, as though there
were something about him he could not understand.

Again they clinched and strained and tugged, until the perspiration