d who is he of whom thou speakest so vaguely as having conceived an
enmity unjustly against those who have harmed him not?"

"One who should be well known to thee, Ta-lah-lo-ko. I speak of Chitta
the Snake, whom I hope we may not encounter."

"It will be the worse for him if we do encounter him, and he ventures
to interfere with us," replied Rene, hotly.

"Nay, Ta-lah-lo-ko. I have a feeling within me which warns me that a
meeting with the Snake will be a sad one for us," answered Has-se, who,
though as brave as a young lion, was inclined to be superstitious, as
were all of his race.

During this conversation the course of the canoe had been through a
mere thread of a stream, and Rene now noticed that they were traversing
the mazes of a dark swamp. The little stream connected a series of
stagnant pools or bayous, and just as they came into the open water of
one of these they caught a glimpse of another canoe leaving it on the
opposite side. Even as they sighted it, it shot in among the trunks of
a dense cypress forest, and disappeared.

[1]Before the Seminoles became the powerful tribe into which they
finally grew they were a band of outlaws, composed of those who, for
some good reason, had fled or been driven from the Creeks, Cherokees,
Choctaws, Chickasaws, and other tribes of the South.--K. M.

CHAPTER VII

CHITTA BECOMES A SEMINOLE

In order to account for the presence of the canoe of which Rene and
Has-se had caught a glimpse, as it darted in among the black shadows of
the cypress forest in the great swamp, we must go back to the night
that followed the Feast of Ripe Corn.

After Chitta struck Has-se the blow that stretched him stunned and
bleeding on the ground, he sprang into the forest, and gliding swiftly
among the stately trunks of the solemn pines, made his way to the
river. On its bank were drawn up many canoes, over which Chitta
glanced hastily, but with a practised eye. In a moment he selected one
that promised to combine lightness with speed, noiselessly launched it,
and stepped into it. Grasping a paddle, he headed the stolen craft
down the river, and was quickly buried in the mist that rose from its
surface.

As the unhappy lad pursued his solitary way down the river, neither
knowing nor caring where he was going, so long as he placed distance
between himself and those whom he knew would shortly search for him,
his mind was filled with bitter reflections. He felt as though he