soldiers were not skilled in either hunting or fishing, and had become dependent upon their Indian neighbors for what they needed of such food.  It was therefore with feelings of surprised alarm that, on the second day after the burning of the granary, they noticed the absence of all Indians from the vicinity of the fort.  Scouts were sent to the Indian encampment to discover the cause of this unusual state of affairs, and they soon returned with the report that the place was wholly deserted, and that not an Indian was to be found.

Not only had all the visiting Indians disappeared, but also every soul of Micco’s tribe; and, what was more significant, they had taken with them their lodges and all portable property.

Laudonniere at once realized the full force of the situation.  His soldiers were worn out with the labor of building the fort, and many of them were prostrated by a peculiar fever that racked their joints with severe pains and unfitted them for duty.  The store of provisions upon which he had depended to feed his men through the approaching winter had been destroyed.  The Indians who might have provided him with game had abandoned him and gone he knew not whither.  His men knew nothing of the art of winning for themselves a livelihood from the wilderness that surrounded them.  Although the soldiers had been allowed to think differently, he knew that some months must still elapse before the arrival of reinforcements and supplies from France.  He himself, worn out by anxiety and overwork, was beginning to feel symptoms of the approach of the dreaded fever, and he feared that ere long he would be unfitted to perform the duties of his important position.

In this emergency, he decided to hold a council with the officers of the garrison, and ask their aid in deciding what was to be done.  He therefore sent word to Soisson, his lieutenant, old Hillaire, the captain of artillery, Martinez, the quartermaster, Chastelleux, the chief of engineers, Le Moyne, the artist, and to Rene, his nephew, bidding them meet him in council.  He added Rene to the number, for his uncle wished him to fully comprehend the difficulties of their position.

The council met in the commandant’s private room, and Laudonniere, stating the situation clearly to them, asked what was to be done.  Some suggested one thing and some another, and the discussion was long and earnest.  Le Moyne, the artist, added to the perplexities of the commandant by stating that he had heard rumors of dissatisfaction among the garrison, and threats that unless provisions were speedily obtained they would build a vessel, abandon the fort and country, and attempt to make their way back to France.

While the discussion was at its height, two soldiers appeared at the door, leading between them a slender young Indian, whom Rene, with a joyful cry, at once recognized as his friend Has-se the Sunbeam.

CHAPTER IV