A buckskin shirt, leggings, and moccasins richly worked with beads; a wampum belt crossed his shoulder; a scarlet blanket hung at his back, its folds displaying a figure which, in its youth, must have been superb. It still showed, in the broad chest and powerful limbs, almost its pristine strength. Upon his head he wore a band of bead-work, in which were stuck three wing feathers of the war-eagle. His face was full of dignity and calm repose. It was Oluski, the Seminole chief. His companion was no less remarkable. As he lay stretched upon the ground, leaning on one elbow, his face upturned towards that of the old man, a striking contrast was presented. Like Oluski, his dress was also half Indian, half hunter, but more richly ornamented with bead-work, whilst a certain careful disposition of the attire, seemed not inappropriate to his youth and bearing. It was, however, in his features that the difference was chiefly apparent. In the attitude he had assumed, a ray of sunshine piercing a break between the trees, illumined his countenance. Instead of the coppery colour of the Indian, his skin was of a rich olive, an unmistakeable sign that white blood flowed in his veins. He was remarkably handsome. His features were regular, well defined, and admirably chiselled. His eyes were large and lustrous, overarched by a forehead that denoted the possession of intellect. Like the old man, he wore a plume of eagle's feathers on his head, as also a wampum belt; but in lieu of a blanket, a robe made of skin of the spotted lynx was thrown over his shoulders. Oluski was the first to speak. "Must Wacora depart to-day?" he asked. "At sunset I must leave you, uncle," replied the youth, who was his nephew, already spoken of as Wacora. "And when do you return?" "Not till you come back from Tampa Bay. I have still much to do. My father's death has still placed me in a position of trust, and I must not neglect its duties." "I and my tribe depart from this place in seven days." "And Nelatu, where is he?" asked Wacora. "I expected him ere this. He and Red Wolf went away together." Oluski was ignorant of what had happened. "They went upon a hunting excursion, and if not able to return in time, were to go on to the bay, and there await our coming." "You still make your summer encampment upon the hill. I have not seen it since I was a boy. It is a shame, too, since out people are buried there." "Yes; and, therefore, it is dear to you as to me." "And yet the whites have a settlement near it. It was your gift to them, uncle, I remember that." Wacora said this with an accent that sounded almost sneering. The old chief answered warmly. "Well, I owed their chief a debt of gratitude, I paid it. He is my friend." "_Friend_!" said Wacora, with a bitter smile; "since when has the pale-face been a friend to the red man?"