midnight before
On his own account Réné also made up a package for Has-se , and another of such things as women prize for his sister , the beautiful Nethla . Nor was the brave Yah-chi-la-ne forgotten , but received in the shape of knives and hatchets what seemed to him presents of inestimable value . Réné also gratified the young Alachua warriors by taking them inside the fort , and showing them , as well as he was able by the light of lanterns , the great `` thunder-bows '' whose voices they had heard that morning when still many miles away . It was past midnight before the visitors were ready to depart , and then Réné and Has-se bade each other farewell with swelling hearts ; for they had learned to love each other more dearly than brothers , and they feared they might never meet again . One by one the canoes of the Alachuas glided away from the water gate noiselessly as so many thistle-downs , and were instantly lost to view in the night mist that hung like a soft gray curtain over the whole river . Réné watched the last one depart , and then going to his own room , he flung himself on a couch and was almost instantly buried in a profound slumber , so thoroughly exhausted was he by the exciting labors of the previous day . The morning was well advanced when he awoke .