THE TALKING DOLL 227

than that! Then came the thought that she would
have no voice in the matter. If she were purchased
by the Haida chief she would be compelled to go
to the distant islands. Such was the fate of all slaves
in the land. She must do something, quickly, to turn
the chief and the princess against her so that they
would not want her.

In that instant it occurred to her that’she must
destroy the Talking Doll, valuable as it was, angry
as both Thaimshim and the Haida chief would be!
Without the doll, neither the chief nor the princess
would be interested in her, and she would be left
with Kona among the Niskas. Into the heart of the
leaping flames she tossed it, before the horrified
eyes of the Haidas; before the shocked, reproach-
ful gaze of her twin! Instantly the doll burst into
flames. By the time a slave could snatch it from the
fire, a piece of charred wood was all that remained
of the Talking Doll that Thaimshim had presented
to the Tsimshian princess in those days so long
ago!

In the silence that followed—that long, long mo-
ment of silence before the astounded people could
express their indignation—Kona struggled to his feet
and addressed the Haida chief.

“Do not blame my sister, O Chief,” he began,
and there was something in his voice that caused the
chief and all the others to look at him with re-
spect—almost with reverence. Like the son of Haimas