204 THE BIG CANOE

saw him watching Kilko with burning hatred in his
eyes.

“He has not forgotten the cowardly trick Kilko
played on him,” Teka thought. “He is brooding over
it. Kilko had better watch out or Shim will hurt him.”

After that Teka watched the old man and saw that
he followed Kilko from place to place, always at a
safe distance, always stealthily hiding behind rocks,
behind hummocks. Teka thought of warning the chief
of the danger that threatened Kilko, but he said noth-
ing. He preferred to see Kilko properly punished for
his cruelty.

One day old Shim came into camp singing loudly
again. Around the fire he danced, chanting one of
his maddest songs. Fiercely he beat upon his drum.
When he sat before the fire he chuckled, a horrible
sort of chuckle that sent chills chasing up and down
Teka’s spine.

“Shim has done something to Kilko,” he thought,
and he was worried, though he knew that Kilko de-
served to be punished. Later, when word went round
that the chief’s son had not returned to camp, the
slave boy felt sure his guess was right.

Saying nothing about his suspicions, Teka ran
swiftly along the beach, down near the water’s edge,
looking for the missing one. He expected to find Kilko
bound and tormented as Shim had been, that other
time. Here and there among the rocks he searched,
but he could find no sign of the chief’s son anywhere,