158 THE BIG CANOE

graceful that Kadonah, who was really a skilful
marksman, felt that he could surely hit any mark
with the famous weapon.

“Magic arrow!” raged the chief. “There is no magic
arrow, as Kadonah knows well. He has told another
falsehood. I will send him from the tribe, as I prom-
ised. If he dares to take my bow and arrows, which
he has been forbidden to touch, I will punish him for
that also.” He was very angry as he stood there, hid-
den, and waited for Kadonah’s return.

Now, it happened that Thaimshim the Wonder-
worker, flying through the forest in the form of a
raven, had overheard the words of the chief’s son
and had seen the chief also, hiding behind the bushes
at the edge of the clearing.

“Something is about to happen,” thought Thaim-
shim, studying the chief’s angry face with his keen
glance. “That was the lad with the crooked tongue
who was boasting to his playmates. He knows well
there is no such magic arrow. It is time the lad was
cured of such an evil habit. I will take a hand in this
matter and teach him a lesson that he will never for-
get, so that he may profit thereby and be a great chief
in the years that are to come.”

Thaimshim flew into a tall cedar overhead and
perched upon a dead branch just as Kadonah came
running back with his father’s graceful bow and one
of his finest arrows of polished wood with a colored