THE CHILCAT BLANKET 201

flushed cheeks and downcast eyes, not daring to glance
at the young chief.

At last the old Haida chief broke the silence.

“This is the finest blanket I have ever beheld,” he
said gravely. “The workmanship is perfect. The de-
sign is very beautiful. May I inquire the name of the
weaver?”

“Our daughter, the princess, wove this blanket,”
the Chilcat chief answered proudly. “In one year she
wove it, with no help from others. Never before has
such a task been accomplished by any one in our
tribe.”

“Your daughter is as clever and diligent as she is
beautiful,” commended the old chief, darting a glance
at his son. One might have said that the old chief’s
eyes were twinkling with mischief, but Kali was not
sure. “Very fortunate will be the young chief who
marries such a princess,” he went on graciously.
“Honored will be the tribe that can claim such a
chieftainess. I shall be proud to purchase this blanket
for my son, who has never found another that met
with his approval since the one he purchased here
last year was burned. He is very difficult to please,
but this blanket will surely meet with all his require-
ments. Is this not so, my son?”

“This is the very blanket I had hoped to find,”
replied the young chief, earnestly, and Kali knew her
year’s work had not been in vain.