THE IRON MEN 63

“This thing is not Kali Koustli. It is not a super-
natural being,” declared Weah’s father. “For two
days and nights now it has rested there quietly upon
the waters of the bay, and yet no sickness has visited
our tribe. All this day I have watched it; all this day

I have heard songs and laughter and the sounds of .

many kinds of labor borne on the wind from that
direction. I am convinced that it is a new kind of
canoe, bearing men, not spirits; I am convinced that
there is nothing evil in it, and I am willing to test the
truth of my convictions. True, they must be a power-
ful tribe, since their canoes are bigger and more
wonderful than the Haida canoes, famous in all the
Northland. Come what may, I cannot remain here
longer in the village like a coward, fearful of all
things. I must know more about these people whose
voices are like our own, but whose songs are unlike
any I have ever heard. To-morrow I am going out to
visit the strangers and see for myself what manner
of people they be.”

“You will die!” the others cried, astonished by the
chief’s decision. “If it is Kali Koustli, you will bring
back the pestilence and we shall all perish!”

“T will not come back to the village if it is
Kali Koustli,” replied the great chief, sternly. “No
chief would bring such a misfortune upon his village.
But I would rather go to meet evil, if such it be, than
wait longer here in my lodge for it to visit me. I