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ae 120 THE BIG CANOE

both Kish and Lana were determined to win the prize
—Lana because she longed to own the necklace, Kish
because she could not bear to have the slave girl
make a better basket than hers. Again and again
Kish started a basket, only to throw it away in de-
spair as she watched the slave girl’s basket grow
into a thing of lovely lines and colors which she could
not hope to equal.

Lana loved to weave baskets; she loved to watch
the design grow beneath her clever fingers until the
picture in her brain was there before her, complete,
perfect, just as her hands had created it. Whenever
she could find time she stole away and worked hap-
pily upon the basket. She wove slowly, painstakingly,
so that every bit of it was perfect.

But the basket grew slowly in spite of her dili-
gence. The chief’s slaves were called upon to per-
form many tasks for the large family that made up
his household, so that no matter how much Lana
hurried through her own share of the work, she was
not able to find many idle hours. Besides, Kish was
always watching and whenever she saw the slave
girl working upon her basket, she hindered Lana
in every possible way. She sent the patient girl upon
needless errands; she hid her materials, cut her care-
fully chosen fibers, broke her reeds; and in the end,
when, in spite of her unkindness, the basket was al-
most finished, Kish spilled berry juice upon it and
ruined it.