92 THE BIG CANOE

matter was settled the captain turned to the chief and
asked if he had a daughter, Maada.

“This is Maada,” said the chief, calling the aston-
ished girl.

“T was told to give this present to Maada, daughter
of the chief,” explained the captain, handing a box
to the bashful girl. “I was told to say that it comes
from one who remembers her many kindnesses and
her patience in teaching him the Haida language.”

With trembling fingers Maada lifted the lid of the
box. Within were two thin bracelets of beaten silver
such as the Haida women loved. Both were new and
shining; both were very plain except for a tiny bear
cleverly engraved upon each one.

“They are from the white slave!” she thought
happily. The white slave had lived. He had returned
to his people. He had remembered Toona the bear,
and the part he had played in his deliverance! This
was a sign, a message, for her eyes alone; a message
which none of the others would ever understand; a
message from a grateful white slave whom her clever-
ness and bravery had saved that foggy night at
potlatch time so many moons ago.