10 THE BIG CANOE

“Do you not see? It is a puffin bird!” she cried.
“Tt is like the dead puffin bird we found upon the
beach last year. Perhaps we are near the hidden
island. Perhaps the puffin bird is on its way there
even now!”’

“Perhaps it is,” Kahala agreed, as excited as Kilsa.
“Tt is a good omen, anyway. We will follow it and
see where it leads us.”

Both Kahala and Kilsa were so intent upon the
bird, that they did not notice the gray bank of fog
ahead. Suddenly the bird disappeared, and at the
same moment the canoe plunged into a dense fog.
For a short distance the little craft glided forward,
then the sail flapped and hung loose, and the canoe
drifted idly upon the quiet waters.

Kahala and Kilsa were accustomed to fogs, even
dense fogs like this one, and they were not afraid.
Their one concern was the disappearance of the puffin
bird bearing Kilsa’s hat.

“We shall never find my hat again now.” The dis-
appointed girl began to weep. “Nor shall we find the
puffin bird, either. They have both disappeared.”

“This fog cannot last long,” said Kahala, but he
looked puzzled. “The sun was shining everywhere be-
fore we entered it. It is not the season for fogs. This
fog bank must be near the shore. If we paddle
straight on we shall soon be through it and perhaps
we shall see the puffin bird again, for he was flying
slowly and cannot be far ahead.”