184 THE BIG CANOE
ened. He would have to be bold, bold as Skai the

Clown had been the year before.

If he could only reach his father’s house, he would
dress again in his father’s shaman robes, making
himself look as ridiculous as possible, so that the
slaves would think he was up to more mischief. He
would take one of the ceremonial drums—the smaller
one which his father would not be using in the guest
house—and go drumming openly down the street,
right into the guest house!

The plan was so bold that Yulan did not dare to
stop and think about it, but it was the only way to
save the village. Quickly he sped through the thicket.
As he neared his home, he moved more stealthily,
but he saw no signs of the enemy. When he reached
the edge of the thicket, he took a deep breath and
stepped out into the clearing, whacking a stone along
with a stick, not daring to glance up as he sauntered
slowly toward his father’s house.

Just as he reached it, Slik came romping to meet
him and Yulan picked up the little fellow and hugged
him so tight that the puppy yelped in pain. Not
until he reached the totem pole in front of his fa-
ther’s house did Yulan dare to glance back. He was
relieved to see that the slaves had not noticed him;
they were still listening to the merrymaking inside
the guest house.

Quickly Yulan leaped in through the entrance
hole, expecting every moment to hear an arrow come