132 THE BIG CANOE

chief’s lodge. Again and again he dropped his burden,
for the basket was large and clumsy to carry and kept
ant bumping against his legs. In the end, Koots solved
Te this dilemma by backing down the street, dragging the
i basket through the dust. He dropped it at Lana’s feet
itil and looked up with shining eyes and wagging tail for
a the words of praise and the bit of fish with which he
i was always rewarded, as much as to say: “There is |
your basket. I have done all I can to help you.” ;
“You are a good little dog, Koots,” Lana said hap- |
pily, patting the dog’s head as she gave him a piece
of fish Steilta had ready. Koots had brought the right
basket—the one with the red bird in the bottom, the
one Kish had claimed for hers! His sharp little teeth
had torn it around the rim and it was stained and
dusty, but Lana did not care. Koots had proved the
truth of her claim, and her heart sang with joy as she
glanced at Steilta and saw that his face was shining
with satisfaction, while Kish, whom all were watch-
ing, fought hard to keep back tears of disappointment
and shame.
The chief frowned and picked up the basket. On the
bottom was the little red bird! This was the basket that
Kish, his daughter, had claimed as her own! Yet
Koots had proved to the satisfaction of all that the
basket belonged to Lana; Koots’s little keen nose had
never been known to lie. Kish must have stolen Lana’s
basket and put her own in its place. She had dared to
tell a falsehood to the chief, her father. It was almost