Tah 128 THE BIG CANOE

Hq i i not make this basket. I made the other one, stand-
as ing there beside it.” Lana knew that this was a bold
mie thing to say, a grave accusation to make, but the
al chief was a just chief and it seemed best to the
troubled girl to tell the truth about the matter.

vit “She is jealous,” Kish sneered. “She knows that
my basket is the better of the two, and she is cry-
q ing because she will not win the prize. Did you put
Wh any mark on the bottom of yours?” she demanded
quickly.

Lana shook her head.

“I put a little red design on the bottom of mine,”
Kish cried in triumph. “Look and see which one is
mine!”

The chief picked up the basket claimed by his
daughter. There on the bottom of it was the little
red bird. Lana stared at it in astonishment, then
she turned to Kish with such a look of scorn that
the guilty girl was forced to turn away.

As it happened, two others were there who were
greatly interested in the baskets. One was the small
dog, Koots, and the other was Steilta, the chief’s
son, who, from the beginning, had suspected that
his sister was up to some mischief. He, better than
any one else, knew how Kish disliked the slave girl,
how she had always tricked and abused Lana. Lis-
tening now and watching the two girls, he felt sure
that Kish had exchanged the baskets. He felt sure