168 THE BIG CANOE

cave beside the narrow trail. Cautiously he peered
in, fearful lest a bear or a cougar had made its home
there. The cave was shallow and entirely empty, but
never in his life had he seen sucha cave. Never had
he dreamed of anything so beautiful.

From the ceiling hung gleaming icicles that caught
the rays of the afternoon sun and sparkled as Kadonah
had never seen icicles sparkle before. He touched one
timidly. It was not an icicle. It was crystal, water-
clear crystal, more highly prized by his people than
any other thing; crystal, such as had been told about
in song and legend since the beginning of time.

Kadonah had once seen a piece of crystal owned by
a mighty chief, who valued it more highly than any
other possession. This great quantity of it, here in the
cave, would make his father very rich; it would make
him more powerful than any other chief. It would
please his father more than anything else in the
world, and would perhaps cause him to forget the
falsehoods and misdeeds of his son. Surely the pos-
session of this vast treasure would cause him to for-
get anything!

As Kadonah broke off the first crystal icicle, a
small avalanche went hurtling down the mountainside
not far away and fell with a thunderous crash into
the gulch below.

“The mountain spirits are angry,” he thought,
panic-stricken. “Perhaps this is their home. Perhaps
they will punish me if I break off these crystals.”