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152 THE BIG CANOE

“No, it is no better than a clown,” he said slowly,
“but it is a very great honor to be called a hero.”

“T would rather be called a clown,” said Skai. “Tf
I had not been a clown I could not have scared Sebassa
and his men and they would have burned the village.
Tahn did even more than I did to scare the enemy;
his howls were more horrible than ever before. Let
him be the hero; I will be the clown.”
Hi “Very well, it shall be as you wish,” the trader

agreed. He smiled as he piled the arms of the as-

tonished lad high with candy and presents which he
had snatched up as he ran from the trading-post.
“You shall be a clown—the bravest clown that ever
lived, I think,” he added, as he turned away to call
to Skai’s people, who were afraid to approach. He
called to them to draw nearer so that he might tell
them of the heroism of Skai, whom all the Haidas had
called the Crazy One, but whom, henceforth, was to
be known in legend and story as Skai the Clown,
greatest of all heroes.