share their superabundance with those of the Turquoise.
The delegate of Kohaio was not only aggressive in his speech, but his
manner of delivering it was brusque and violent, and created quite a
stir; and many of the members cast glances at him which were not of a
friendly nature.

It was now the turn of the delegate of the Water people; and much
depended upon what he would say, for he was, besides the members from
Shyuamo, the party most interested in the proceedings. Kauaitshe, as he
was called, was not, unfortunately, the man for the situation. Short and
clumsy in figure, extremely good-natured and correspondingly slow in
thought and action, he was intellectually heavy and dull. When the
demand upon his clan was first formulated, he listened to it like one
whom it does not concern, and only gradually came to the conception that
the matter was after all of prime importance to him and to those whose
interests he had been selected to defend. Kauaitshe was thunderstruck
upon arriving at full comprehension; he was bewildered, and would much
rather have run away from the council. But that was impossible. He heard
the men speak one by one, and--what to him caused most anxiety--he saw
the moment approaching when he also would be called upon; and the
prospect filled him with dismay. What should he say! What could he say!
The injustice intended toward his constituents, the necessity of
undertaking a task for which he felt himself incapable, terrified him
at first and soon drove him to utter despair; and as all weak and lazy
natures, when they see themselves driven to the wall, become frenzied,
Kauaitshe, when the tapop turned to him, exploded like a loaded weapon,
venting his wrath upon the governor instead of calmly discussing the
matter itself. He saw in the governor not only a member of the clan
whose plans were detrimental to the interests of his kinsmen, but
chiefly the instrument by means of which he was placed in the present
difficult position. His face turned dark, then yellow. His eyes glowed
like embers. Bounding from his seat, he advanced toward the chairman and
hissed,--

"I have heard. Yes,"--his voice became louder,--"I have heard enough.
Enough!" he screamed. "You want to take from us what is ours! You want
to rob us, to steal from my people in order that your people may prosper
and we may suffer! That is what you want," and he shook his clenched
fist in the face of the tapop. The latter started up like an irat