The Ordway new era., 1922-07-28
THE INDIAN DRUM
By William Macfiarg and Edwin Balmer
Abytd~m Bsh

he saw tAenaz Would he be glad, with
rhst sane sszdneSs which hsd mingled
with her own sorrow over Uncle
Benny. that his father was Sone-gone
from his guilt and his fear and his
aiSzces Or would he resent that
death which thus left everything IN
expisinei 10 himi he would be look
ing at the ring. That, ST least, must
o.inc more Joy than grief 70 HIM He
would recognize that It must be his
mothers wedding ring; Il II told him
rhst his mother nus. be dead II would
tel hin that she had been married. or
hsd believed that she was married
Suddenly she hesrd him calling her.
Mss Shs-rllI.- his voice had sharp
thrill q excitement
She hurried toward the sun room
she could see him through the door
zzy. bending over the card table with
the th1nes spread out upon its top in
frat q hin
Yes
He s1rsightened; he was very pale
Would colzs that ny father had in
hls pocket zu have been more than
rwe1ry years old!T
she -za and ben, beside him over
The coins. Twenty years." she re-
paz-ed she YVES making out the dates
Of he CONS nov herself. the markings
were aroded, nearly sone il some in
stances. Dut n every case enough re-
1nained 70 make plain the date,
hrear-uf1s-y = -Sa4 = 1889" she
1uads them out He- voice hushed
uneerly. What does it meant" she
Whispered
He turned oTs- and re-exsmined the
articles Elth hands suddenly steady
ing. There are two sets Of things
here" he concluded. The muller
and paper Of directions be-
longed to my father. The other things
it Isn't six months or less than six
months that they've lain in sand and
water to become worn Ike this; It's
twenty years. My father can't have
had these things; they were some
where else, or some, one else had them.
He wrote his directions to that per-
son-after June twelfth, he said, so 1t
was before June twelfth he wrote It;
but we can't tell how long before. 1t
might have been in February, when he
disappeared 1t might have been any
time after that. But If the directions
were written so long ago, why weren't
the things sent to you before this?
Didn't the person nave the things
then? Did we have TO wait to get
them? Or-was 1t the Instructions to
ha bn didn't hawai- nr If
he had the instructions, was he wait
ing to receive word when they were
to be sent? You thought these things
proved my father was dead. 1 think
they prove he is alivel Oh, we must
think this outf'
He paced up and down the room; she
sank into chair. watching him. 1.-The
first thing that we must do he said
suddenly, ''is to find out about the
watch. What is the phone number
of the telegraph officer
She told him, and he went out to the
telephone; she sprang up to follow
him. but checked herself and merely
waited until he came back.
I've wired to Buffalo," he an
nounced. "The Merchants exchange,
if it is still in existence, must have a
record of the presentation of the
watch"
"Then you'll stay here with US until
an answer comesf"
"If we get reply by tomorrow morn
ing; I'll wait till then. If not, I'll ask
you to forward 1t to me. l must see
about the trains and get back to Frank
fort. l can cross by boat from there
to Manitowoc-that will be quickest.
We must begin there, by trying to find
out who sent the package"
She helped him put the muffler and
the other articles into the box; she no.
ticed that the wedding ring was no
longer with them. He had taken that,
then; it had meant to him all that she
had known it must mean. -.
In the morning she was up very
early; but Alan, the servants told her.
had risen before she had and had gone
out. The morning, after the cool north
ern night, was chill. She slipped a
sweater on and went out on the veran-
da, looking about for him. An rides
cent haze shrouded the hills and the
bay; in 1t she heard ships bell strike
twice; then another struck twice-then
another-and another-and another.
The haze thinned as the sun grew
warmer, showing the placid water of
the bay on which the ships stood dou-
BILE. She saw Alan returning, and
knowing from the direction from which
he came that he must have been to the
telegraph office, she ran to meet him.
WAS there an answer?" she inquired
eagerly.
He took a yellow telegraph sheet
from his pocket and held 1t for her to
read.
Watch presented Captain Caleb
Stafford. master Of propeller freighter
Marvin Halch for rescue of crew and