The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1922-08-03
CHAPTER xvIll-continued.

I IS
: The door opened then a very little,
land fhe frightened face of an Indian
woman appeared in the crack. The
. woman evidently had expected-and
$~feared-some arrival, and was reas-
s.sured when she saw only a girl. She
, threw the door wider open, and bent
to help unfasten ConStance's snow
: shoes having. done that, she led her
in and closed the door.
+ where is your man?'" Constance
had caught the wOman's arm.
7, "They sent him to the beach. A
: ship has sunk" ISL
+ Are there houses near here? You
. must run TO one of them at once.
: Bring whoever you can ger; or If you
won't do that, tell me where to go"
y The woman sstared at her stolldIy
and moved away. None near" she
: said. Besides, you could not get
( somebody before some n will come"
! "Who Is lhar?" -.s,
ale is on the beach-Henry Spear
man. He comes here to warm him-
self. 1t is nearly time he comes
again."
~ Constance gazed at her; the woman
was plainly glad of her coming. Her
relief-rrelief from that fear she had
been feeling when she opened the door
was VERY evident. i. was Henry,
then, who had frightened her.
The Indian woman set a chair for
her beside the stove. and put water In
a pan to heat; she shook tea leaves
from a boz. into a bowl and brought a
cup. -
How tmany on that ship?"
Altogether there were thirty
nine" Constance replied.
.r Seven are living. then" -..
"Seven? What have you heard?
What makes you think So"
THAT is what the Drum says"
The Drum! There was a Drum
then! At least there was some sound
which people heard and which they
called the Drum. For he woman had
heard il.
Constance grew suddenly, cold. For
twenty lives, the woman said. the
Drum had beat: that meant to her,
and to Constance too now, that seven
were left. Indefinite, desperate deniai
hat all from the ferry must be dead
that denial which had been strength
ened 10y the news that at least one
boat had been adrift near Beaver
alteped in Constance to conviction of
a boat with seven nren from the ferry.
seven dying, perhaps, but no: yet
dead. Seven out of tWentY-Seven;
The score were gone; the Drum had
died. When the Drain beat again,
would it beat beyond the score?'
Having finished the. tea. Constance
returned to the doc and reopened it;
the sounds outside were the ame A
solitary figure appeared moving along
the edge of the ice-the figure of a
tall man. walking on. snowshoes;
moonlight distorted the figure, and il
was muffled, too, in a great coat which
made ii u~nrecognizable. He halted
and stood looking out at the lake and
then, with a sudden movement, strobe
on; he halted again. and now Con
stance got the knowledge that he was
not looking; he was listening as she
was.
us the Drum sounding now?" she
asked the woman, .
no"
Constance gazed again at the man
and found his motion quite unmistak-
able: ht was countihg-if not counting
something that he heard, or thought he
heard. he was ~rectiunting and review
ing within himself something that he
had heard before-some irregular
rhythm which had become so much a
part of him t1lait II sounded now con
~tinually within Ills own brain; so that.
instinctively, he moved in cadence to
it. lie stepped forward again now,
and turned toward the house.
Her breath caught as she spoke to
the woman "Mr. Spearman is coming
here now -
Her impulse was to remain where
she was, lest he should think she was
afraid of him but realization came TO
her that there might be advantage in
seeing him before he knew that she
was there. SO she recTosed the door and
drew back into the cabin.