The Snowflake herald., 1922-09-22
.uAprER xVIII-continued.

aoor opened then a very little,
:. dn tne frightened face of an indian 1,, n
ano ,. m appeared in the crack. Inc
FOma n evidently had expected-and
TOm aa-some arrival, and was reas-
fsafeO hon she saw only girl. She
'ureu tba door wider open, and bent
tOl1 noln unfasten Constance's snow
70 nsF having done that, she led her
!. SnV and closed the door.
10 S nUb is your mann" Constance
I'D caught the woman's arm
na an 49, sent him to the beach. A
,hIp has sunk: horo, Won
a. rim TO one of them at once.
nus nu1, wboever you can get; or If you
D, PIT do that, tell me where to CO."
T,o Woman stared at her stolidly
- moved away. "None near" she
"a BESIDES, you could not get
' 'oraf before some one will come"
"Who is thatT"
@He is on the beach-Henry spear
AN He comes here to warm him.
al It is nearly time he comes
again"
constance gazed at her; the woman
80, mainly glad Of her coming. Her
..vot-relIef from that fear she had
bssn feeling when she opened the door
rs worry evident. l. was Henry,
then who had frightened her.
The Indian woman set a chair for
Asr beside the stove, and put water In
nan TO heat; she shook tea leaves
rom box into a bowl and brought a
cup.
How many on that ship2
Altogether there were thirty
nine" Constance replied.
"Seven are living then"
Seven? What have you heard?
What makes you think so?''
"Tbat Is what the Drum says"
The Drum! There was a Drum
them At least there was some sound
which people heard and which they
called the Drum. For The woman had
heard 1t.
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
we're left. Indefinite, desperate denial
hat all from the ferry must be dead
that denial which had been strength
ened by the news that at least one
boat had been adrift near Beaver
altered in Constance to conviction Of
boat with seven men from the ferry,
seven dying, perhaps, but no. yet
dead. Seven out of twenty-seven;
The score were gone; the Drum had
beat for them In little groups as they
died, When the Drum beat again,
would 1t beat beyond the score?
Having finished the tea, Constance
returned to the door and reopened it ;
the sounds outside were the same. A
solitary figure appeared moving along
The edge Of the ice-the figure of
nH man, walking on snowsh0es !;
moonlight distorted the figure, and it
vas muffled, too, in great coat which
made 1t unrecOgnizable. He halted
and stood looking out at the lake and
nen with a sudden movement, strobe
on ne halted again, and now Con-
'ance got the knowledge that he was
not looking; he was listening as she
was.
Is the Drum sounding now?" she
"Eed the woman.
NO"
constance gazed again at the man
'lu found his motion quite unmistak-
.Ue' ne was counting-if not counting
'Vwethlng that he heard, or thought he
I'''u' ne was recounting and review
s within himself something that he
Su heard befOre-some irregular
pSull which had become so much. q
~ ~ OF MIN that it sounded now con-
@.I aly within his own brain; so that,
! ulctlVely, he moved In cadence to
-, ne stepped forward again now,
turned toward the house.
N. '' breath caught as she spoke to
SOman. mfr. Spearman is coming
IL. impulse was to remain where
,l,., was, lest he should think she was
n, a,u OF him; but realization came to
ss,.- nat mere might be advantage In
", nlN before he knew that she
tsv p so she reclosed the door and
~'S back into the cabin.
CHAPTER XIX