Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1922-07-27
CHAPTER xvIlI-continued.

SIS
The door opened then very little.
and the frightened face Of an Indian
woman appeared in the crack. The
woman evidently had expected-and
fenred-some arrival, and was reas-
sured when she saw only 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 MANI" Constance
had caught the woman's arm.
"They sent him to the beach. A
ship has sunk"
Are there houses near here7 You
must run to one of them ut once.
Bring whoever you can get; or If you
won't do that. tell me where to go"
The woman stared at her s.olidly
and moved away. "None near" she
said. Besides, you could not get
somebody before some one will come"
"Who Is that?"
"He is on the beach-Henry Spear
man. He comes here to warm him
self. 1t is nearly time he comes
again."
Constance gazed Mt her; the woman
was plainly glad of her coming. Her
rellef-relief 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 chair for
her beside the stove, and put water In
pan to heat; she shook tea leaves
from box into bowl and brought
cup. ..
"How many on that shlp?"
Altogether there were thirty
nine," Constance replied.
"Seven are living then"
"Seven7 What have you heard7
What makes you think so?"
"That is what the Drum says"
The Drum! There was Drum
then! At lenst there was some sound
which people heard and which they
called the Drum For The woman had
heard it.
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 denial
chat 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
a 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 US they
died. When the Drum beat again,
would it beat beyond the score?
Having finished the tea, Constance
returned to the door and reopened 1t;
the sounds outside were the same. A
solitary figure appeared moving along
the edge of the ice-the figure of
tall man, walking on snowshoes;
moonlight distorted the figure. and it
was muffled, too, in great coat which
made it unrecognizable. He halted
and stood looking out at the lake and
then, with 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.
"Is the Drum sounding now?" she
asked the woman.
mo"
Constance gazed again at the man
and found his motion quite unmistak-
able; he was counting-if not counting
something that he heard. or thought he
heard, he was recounting and review
ing within himself something that he
had heard before-some irregular
rhythm which had become so much a
part Of him that it sounded now con-
tnually within his own brain; so that,
instinctively, he moved in cadence to
it. He 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 reclosed the door and
drew back into the cabin.