On one of her forays into the surf, Nell had encountered a man—a 
Drummer—who had come swimming out of the deep, naked except for a gill 
pack. This should have astonished her; instead, she had known he was out there 
before she saw him, and when he came close, she could feel things happening in 
her mind that were coming in from outside. There was something in her brain 
that made her connected to the Drummers.