Say what you will about Drum, but he was a man who kept his promises. After the stones were counted in his favor, he promised to rule with fear, and he did. He erected a gong near the central water pump, and Kul struck it each morning at dawn with a heavy gavel that sent a vibrating call through the village. GONNNNNGG. GONNNNNGG. Drum would appear then, his back straight and proud, a smile plastered on his face; he looked like he’d just killed someone and gotten away with it.
The GONNNNNGG was meant to wake the villagers up, and it worked. They rolled out of their beds and opened their eyes. The next sound they heard was Drum. His voice was much like the gong.
He commanded them to wake up.
He reminded them of their duties.
He told them that they would be judged.
He would watch with a careful eye, and if you faltered, he’d put you in your proper place, just as he’d done with Lalani and the basin.
But after Drum’s morning announcements, the village quieted and the echoes of the gong faded, mixing into the ordinary sounds of Sanlagita.
But Hetsbi heard things others did not.
Clack.
He had failed as a fisherman.
Clack.
He had failed as a shipbuilder.
Clack.
He had failed his conscience.
Clack. Clack.
These thoughts circled and circled in his mind. They followed him to school, where Taiting pretended it was business as usual, but Hetsbi wondered: Was Taiting judging him or had he imagined it? Did all the boys know he had cast a stone out of fear? How had the others voted?
When the clacks became too much, Hetsbi decided to find out.