Bar Harbor High School - Islander Yearbook (Bar Harbor, ME)

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s The Islardef 25 thus exposed. How luscious was that fresh juicy steak. How sweet that odor of warm blood. Yet he must go slowly, he might not have such luck again. He must hoard and save to the very last, every scrap of meat must be buried be- neath the snow and he must sleep on a limb over head, that no other beast might steal that which was the means of his salvation. During the following day Balu kept drowsy watch over his cache until, when night came, he might safely ven- ture down to partake of his store. Not that he was afraid of any animal in that vicinity, but inherent instinct seemed to warn him that to venture forth, in daylight, would be utter folly. Thus eating at night and sleeping through the day, he managed to live through the month of January. On the first night of February every bit of meat was gnawed from the bones but Balu had been strengthened by the meat which he had so luckily secured and could leap almost as far now as he could before that dreadful winter had set in with its fierce blizzards and biting colds. There had been no snow storms for quite a while and the snow was packed so Balu could run swiftly over the firm footing' thus formed. Still, times were hard and food was scarce, yet by careful ambush and by long journeys he managed to find enough to sustain him until, on one of his nocturnal wanderings, he came upon a dead hare. Ap- parently it had died of starvation. What a line chance for a meal without the usual tedious work of following his game for miles before killing it. Little did Balu realize that man had placed that hare there for the Very purpose of tempting some of his family to take advantage of such an easily secured meal. Thus it was that Balu was caught in a trap. Luckily, the trap only caught him by the foot and although it had broken the bones, he had, at least a fighting chance of re- gaining his liberty. After the first spasm of terror had passed, he examined the trap carefully, pawing at it with his free foot and nosing it carefully so that he might not injure his already very painful fore paw. His terror again got the upper hand of his judgment and he endeavored to free himself. Suddenly the skin gave away and with great agony his foot was withdrawn from the trap. Balu slowly limped off to hide in some secluded glen until his foot could once more bear his weight. Weeks passed into months. The sun was again setting, but on what a different scene! The snow had given way to grass and the air was filled with the songs of vari-colored ir s.

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'24 V The Islander -.,,. .,, .,,. U.. my- .,-. -..- ..-. -.- l ...- 1 - X, T. J.. 4 X, .., V , ,f -- .1 , ' 1 .u I ja l ' F , Balu It was dusk. The sun' setting beneath the hill tops sent its last faint rays gleaming over the barren waste of snow and woods. Balu, the Wildcat crouched in a thicket waiting for his meal. He did not care for the beauty of the sunset for indeed, although beautiful to the human eye, it was tragic to his. Long had been the winter and hard, and altho' he had managed up to this time to sustain himself, he was doubtful whether it could continue much longer. For three days now he had been forced to go without food of any sort. Deer had journeyed to other parts. Rabbits, partridges, field mice and other small animals had either been killed off or were so wary that, to get within killing dis- tance of any of these, was next to impossible. To-day, for the first time in weeks, he had sighted a lone deer, but when he came to what he thought a striking distance his muscles failed him and his leaps fell short. He was in a serious plight. He could do nothing now except wait, wait, wait. What a torture! But hark! What was that? Balu crouched lower, his eyes narrowed to mere slits, the hair on his back slowly rose. The crunch, crunch crunch of the snow told of the approach of some animal. Suddenly the bushes broke and a magnificent buck broke cover. His fine long antlers spread above his highly held, clean-cut head, seeming to defy even nature's most effective weapons, cold and starvation. As he passed close by Balu's retreat he launched him- self directly upon the back of the buck. With a snort the buck was off, running through the thickets, rolling over and over, racing beneath low limbs in a mad endeavor to rid himself of that terrible creature which clung with such dreadful tenacity to his back. But Balu was not to be over- come. This was his one hope of salvation and he clung to it as a drowning man clings to a straw. At last, exhausted by his efforts, the great buck sank-dying into the snow. Balu did not waste any time in celebrating his victory. Tearing a large hole in his side he ate greedily of the flesh

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?id..,. all The Islmdff . Upon a ledge back of which might be seen the dark opening of a cave, were three small balls of fur tumbling over each other in that playful mood characteristic of all childhood. A little to one side might be seen two large cats watching the antics of their first born with evident pleasure. The suns last rays caressed their forms-one a twin female of two winters and the other-Balu, her mate. -H. Dow. The Teachers One By One I am now going to tell you, A little story that is true. First comzs Prin. West, our friend in all, He reigns supreme in Assembly Hall. Then Submaster Gordon, we all know well, He always has basketball tickets to sell. If anything goes wrong on the lower Hoor, Mr. Cumming will surely give you more. Mr. Sherman, in French is certainly great, But without excuse, it won't pay to be late. Mr. Warren has a habit of clearing his throat, But watch out! If he sees you with a note! In room 2 Miss Miller is found Teaching us English without a sound C25 Miss Tarrant, with her ability, will always try Anything new, without even a sigh. Miss Yeaton is so gentle and kind, She always keeps things in her mind. If it's that you do not like the longhand, Ask Mrs. Foster to show you shorthand. Mrs. Greene will tell you how, To type a letter, if you ask her now. Under Miss Hayes direction, we say: We learn debating every day. - -MA. C. S., 24.