Butler High School - Magnet Yearbook (Butler, PA)

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14 THE SENIOR MAGNET later, that he would do as she wished. He put the dog in his car and started out for Middletown, about twenty miles distant. When he got nearly there, he opened the door of his car and let Suds out. The dog, thinking that his master was going to play a game with him, frisked and played about. When Wesely turned his car around and started back, Suds started to run along beside the car, still thinking that they were having a romp. Soon he became tired and sitting down in the road watched the rapidly disappearing car. Three miles from where he let Suds go, Mr. Powell stopped at a roadside stand for gas and a bite to eat. He could not understand why he had no appetite, even though he had not eaten since morning. He also could not understand why he saw things in a blur every once in a while. When he got home, he went into the sitting room and sat down on the lounge before the fire. Soon he was lost in thought. Then, waking suddenly out of his reverie, he noticed a black scar in the floor, and the whole story of Suds’ heroism, accidental of course, but, nevertheless, heroism dawned on him. He ran through the house, calling his wife; and when he found her, he could hardly gasp, S—S—Suds was laying - pant - pant - on the skin when a coal popped out and set it on fire. Pant—pant—I just discovered the scar that the coal made when it burned through to the floor. If it had not been for Suds, the whole house would probably have burned down.” Well, it is too late now,” said Mrs. Powell. The dog is gone.” Just then they heard a scratching noise at the door. When Mr. Powell went to investigate, there stood Suds. He had jumped on the running board of the car, while Mr. Powell stopped for gas, at the wayside stand, and he had ridden all the way home. A few minutes later, Mrs. Powell could be heard telephoning to her butcher, Send me two pounds of the best meat that you have and the biggest bone in the shop.” Lest We Forget Anonymous BEN IDE went to work in the fall of the year for the Northern Lumber Company whose holdings were in the upper regions of Michigan. He was a good worker, one who made friends with the men, likeable and trustworthy in big things, but in little things, frequently forgetful. That was Ben’s one fault; and though it seemed a little matter to him, it proved to be otherwise. Ben easily made friends, and the friends more than once went far out of their way to do Ben’s forgotten tasks. More than once, Jim Lacy prevented Ben’s receiving a severe reprimand. Ben and Jim were inseparable. Where one was, after hours, the other was certain to be; and Jim, who worshipped the ground Ben walked on, kept an eye on him. Have you done this?” he would ask, and Ben would go and do it.

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THE SENIOR MAGNET 13 When Wesley J. Powell came home that evening, he was greeted by a wife, the like of whom he had never known before. She was deathly pale, and her eyes were sunken and red from weeping. After it was all over, Wesley told her not to worry, that the old hens” who were there would only have soiled the covers anyway and they would have had to be laundered again. All of which only made his wife angrier. When Jimmy heard of the doings of Marmion, he suggested changing his name to Suds. It seemed that all the members of the family liked Suds much better than Marmion for a name for the dog; so, Suds it became. From that time on, Suds slept in the garage; for Mrs. Powell said that if she ever caught the dog in the house again, she would kill him. Jimmy pleaded and begged, but his mother was firm. All this happened in the fall of the year. The Powells had a great many trees around their home, and it was Jimmy’s job to see that the lawn was raked and the leaves burned. While he was at work, Suds always watched him. He especially liked to watch the fires that Jimmy made when he burned the leaves. He jumped and snapped at the smoke; and at times, when Jimmy was burning rubbish, he would actually drag a burning branch out of the fire to play with it. Notwithstanding the fact that Jimmy’s mother had wanted him to keep the dog out of the house, Jimmy, as the days grew colder, used to sneak his dog into the house and put him in front of the fireplace in the sitting room, when his mother was not at home. There was a soft, silky tiger skin there, in front of the fireplace, on which Suds would curl up and sleep. One day, Mrs. Powell went shopping; and Jimmy, as usual, let Suds into the house. It was a cold day, and the dog was grateful for the warmth that the sitting room fire afforded him. He curled up on the skin and dozed off. Suddenly, he smelled smoke. He jumped up and looked about him; there was his favorite spot, a mass of flames. A coal had popped out of the fireplace and landed on the piece of fur. That was too much for Suds. To see his soft bed on fire was heaven plus, and nothing would do but that he drag it out into the yard and have a romp with it. As Suds was going down the steps, Mrs. Powell was coming up. When she saw an apparent streak of fire and smoke rushing pell-mell at her, it was too much for her nerves, and she fainted. When her husband came home, he was told by his wife that Suds had started to play with the tiger skin and had thrown a corner of it into the fire and then had dragged it into the yard. She did not forget to lay particular emphasis on the fact that she had fainted and had sustained a very severe shock as the result of Suds’ rushing at her. Later, he heard his wife saying to Jimmy, That dog will have to go, Jimmy. I cannot stand him any longer. I will tell your father to take him out in the country and set him loose.” In the face of what had happened, Mr. Powell agreed with his wife, but he was not in favor of taking the dog out into the country and leaving him there to starve or freeze to death. Wesley Powell had no peace at home until he told his wife, about a week

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THE SENIOR MAGNET 15 But there came a time when the boss exploded, Ben, I’m warning you! Forget once more and you go!” Ben reddened. He had no comeback. He had meant to phone to town for the gas supply to be sent out but had forgotten. It was his fault. Any boss would be provoked when the work of the whole gang was held up for three hours. Jim fairly trembled. Ben needed the money. If Ben were fired, it would be hard for him to get another job that paid so well; and that would mean for Ben, no college. For the sake of your college fund, Ben,” Jim exclaimed that night when the two were together, Dont forget again! The boss means what he says.” For the next few weeks, Ben was careful. He did not forget. Then it happened. The fellows in from work were sitting in the mess house waiting for dinner. The boss came stamping in later than the others. Ben, sitting at one side, started at his appearance. That gate! For several days, the men had been rebuilding a bridge that had gone out during the fall rains. It will be done today,” the man in charge of the construction gang had s d to the boss that morning. The boss had nodded. Then as the men were goifl| out to work, he had turned to Ben and said, If the bridge is not done, be sure to close the gate across the road above the bridge.” Ben remembered now that he had forgotten to close that gate. Halfway across the creek, the bridge had been finished; but the floor boards were not yet down on the other half. Ben’s face went white. What if the boss asked him about the gate. It would cost him his job! The minutes passed, talk in the room became general, and the boss did not question him as to whether he had carried out orders. Ben breathed more freely. If the boss did not ask about the gate, he was safe! It didn’t matter anyway. All the men knew the bridge was out, and the detour signs had not been taken down. He’d just keep still and say nothing. So Ben sat silent trying to avoid the eyes of the boss, listening as the men talked of this or that. It’s a dark night,” some one said, a dark night!” Fragments of talk came out of the general buzz of conversation. A storm’s coming, and the creek is high.” I remember,” a man spoke up, when the rains filled the creek bed so the rocks under the bridge were covered. Imagine that, can you! Clear covered, those jagged rocks!” Under the bridge, jagged rocks rose from the bed of the stream like a series of stepping-stones between which water rushed with white foam edging the waves. It would take much to cover those rocks. And then in the noise, Ben heard some one ask, Jim coming back tonight?” Three days before, Jim had gotten a leave of absence to go home for Thanksgiving. Saturday, he was to be back, and this was Friday night. I phoned for him,” the boss spoke up. Rush of work made me have to