Oregon City High School - Hesperian Yearbook (Oregon City, OR)

Page 15 text:

T Ha H12sPER1AN g 15 Merely thatg but what havoc is wrought sometimes, by- the least of actions! Q The enemies' boat found itself sinking. Investigation showed a large hole in her side just below the water-line. The life-boatys were manned very efficiently and quickly, too, and it appeared to the Ger- man commander of the submarine that most of the passengers were women. The spark of good that is in everyone, downed the mean, little side of his nature, and he gave orders to draw up alongside one of the frailest looking life-boats, to save its occupants from a watery grave, for such was almost inevitable. One Woman was standing in the boat cryingg others, composed but afraid, were seated on planks used for chairs. They were all clad in white aprons and caps, red Crosses decorating the sleeves and bosoms. One little woman stood up in the boat in the act of jumping out, when the submarine drew up close. She was attired in the same costume as the others except that she had a little green bow pinned at her neck. But she did not jump, for the commander appeared with a lantern and shouted: There's room in here for ten of you. VVill you come? I will take you direct to the Fatherland where you can be nurses for the Kaiser's soldiers. lf you will go with me, you are savedg if you stay herethen ?,' No answer came from the little group of women in the boat. Be quick! demanded the German- officer, or we shall leave you all! At last one woman said in angry tones: . Be nurse for the Kaiser! indeed! I, for one, had rather drown a thousand times over in these cold black waters, than to submit to the rule of a German! , f The commander laughed huskilyg but said nothing. He was in the act of going below when several voices called from the boat: UWC are willing to gof' V , Some of them stood up and prepared to climb upon the deck of the submarine. They were a sober and silent group, and yet a certain gladness filled their eyes at times. They sat in the little compartment alotted them-sat there: wondering, fearing, dreaming. Night past, as all things do on earth, and daylight found thhe sub- marine in port unloading its seven-care-worn passengers. They were immediately transferred into a cab, with orders to the driver to carry them to the nearest fields where help was most needed. are ae are as we The farm covered an area of about one-fourth of a square mile. Nlost of it was planted in growing grain, but a proportionately large space was devoted to truck-gardening and potatoes. In these fields, men of all nationalities worked side by side--they were compelled to do so. Most of them, except the few German bosses over them, were French, Russian, or English, who had been

Page 14 text:

14 at . G . .THE HESPWQN more, perhaps, her husband! Yet her face was singularly dreary, almost pathetically so. Q The morrow found her in its early hours busying herself in tying up a small bundle of necessities for future use. It was not long, how- ever, before she was on her way to London-a distance of perhaps ten miles from the suburb where she lived. Once there, she enlisted in one of those brave, hard-working, self-sacrificing women of the Red Crossl There were others, too, who signed up immediately following her-some going merely for the experince, others for the same purpose as Patrica O'Flaherty. H. NI. S. 'Rondell' lay at anchor at one of the many wharves that border the banks of the Thames, awaiting special instructions from certain war managers to transport some fifty women nurses to France. Among the possible fifty was Patsy-brave, honest, lonely, little Irish Patsy-the Girl with the Green Bow. And although the attire in which she was now clad was of white with a large, red cross in the front and a smaller one on either sleeve, it also had, in addition, a little green bow pinned at the neck but, however small, was made conspicuous by its background of spotless white. And so Patsy was thus far, the easiest part of her journey she realized was over,-the hardest to come. ' 'Had Fate, she mused as she sat on the upper deck of the 'fRon- dell,' looking at the small, white-capped waves below,- had Fate written her name upon his book, or was she to sail the Channel un- harmed? Was she to gain ,her destination at the French trenches where her O'Flaherty was fighting, ever struggling? Would Oppor- tunity open the way for her to administer his wounds, for few escape without wounds? Would she actually be able to surprise him, and pour all the words of love into his ears that she had stored up during the past two years ? The whistle blew shrilly and the engines of the 'fRondell were put in motion. Cheers from the shore caused her to look up. Already they were gliding away from the dock-they were off for France. are + an as are at Into the periscope of a German submarine, the commander was intently peering. Although it was dusk and a fog was beginning to form over the water, he was able to distinguish the dim outline of another vessel gliding swiftly through the water, evidently on its way to France. The flag ?-yes, it was the blue and red of England. The name F-It was too distant to be distinguished clearly, but the first few letters- Ro-could be determined. The commander gave the signal to run more swiftly to meet it. What cared he for a mere name? What cared he for lives? It was his business-his duty-to destroy. Had he not been given instructions from the Kaiser's war lords, to cripple the enemy whenever possible? Again he gave a signal, an inferior officer pressed a button.

Page 16 text:

16 Tue H-ESPERIAN captured and taken as prisoners, but were made to work in their cap- tive's fields-the newest and most dreadfully offensive act against international morality. But their mother-nations could not come to their aid, and they, like all common, sensible folk, always tried to make the best of the situation by telling tales of home, or so-forth. It was during one of these times that an Englishman asked the big Irishman working next to him: Mike, have you seen the latest arrival at our little village ? The big Irishman grunted demurely in the negative. VVell, added the Englishman, you should see her right away. She's our new 'elper-in-the-kitchen-a veritable delicacy 'erself. The queer part about 'er is that she wears a little green bow at '1' neck, and she's the most wee thing I ever saw, to be Irish, doncherknow P Nlike, as they called him, became interested. Ye ar'n't sayin' so, are ye F he expostulated- An Irish woman in this place? How do ye 'spose she got here ? ' She came here just as we did, I guess. Why don't you go see her? You're Irish, and I imagine she'd like to see you moreln anyone else-folks generally like to see their kind bestf' Be-gorry, Oi will! he said, and was off in one stride.,'4 She was standing at the well, apparently gazing down the valley. The water had been drawn perhaps five minutes ago, and it sat in the pail at her feet. She was silent, as usual, and daydreaming- seeing sights that weren't real-there. But she was thus so intently engaged that she heard not the awkward, noisy footsteps close behind her, until some one placed two, big, rough hands upon her shoulders and bending over, kissed her twice. How dareimy O'Flaherty! she cried. 'lMy Irish Patsy! he exclaimed at lengthh, in a choked voice. Where, how,- they both sobbed at once and neither heard - 'til hours afterwards.