Phillips High School - Phillipian Yearbook (Phillips, ME)

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THE PHILLIPIAN 25 to the perfume! Around eight o'clock there came a knock at the door. At the very same time the telephone rang. Was this a sign that my caller wasn't so important? Which should I tend first? Well, I answered the phone and guess what-it was my boy friend! YVait just a minute, Peterf' I said nervously. No, on second thought, wait and call later. I-lim awful busy. What? he drawled sarcastically. Really, Peter, you'll have to call again. G'bye --uh-bye, dear. With that I banged the receiver into place, hurriedly com- posed myself, smiled, and walked easily to the door. Telegram, ma'am, came the voice. O-U,', I blurted - then added, Thank you very much. I closed the door. I sighed. I sank into a chair and sighed again. Without looking at the telegram, I sat thinking. lust then the front door bell rang. It must be the date. Again I made ready. I walked to the door with my fingers crossed. I opened the door with a Welcoming smile but I felt it gradu- ally fail as I beheld that which was before me. Yes, it was the date I' but not the date I had looked for. There stood a-a -fwell, to be frank with you, a gawklj He was tall, skinny, not so intelligent- looking and pimply. Handsome-my eye! What was Madge thinking of? Her boy friend must be dopey to have this thing for a pal! My heart sank and I wanted to cry. O, well, I thought, maybe he isn't as bad as he looks. I can stand it just for tonight. All this flashed through my mind as he stood grinning at me. We greeted each other, introduced our- selves, and proceeded to the parlor. What would the kids say if they could see me now? We had talked only a little when I found he had a sissified voice, halitosis, and warts on his hands. I tried to overlook his faults, to talk and laugh. It was in vain! After about twenty minutes I said despairingly, Please excuse me a moment. I think my mother wants me. I knew it was rude and besides Mother was at a bridge party but I just had to think of something. I went to my little brother's room. He was reading but had not gone to bed yet. I quickly ex- plained my troubles and asked him to think of something. Interrupt us, play stupid or anything but please relieve me. As we were talking again, Horace and I, the sound of terrible violin music came to our ears. My little brother is practicing. We think he does awfully well, I said. K' Well, if that's music, then I'm a bird in a gilded cage. Horace said this trying to think of something witty. However, I didn't take it that way. I wanted to bop him! I hnally got out the pack of cards and we attempted to play. Never had I been so ill at ease-and that music was deafening! Finally little brother came in, dressed in an old summer suit, far too short. I introduced him to Horace and little brother shook hands -and I mean shook hands! Horace almost lost his arm. The telephone rang, so I asked David to keep Horace company just a minute. It's a pleasurefl he grinned. He began to pester him, he pushed the card table into his stomach, accidentally jumped on his foot, dropped the pack of cards and said, Please pick ,em up. I have a sore side. Horace, trying always to be courteous, obligingly ex- cused everything. O, yes, my telephone call was from Peter. I explained my situation to him and he said held try to help me, too. In fact, he came over to call! Perhaps I was doing wrong but I was suffering! Peter talked of electricity, Caesar, aviation and everything to embarrass Horace. Horace tried to answer intelligently but we really got some laughs. Peter de- cided to go home saying he just came to see if the milk cart had come! He secretly wished me luck, saying he shouldn't stay. I was glad to have so much time taken up but then happened to think I could take him into the kitchen. We made sandwiches for ourselves and had some milk. Because Hor- ace said he thought roosters, eggs were nice to eat, David said he'd fry one. Oh, said Horace, giggling, don't bother. I only re-

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24 THE PHILLIPIAN parachute. In a few minutes he would emerge, ostensibly a citizen of this country. As he approached the edge of the forest a burst of laughter warned him that people were near. He dropped the parachute and stood still, releasing the catch of the pistol with automatic precision. This time there must be no mistakes. As he stood poised there three people emerged from the wood, their arms full of underbrush, an old woman and a young couple, evidently on their way home with firewood for cooking their meal. The laugh- ter lingered on their faces a moment when they saw him. Then the lengthening light of the moon glinted on the revolver, and they saw the parachute. They stood wavering, uncertain, confused, as he raised the pistol. It would be easy he refiected. Thank God for the moon. No, not God- The people remained frozen into rigidity. Their arms did not even relax to drop the faggots to the ground. With the slow inevitability of a slow mo- tion picture he squinted through the sights of the pistol. The man first, he decided. Then the women. Nothing could stop him -nothing. Then, as his finger tightened on the trigger he sneezed. He aimed again, but another sneeze shook him. Swearing under his breath he prepared to take aim again. The three people had dropped their loads of wood, and the man suddenly began to run toward him. Oberleutnant Schroeder squinted into the sight but his eyes were blurred, and he sneezed again, this time more violently than before. The human military machine had been trained never to be aware of nature except as a battleground, therefore he did not know at first what was disorganizing the perfect balance of his plan. But, being a doctor, he suddenly realized that his trouble was due to the fact that he was standing in a field thickly covered with rag-weed. The military organization had overlooked this completely. As the big German stood there, cursing and sneezing, his eyes streaming, the three people found it easy to seize his pistol and start him stumbling before them to their nearby home. Their home was a large one with many rooms and Schroeder, whom we will now call by his given name, Karl, soon discovered that it was used as a sort of hospital. It was crowded with patients suffering from an epi- demic of typhoid fever, due to the contami- nated water supply of the community. The three people whom Karl had tried to kill owned the place and had been after dry fire- wood for the numerous fireplaces in the hos- pital. Since Karl could not be sent to the authori- ties immediately he was set to work scrub- bing fioors. Soon the people at the hospital learned his story. They learned, too, that he had made a special study of typhoid. He was asked to contribute his knowledge. This he did, and soon the patients were well. His fame spread, and soon, instead of entering cities to blow up dams, he did so to save the people. Everyone knew the name of Karl Shroeder. He became known more familiarly as Dr. Karl. So far as I know he is still practicing medicine in that country. He plans, after the war, to get his wife. The three people whom he thought would be his victims often say to each other, Our capture of Dr. Karl was a lucky day for us, wasn't it? N. T. '43. THE DATE I DIDN'T WANT T was April Fool's Day but I wasn't aware of it. My girl friend told me that her boy friend had brought a pal along, at her request, so he would be over to see me. Picturing him to myself, I imagined him tall, dark and intelligent. I thought about the good time we would have, we could have a lunch, play the radio, play cards, look at snapshots taken on our trip South-oh, I was so anxious to see him! That evening I put on my best dress, my pumps, my ear-rings and fixed all up even

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26 THE PHILLIPIAN marked that it was more fun to eat those big ones than the little ones. Well, David per- sisted. He accidentally spilled the pepper in it so poor Horace sneezed several times! It was cooked too long but Horace liked roosters' eggs! After David had gone to bed, I began to feel ashamed. I had never treated another boy like this. Why should I, a stranger? Thus, we talked a little more seriously. fHe didn't seem to mind, when I sat in a separate chairlj Mother had come home, chatted a while but then slipped up to bed. I thought Hor- ace would never go. I yawned and did ev- erything but offer him his hat! At twelve o'clock he said, Gee, I just happened to think. I've got to get my nine hours of sleep. It was plain to see that he wasn't used to calling on a girl! However, he seemed to have enjoyed himself, in his way. I wished him good luck and he left. I won- dered if I'd ever see him again. After the door was closed, I sighed. It wasn't the date I wanted. To be sure, parts of the evening had been amusing but you will never realize how bored I was. I picked up the telegram, still where I had left it. It said: April Fool stop Please forgive stop Madge. I. T. CAPTURED BY OUTLAWS NE day as I was walking along in the woods in back of a friend's house, two boys jumped out into the path in front of me. They were masked and held revolvers in their hands. I made a grab for the six shooter holstered by my side but one of them kicked it from my hand. Elevate those mitts, bozo, growled the one who had not moved. Grab a hold on those limbs over your head. VVhat is this anyway? I asked coolly, A holdup? If it is I guess you won't make much profit from it. I'm broke. This isn't any holdup, growled the one who had kicked me. L' This is a kidnap- ping. They then bound my wrists behind me and marched me to a little cave in the side of a hill. They shoved me inside and sat down to discuss what they were going to do with me until the ransom money, they were holding me for, came. One said, Let's take him to our camp. They'll never find him there. YVe can't, replied the other. When we release him he'd lead the sheriff to get us. VVelI, there's no need of releasing him alive, is there? inquired the first, laughing evilly. Well, I guess not, come to think of it, said the second, also laughing. We'll croak him before we take him home. Then he had a sudden idea, Why not kill him now? he asked. That will save us the bother of feeding him. An excellent idea, said the first. Come on! We'll do it now and get it over with. Together they carried me out of the cave. lust as they set me down the four o'clock whistle blew. Oh, oh! I said. Let me go, boys. I've got an appointment at the dentist's in fifteen minutes. Oh, darn! said both boys together. Now we'll have to wait until the next time we can get together before we can finish this thing. Huh! if it's going to end the way it started, I'm not so sure I want to finish this game, I said as I started for the dentist's. Well, see you fellows in school tomorrow. Check? Checkl replied both boys together. E. D. W. '43. THE HORRORS OF FRIDAY F all the days in the week, I find that Friday is the hardest one to bear. Perhaps it seems strange to you that I should dislike this day when there are six other days in the week which have an equal chance of gaining my disapproval. The reason is that my mother is very particular about my