Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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At length came the World War and finally America entered. Ivan, with liis father ' s last words ringing in his ears, was one of the first volunteers. Perhaps now he could repay America. To the doughboys, who nicknamed everybody, he was Little Eoosia . In vai.n, he told them he was an American; in vain, ho fought Iiusky Yankees and brawny Western- ers, and endeared himself to tliem all. His fun-loving buddies persisted in calling him Little Eoosia . Late in the afternoon of one stormy day, the captain of Ivan ' s company called his men together. Boys, he sai|d. we ' re trapped. Tlie relief won ' t come ' til tomorrow. Therd ' s only one way out. Tonight a German will bring the plans for tomorrow to a post in ' No Man ' s Land ' . If we get the plans, probably most of us will be living tomorrow night. If not — . We have got the location of the post. We need four men, two to get the message and two to bring it in, for chances are nine to ten the first two won ' t get in. Who volunteers? Once again Ivan heard the words of liis fa- tlior — If necessary die for her , and he stepped forward. It was pouri,ng that night when four silent figures crept over the top of the trendies into the inky blackness of the slime and muck of No Man ' s Land . The silence and darkness was deathly, save for an occasional blinding- shell from the Huns. The four crept for- ward, burrowing into the mud as a shell broke. For interminable minutes they crawled. At length, Ivan, who was in the lead, stopped. Aliead he caught sight of a faint, steady light. He looked at the luminous dial of hi|8 watch ; time for the messenger. He crawled closer. Hark! Gutteral voices! Very slowly now ho moved ' til the German post came into full view. Two Germans sat bait to him. One held up a packet. Ivan waited. He signaled to the man behind him, and crawled closer. Tiien lie rose swiftly and brought the| butt of his pistol down on the head of the German who held the packet. The man sank witliout a word, but hi,s companion cried out. Ivan seized the packet and plunged into the dark iiess. As lie knelt, a bullet singed his legs. Another, and his head seemed to crack, but on, on to Number III. At last by tlie light of the coming dawn, lie saw the American lines. But by tlie same liglit, the Germans saw him. Shells spun in the air and tore up tlie earlli. Finally, ho reached Number III, and as the man dis- aiijieared with the packet, lost consciousness. When Ivan awoke, he was in a hosp),tal. He awoke to a world of darkness for the Ger- mans had taken liis eyes. He awoke to find he would never walk again for his legs had been given to the great cause. After the Armistice, many of his buddies came to see him and the first one said, You are one of the finest Americans. We have given you a new name, ' Tjttle Yank ' . Ivan was in the hospital of France three years, and wliile he was there, the president of France decorated hijn, An American soldier, for con- spicuous bravery . And the president of the United States, visiting France, called on him and left a token of the greatest honor to an American soldier. Toda.y, Ivan is in one of our great work- sliops for the blind, where wonderful things are done by the sightless. He has no eyes. He has no legs ; will never walk nor see in this world, yet he is content, for he knows he has been worthy of America, lias offered her liis all and best of all — he is an American. DOETS DULEY. MORNING The sun rose brightly o ' er the hills, And filled the valley with shining light. The budding flowers beside the rills Glistened with dew in the morning liright. The birds in the trees sang merrily Witli their joyful matins filling the air. Tlie frogs in the brooks croaked happily. As they gleefully greeted the morning fair. Over the whole wiite eaa ' th the morning Comes with a gleaming light so clear. To impart to the world the joy of having The use of (Jod ' s wondrous beauty here. DOEOTIIY BRADFOEI), ' 24. W oik! for soon you graduate, A im high, before it is too late, Iv eo]) light on as you begin, K liter play and work to win. V iiid yourself in what is best, I 1 will help you stand the test. I ' j a 111 a good name for your own, 1j earn to depend on yourself alone, 1) oii ' t be gniiiipv, glum or gloomy. II a ( ' a smile that ' s bright and bloomy, I 11 the world go out and try, G lad to will for W ' akelield H igh. DOEOTHY BAETON, ' 24. :• 1-1

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THE MIDNIGHT MARAUDER A True Story Tlie room was terrible in its darkness and tlie air intensely sulphurous. The stillne;;.s was so great that I could almost hear it. I closed my eyes and attempted to sleep. But my mind was working actively and my thoughts would not be still. All the events of the day tumbled around in my brain. One of tliose events was the narrow escape that I li.id had in that automobile accident. I was reviewing rather haphazardly thij thrilling experience when I heard the clock s.trike bang! bans;! I counted the st rokes, twelve o ' clock! That dreadful mysterious hou ' - when ghosts leave their graves to haunt the living, and bold marauders leave their laii-s to venture forth into tlieir victim ' s houses. A shiver ran down my spine. I tossed and turned and tried to sleep, but sleep evaded m . Cautiously I opened my eyes and glanced around the room, half fearing that I might see a liold robber al)OUt to pounce upon me with his murderous black-jack. Not seeing anj-- tliing alaiining, I tried to comi)ose myself but my fears had only begun. In the awful solitude of night, I thought I hoaid a soft stop on tlie stairway. There It was again — and again — and again! A soft steady tread coming nearer, nearer! I lav still with my ears fixed in,teutly on that tread. It gi ' ew a little louder and then louder, until it stojjped outside my door. What was that noise? Mv door was slowly opening. The cold sweat stood out in great beads on my fore- head. My breath came in short quick gasps. My eyes were glued on that door and the iloor continued to open little by l),ttle. In my distorted imagination, I conjured up many pictures of the person who was stealthily en- tering my room. Tie was a robber after money and jewels or he might be a raving maniac, with shrivellod, skinny fingers, and long claw-like nails, sneaking up the stairs, making hideous faces and clawing at the air with his ugly hands. I could see him grop- ing at my door and jjushing it open with his horrilile fingers. Ugh! I was petrified! Already I thought I saw a hideous head and distorted features peeking around the edge of the door. During the fraction of a second which fol- lowed I went through unutterable tortures. I lay cold and limp. My heart pounded ter- ril)ly. I tried to scream, but I could only produce a faint whisper. One moment more and I should have been a mani .e myself, then, from the doorway cahle a sound which made me offer up prayers of thankfulness, for the sound was a plaintive Meow, Meow! VIEGINIA ULUICI. AN AMERICAN Years ago, in that part of Russ ' a which has long been the scene of political revolt and upris ' .ng, there lived a cobbler, Ivan Eativitch. Life to this poor cobliler was a continual night- maie, haunted by domineering landlords and cruel police. Monarchy succeeded monarchy with such rapidity until from one day to the next the poor peopk ' did not know who i-uled them. As time went on, food and clolhinL; grew scarcer and one by one, ' til there was only tlie youngest left, Ivan saw his children tlie, victini.s of inuiger, cold and cruelty. At last he could endure it no longer and he cried to his wife, We have only one cliild left. Let us take the money your good fatlior left us and go somewhere. There must lie some place where God will let us li ( ' in jieace. Sio they traveled li-om one country to another through central EuroiJC. l!ut ever (hey moved towai ' d the west. At last Ivan ' s wife died. Then Ivan cried to his son, Everywhere we hear of America. Kveryliody says that in . nierica, the jioor piMiple are as good as the lich ; the peasants as good as the ollicials. ' J ' liey tell us how in AinerVa the i)eople wel- come strangers au l make them free. Ijct us take the remaining money and go there. Six years later, in one of the bettei ' streets of tlie foreign section of our largest cities, Ivan Eativitch lay dying. His son, also Ivan, knelt by the bed, listening to the last words of the dying man. My son, America is the finest country on earth. She is your foster mother. Russia killed N ' oiir own mother and America, opened her arms. She took ns, outcasts of ;inother land, to her heart. She fed and cared for us. Unasked, she taught us her language and is educating you. She gave us the supreme gift, freedom. She will, in years to come, give you wealth and jiosition if you earn it. Take all she has to give you but in return live for America, uphold her doctrines, foster her ideals, be worthy of her. Give her your all, even if necessary, life itself. Thus Ivan Eati- vitch, a l?ussian, nay, an American, died. But his soul lived on in his son, who strove to be woitliy of America. It was not always easy. W ' th his Russian looks and foreign ways, he was not ail American to everybody, but only one of those horrible Russians. u

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As KING TO KING Joe King could easily satisfy the needs of his simple life. He had been a backwoods youth, and his education he had gleaned from the farm and the forest; so when he gained his nianliood, lie very naturally turned to the backwoods for a living. He lived in |a eabiii on tlie edge of a pond which formed part jf the s. ' ilt marsh flooded by Bald Eagle creek. This creek has its source on Bald Eagle iiioiintaiii, four miles from Joe King ' s cabin. Fniiii a l)ubbling spring, the water races with other rivulets, across the side of the mountain, over rocks and around boulders until it ends its wild flight by leaping from a ledge of gran- ite to a seething pool, some yards below. Leav- ing the pool it flows through forests and glades, harboring many a fine trout and pick- erel, MOW drifting peacefully through a wide liasiii, now tumbling through a narrow spa.-o between bouldeis, always increasing in size but becoming more lazy, until just before it joins forces witlt the sea, it spreads out in a broad swamp, dotted wi.th lagoons and clumps of trees, but in some places a veritable jungle. lint this story concerns the river only in part. On a sheltered drag far up on Bald Eagle mountain there lived a pair of eagles whoso equals had never graced au America. i museum. King had often admired them as they soared on ti,rcless wings high above Bald Eagle river. T ' liey often picked up hapless fish of the river and marsh, and on more tha i one occiision had even stolen from lii.s store of food. One day King hid four fine fish under a grass stump and returned to his little square-bowed punt. Startled by the rushing sound of swift wings, he looked back to see the smaller of the two eagles alight on the stump, seize the two largest fish, and rise i i the air, screaming harshly iu derision. For- tunately for the eagle, King was without his gun, and in spite of his anger, all he could 1I.1 was to shake his long arms and ilirect dii ' threats at the bold bird. His auger soon cooled, however, and he smiled when ho thought of tlie eagle ' s audacity. A group of men, whom King had guided one summer had offered him one hundred dol- lars if he would capture either of the eagles without injury. The leader of these men was an ambitious politician and he thought it would be a feather in his cap to present a magnificent eagle to the new zoological muse- um in his city. To this end, therefore, Joe studied their varied ventures until he de- cided upon a way to capture one of them. Carefully he framed his plans, and then one clear day, he rowed in his skiff nearly to the cascade. Tyiaig his boat, he set off towards the top of the mountain, which he reached after some difficulty. It did not take hioi long to spy out the nest, as that of the eagle is several feet in width, and he knew fairly well where to look for the eagles ' home. The nest was very unusual, being built of sticks so large and so well placed and fastened that the liuuter could rest his full weight upoii the edge. Taking from his sack a steel trap with padded jaws, he set i,t to spring at the slightest touch on the pan. He placed the trap under some of the moss in the center of the nest, and attached the chain to a heavy stick of wood which he balanced on one of the bottom supports of the nest. He then retircl I0 another ledge below. Joe King knew he had placed his snare well. His eyes gleamed when he saw iu the sky a black speck which steadily grew larger and plainer. It was the larger of the two eagles, and hope rose high for Joe as he watched him. Nearer and nearer came the eagle as he set his wings and sailed swiftly towards his home. With a few heavy strokes of his great wings, he settled on the outer rim of the nest. He rocked back and forth while he foldecl his wings, and then, with an awkward little hup, he disai)i)eared almost from sight iri the hollow. ImnuHliately following the sharj) idick of the sprung trap, Joe heard tlie eagle ' s shriil scream of fear a ' nd paiji, and he saw the eagle lea]) info the air, with the trap fast to three talons. Frantically beating his wings, the eagle dislodged the heavy clog at the end of the chain and it swung free underneath him. Hut Joe King liad misjudged the power of that eagle. Instead of seeing him pulled rai)idly to the lower ledge, he witnessed a wonderful but peculiar battle; a struggle be- tween the eagle ' s wings and the log ' s gravity. In the end gravity won. Cor tile eagle tii ' evl slowly. As the great bird, still valiantly fight- ing, came within reach, Joe leaped out, thre.v a sack over the eagle ' s head, and with great diiliculty subdued him. The lord of the forest resisted so bravely that there were two deep scratches on Joef s arm, one of which bled so freely that he was forced to bind it tightly. The eagle gave Joe considerable trouble but just as the sun was sinking behind old Baldy, Joe shut and barred the door where his prey was impi-isoned for safekeeping. Joe agreed to care for the eagle until the alder- man could come to get him which would be about two weeks later. During those two 15