Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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THE NEW BOV Five school boys were lounging around the school grounds during the noon hour. Don ' t you wish tlie tire whistle would blow now? said Jennings, better known as Bryan. Yes, and I ' d like to hear it was the school house burnt to the ground. And dou ' t you wish tlie fire-engine woiiM Ijreak down ? ' ' Just then Eunton Fisher was seen hurrying toward them. Wliat you s ' pose! he ejacu- lated ; there ' ' s n new boy in town — maybe he ' ll start to seliool — he ' s from Kansas or soinewliere — and lie don ' t know what Ch!H is — n ' lie never saw a mountain before — ' n ho thinks— Enougli, enough! Jennings interrupted; what are you goin ' to do to him? Everything! ' ' exclaimed several in a breath. Let ' s make him think one of us is crazy! No, let ' s take him skatin ' . ' ' Skating! Why they have skating all win- ter where he came from. AVe can scare him about Indians, though. Suggestions came thick and fast, and when the boys reluct antly complied with the sum- mons of the school bell, their plans were on ' y partly completed. Threo toilsome hours were spent in study, candy-eating, and making plans. A commit tee of two was aijpointed at the close of school to call on the new boy at his home. They fed him two kinds of taffy and sMccecdi ' I in gaining his entire friendship and confi- dence. It was arranged to go to the river the next day, which was Saturday and there- fore a holiday. The walk was a little longer than the new boy liad expected, but he was well enter- tained by numerous stories of the Cotton- wood Gang, of boy desperadoes. He was told that they held the smaller surrounding set- tlements in terror, and that tliey were well known throughout that entij-e region. They were said to be boys that had been kidnapped by the greatest robber outfit on earth, and had grown up to their wild ways. Their cap- tors had all been hanged or imprisoned , and tlie boys were le t to do as they pleased. The new boy was mucli interested. He had never heard of this remarkable Cotton- wood Gang before, and he asked many ques- tions. The boys were just entering the nar- row strip of cottonwoods that bordered the river. And did they ever iiide around here? he queried. Well, I guess! Once they hunted ' em here three months and the gang never moved out of this patch of trees onee. But they ' d hardlj ' be here this t!,me (jf year? Oh, they may be, you never can tell. They may have held up an express and are hiding out somewhere from a posse. The three boys were penetrating deeper and deeper into the mighty forest — fifty yards wide. They walked stealthily and spoke only in the lowest of whispers. Do they ever hurt anybodj- seriously? ' the new Ijoy wanted to know. Never did more ' n four or five murder. , mostly keep ' em prisoners, was the comfort- ing reply. He wanted to run, but he might run straight into their arms. Tlic situation was becoming unbearalile. A dry twig in front of them cracked. The new boy glanced from the frightened face of one companion to that of the other. They stood motionle.?s awaiting the crisis. It came very suddenly. Four boys on horse- l)a( ' k burst througli the foliage. Tliey wore masks and had red l)andanas around their necks. The leader held two murderous-look- ing revolvers before him, and a broad grin was all that could bo seen of his face beneatli his wide-i ' inuned hat. The hands of the trembling victims were raised above their heads. Two of the robber.s dismounted and proceeded to relieve them of toi)s, marbles, pencils, and pictures of tlieir best beloveds, expressing no little disgust at the cliaracter of the booty they found. After a short conference, the higliwaymen began to bind the captives. T1ie new l)oy was blind folded first and set on the back of one of the steeds. He imagined his compan- ions were in a like condition and after a moment the seven l)0j ' s started away on the four liorses. Tliey went over various roada, and made so many turns, that our young friend lost all sense of direction. At last coming to a halt, one of the band an- nounced, the cave! and the new boy wan taken from his uncomfortable seat. He was hurried to a spot a short distance away and commanded to sit on the bare ground and wait. He was given to understand it meant instant death to remove the blindfold. He heard them gallop away, but he was sure there was at least one guard left. He sat there thinking of his home and wonder- 19

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THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES Characters Dionysius — King of Sicily. Damocles — A fla.tterer. A group of flatterers or followers of the king. A complete train of attendants belonging to Dionysius. Many beautiful pages. SCENE I Time: Mid-summer. Place: In a beautiful garden belonging to the castle of Dionysius. (Diouysius, followed by many attendants, is seen walking about in a large beautiful garden. The green slirubljery and the bloom- ing plants form a background which sets off the richly ornamental robes of the king. The garden lies to the south of a castle which can be seen in the distance. In one corner of the garden is a group of men, some sitting and siome standing. They aire superficial, sentimental and insincere. One of these, a young man of perhaps twenty-five, named D-i- mocles, calls the attention of the others to tlie fact that Dionysius is aijproachiaig. They all arise and bow and acknowledge his pres- ence in a ceremonious way customary iu an- cient times. They gatlier around him and give their flattering opinions of his wealth and power. To them Di,onysius seems an ex- ample of perfect happiness.) First man: It must be delightful to have nothing to do all day but live iu luxury. Second man: Oh! IIow we envy you with all your riches. Damocles: And to have all of Sicily at yonv command. Third man: With all your wealth and pow- er you must be the happiest man alive. (Dionysius prejjares to sjieak but Damocles also begins. Dionysius simply shakes lii.s head in a dicspnting manner, meaning he is not happy.) Ah, Damocles! My Lord — (sees Dionysius shake his head) What Not hapjjy! All men (together): What! Damocles: Surely you don ' t mean that! You have riches untold. No man was ever gre;iter. No king ever had such extent of power. Your royal magnificence is the envy of all kings. Not happy — I don ' t believe it! (Shakes his head to emi)hasize the fact.) Dionysius: llast thou a mind, Damocles, to taste this happiness and to know by experience what the enjoyments are of which you have so liigh an idea? Damocles: That I have and would be de- lighted to share them. Dion3 ' sius (turns to the chief attendant) : Command the cooks to prepare the best supper possible for tonight. (He bids hi,s friends good-day and walks toward the castle.) Curtain falls. SCENE II Time: At the feast. I ' lace: In the great banqueting room of the jjalaee. (All are seated. In Dionysius ' s place sits Damocles. His countenance is marked with pleasure as he observes all the royal splendor around him. The numerous seats of honor are magnificent but his outshines them all. Pages of extraordinary beauty wait upon the table. The gold of the carved plates glitters under the lights. Flowers adorn the center of every table. Judging by the taste of the deli- cate foods, the cooks are the best in the land. Damocles is spellbound. He sits In silence. Upon glancing at the ceiling, hi pleased countenance suddenly freezes witli terror. Just above his head, hanging by a single hair, is a sword! He rises abruptly and ' stands behind his chair.) Damocles (in frantic apj)eal): Eemove this sword, O king! Dionysius (calmly) : When I am king, that sword always hangs there. Damocles (looking for a way to escape) : I don ' t wish to be king any more. Dionysius (smiling sadly) : I think then I have proven to you that wealth and power do not always bring hapiiiness. Curtain falls. Dramatized by LOUISE ALLMAN, ' 27. SOUNDS FROM THE OLD BARN oil, the sounds which resouiul from tlie old country barn Are so i)leas:int, so choery, so quaint in their charm That ii( ver could anyone hasten aAvay Fiom tlu ' ir sweet entioemeats, a gray, rainy (l:iy. There ' s the stamping of cattle upon the old floor, Tlie musical sound of the slijiling bai ' U door. There ' s tlie cl;u(ging of i)low chains wliic!i hang on the wall. And the neigh of Old Major who st;inds in his stall. Oh, tlie memories which linger of fresh new- mown liay Will ne ' er be forgotten, of that rainy ijiy ARTHUR NEWCOMB, 25. J8

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ing what would become of liini, nnd then of tlie proltahle fate of liis twci coiiipniiioiis. Thus in misery and suspense lie v.Lited theri ail hour. At last he was startled by his mother ' s gen- tle voice asking him wliat he was sitting there for? lie gakied courage and removed the bandage from his eyes — he was in his owji back .yard. IRENE GOLDTIIWAITE. is it any wonder that I look with pride upon this statue of a woman, brave in the face of horrible danger, who in the end conquered? RORERT H. SPROUL, ' 26. HANNAH DUSTIN Possibly none of you have ever seen the interesting staluc of a. woman, Hannah Dus- tin, standing in Haverhill Square, bnt I havi;, anil to look upon this statue brings to mind a story of this lirave woman, who was my great, great grandaunt, told to me by in nncle of mine. Hannali Dnstin was one of the earl.y settlers coming to this country in 1(570. She lived in the small town of Derry, N. IT., At tlrs tini ' several tribes of hostile Indians lived in the near-by forests, and it was liy a small band of Indiiins that she was ca])tured one day, after her small l)aby had been killed, and carried off by them. Mrs. Dustin was coniijelled to live with the Indians many weeks, and gradually began to learn their customs, one of which was tlie skillful way in which scalping was done. Now this woman was ;is bi-ave as slie was clever and quick -witted, so she naturally be gau forming a plan of escape from the In- dians, who by this time had begun to like the white woman. One night, while sleeping on the ground of the wigwam a short distance from wliere six stalwart braves, supposeilly on gu;ird, lay asletq), she i icked up her scalping knife and a tomahawk, which she had carefully hid den the day before, and suddenly made an at tack upon tlie sleeping Indians and soon dash- ed out all their brains while they slei)t. Slip thus escaped in the dead of night and, .jump- ing into a canoe, paddled downstream towar.l tlie next town many miles disl;int. While pondering over her miraculous esca])e, this biave woman decided that she would like to lia e proof of the killing of her numerous cajdors, and so she turned her canoe around, I ' eturned to the lonely spot, scalped ?rll six Indians, relumed to her canoe, .and continued on lier way. ' I ' his is the story of my brave ancestor, and A DISCUSSION OF CALIFORNIA AND MASSACHUSETTS HIGH SCHOOLS As 1 am only spending a. year in the Eas.!: and my home is in California, I have been in- teresited to note the difference in high schools. First, there are the buildings. The old Spanish style of architecture has become very popular in California lately. Most of the new schools are built of stucco, with tile roofs. They usually have only one or two stories and sometimes are built around a court, the various parts of the building being joined by arcades. In i)hysical education, the boys take gym ' ' instead of milit.ary diill. Outdoor sports are carried on all the year round; tennis espe- c ' ally, l)eing ii. favorite with both boys .and girls. The system of study is different in several w.ays. Vc do not have that bug-bear , col- lege entrance examinations, held before us. Most of the western colleges allow entrance on one ' s liigh school diploma, provided that non of one ' s mai ' ks is below B. Moreover, Livtin is not reipiired to enable one to go to college. Theic is greater freedom in choosing subjects. One must, however, meet the state require- ments for graduation from high school. The school hours are usually from eight in the morning till three in the afternoon, wit ' .i an hour for lumli. This gives some time for recreation and allows the students to eat at home if they wish. liesides ditfeiences, however, there arc manv similaritves. For instance, dramatic elul)S, football games, student government, school paiiers, and many other things. You would lind the same school sjiirit and i)ride in their high schools in California that you find in Massachusetts. RUTH PROCTOU, ' L ' (). COURAGE In the grim face of danger P e steadfast, liefore the tecitli of tyal lie br.ave. Hut ' t ' s greatest, in sni.all cares To be able To smile .and to bear them Always. MARGARET ATWELL, ' 20. 20