Berea High School - Prima Luce Yearbook (Berea, NC)

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A?i Unpleasant Nig hi indelKr 08 ? 0medme , n our J- ' are er have faced death. The incident leaves an Co2 Sr I 0 and We never tire of retelling it. In Hyde County North Carolina, during the summer of 1903 I had such an experience. sen 1 1 mr! il 1 WaS eng ? g T ed ln , dred ging oysters and hunting, and, as a con- - h P ™ g fP ened 1 had nothing to do. For the summer I moored salt water A, U ° f y m ° rder to P reserve it from the flatheads of the acres where t j. acen 0 le ' v larve s there was a shell hill covering about two mahw n T 1S l T d t0 east ancl en J°y the ir wild life. Here were the re- “esFn ' 0n , °f fl rS - , BetWeen the hiU Proper and the wharves there was Jreen mns T U co t ; nu °usly from an old rusty pipe into a pond of and other , Wat r bemg Sulpburous was used b y the people for rheumatism h slie m t S :- Fr0n ! the weI1 a l )lank walk led through a thick bunch of r .1 i . e 1 i° ?i mg ?’ 7 cai t P atb i ed out in the other direction to the main road about one-half mile away. sinn D T e din f e mon °tony and idleness of the long summer days, I desired diver- for sii d I d tC ] ren , ground for a s arden and a patch of watermelons ; rhe’npS T rt°° m ys 1 have been fond of the dee P r ed flesh. Going up in farmeTof th diLrirt 7 dCSired knd from Mn Mason ’ a re P utable house ' aS ° n WaS an acconirn °d a ting man and placed at my disposal a one-room may tele bad 15d °‘ b ° at Warm Weath “ » r ,hE m ° s ““ it0eS Mr. Mason’s farm was about three miles from the landing- Other than this L-TS ” 1 Wi,h , a , b0 ' ish Pride and manly melnor I timed rf dTlam b J r ' r f P °, ,KW ! cd - V to » n Mant’ shallow cultivation « biSVc„M,ato. ™ ' S ° ' 8 me ‘° n to runners, and will prematurely ’lbarne to toStetoe ' , ' ,a, bis me,0ns were dis appearing £er £ P ' ' N S taken from me in this informal w™ ““ the melons eagerly to try my 10-Gage Richardson. Y ght 1 wat more interested ' in ' my’ 3 wbtry y occupadon de Hr ( 7 the hecame niore aW ! trapping were more profitable than farming otn rem f d that dredging and the proceeds of a year. Although I re-arded the o ' 16 qUeS ? on me ab ° U b 1 e .s ar ded the farmer as an honest man I l 9 f Page 54 ]

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SHORT STORIES A. vide audimus, aures enim hominum novitate laetantur We listen with deep interest to what we hear, for to man novelty is ever charming.

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f ’ rr-v- “ , PRIM A LUCE had no desire to reveal my pecuniary affairs. I had been quite successful for the two previous years and had laid up some money, I had this money all in gold which I carried on my person, in a case sewed in my shirt around the waist, two twenty dollar gold pieces side by side. I washed these shirts myself and kept them concealed. On the second Saturday night in August I was tired and worried, feeling unlike watching the melons. “I guess they will get them all tonight,” I sighed. As it was getting dusty I went down to my boat. The mosquitoes being- ferocious, I replaced the cabin door with the wire one and did not strike a light. While I was sitting on the bunk listening to the mosquitoes buzz on the wire door, I heard the creaking sounds of a buggy. “Someone is coming down after water,” I said to myself. A few moments later I heard footsteps on the plank which led to the wharf. Presently there came the sound of a smothered cough. I grabbed my rifle and threw a caitridge in the barrel. 1 he click of the action was more distinct than I had evei known it to be befoie. I heard someone speak in an emphatic fierce, low tone, as if scolding a dog. Hours and hours I sat on the stool watching the door and listening, but all was silent. I was afraid to rise up out of the cabin as this would expose ’me to a bullet. I knew someone was watching the boat. Thousands of thoughts went through my mind. I wondered if Mason had discovered the way I carried my money. Did the waylaying person imagine that I was up at the melon patch and would come down later? Late in the night, about 1 :30, I heard an abrupt, roaring noise. A buggy went across a short bridge in the main road at a rapid rate of speed. As it was getting light the next morning I noticed in the cart path the track of a buggy. The vehicle wheeled around a time or two in front of Mr. Swendell’s residence, and a quarter of a mile beyond, tu rned in at Mason’s. I drew the conclusion. — Mattie Lee Newton. Lost in the Great Dismal Swamp “Hello! Is that you Steve?” Just who it is, Max. Say, I could tell your voice over the wire among a thousand. What’s doing?” “A whole lot. Owen is here at my elbow, and getting ready with a rush for a quick trip. I’m going to call up Toby Jucklin as soon as I switch off from your number and have him get around here in double quick time.” “What in the wide world — ” “I have just received a telegram from Bandy Leg’s rich aunt out in the country. She says Bandy Legs has been lost in the Dismal Swamp, where he went fishing yesterday. He hasn’t returned, and she fears that he has been lost, or