Butler High School - Magnet Yearbook (Butler, PA)

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THE MAGNET ii they had had them as long as they could remember. While Jennie was at school, a musical concert was given, in which she took a leading part. Jennie’s grandmother, an elderly lady by this time, but a great lover of music, came to the concert and at the sight of Jennie, noticed the similarity in looks, stature and voice to her own daughter. The next day the old woman came to the school to have a personal talk with Jennie. She asked her about her parents, and Jennie replied that she knew nothing except that she had been adopted by a wealthy lady when she was but a small child. The lady, still puzzled, asked to see Jennie’s jewelry, which the young lady was always proud to show, and to her surprise she saw the locket she had given Jennie twenty years ago. The grandmother then told her all; how she had disowned her daughter, had the pictures taken, and how sorry she was to see her daughter leave Italy, but that she was too haughty to repent. She then asked about her twin brother, and showed Jennie his picture, which Jennie immediately recalled to be the same as the one worn by Anthony in his watch charm. Jennie then told her grandmother everything about her engagement. While all this was happening, Anthony had finished his course in the academy and had received his position, when word came from Jennie that he should come to her at once. He did this, and, on comparing the pictures in their lockets with those of the grandmother’s, they found them to be identical. The first thing the old lady thought of after their reunion was her will, which she immediately had changed, and her vast fortune was equally divided between Jennie and Anthony. The excitement and joy of finding her daughter’s children killed the grandmother, and the two then returned to New York. When Mr. and Mrs. Hudson heard the entire story, they willingly took Anthony into their family circle, even if it did not come about by his marriage to their beloved daughter. MILDRED McFADDEN.

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THE MAGNET The Mystery of the Two Lockets, IOARDING a large steamer off the coast of Italy were a man and woman, looking longingly, with tear-stained eyes, toward the shore. With them were two small children, twins, a boy and a girl. Both of the children were shabbily dressed, but each had a locket and a fine, gold chain about its neck. Among the by-standers on the shore was the grandmother of the children, who was also weeping. At the marriage of her daughter, the mother of the children, she had disowned her because she had not married into a wealthy family. After the birth of the twins, and while they were under the care of a governess, the grandmother, feeling sorry for what she had done, but too haughty to repent, took the children to a photographer and had their pictures taken. She placed two of them in lockets, and kept one of each of them for herself. The parents never learned where the lockets came from. While on board the steamer, the father and mother both died and were buried in the ocean, leaving the children orphans and unknown to all the passengers. The boy and girl were well cared for, and toward the end of the voyage a wealthy widow took a kindly liking to little Jennie and decided to adopt her. After the landing of the ship, a home was sought for the little boy, and an old bachelor promised to take charge of him and help him on in the world until he should be able to care for himself. Anthony studied hard at school, and as a result of his determined efforts he worked his way into a military academy. Jennie’s foster mother, Mrs. Thorpe, sent her to private schools and then to an academy for music, as this was her only ambition. She was a most intimate friend of Lieutenant Hudson, one of the chief instructors at the academy which Anthony was attending. At the end of the school term a field rally was held by the students, and Mrs. Thorpe and Jennie received a most cordial invitation to attend. Anthony was a particular friend of Hudson’s, and it was only natural that he should be the first person introduced to Jennie after her arrival. She also met the rest of the student body, but her choice seemed to be for Anthony. While Mrs. Thorpe and Lieutenant Hudson were discussing interesting subjects in one place, Jennie and Anthony were becoming better acquainted with each other. Their friendship grew deeper in each letter that was received after that rally. In the course of a year Mrs. Thorpe was united in marriage to Lieutenant Hudson, and in this way Jennie and Anthony were brought into closer relation. Shortly after Mrs. Thorpe’s marriage, it was decided that Jennie should become a musician, and this could only be accomplished by sending her to Italy to study. Both Jennie and Anthony hated the thoughts of being separated so long, but before she left, they had received the promise from Jennie’s mother and father that they could be married shortly after her return. The night before her departure Anthony noticed the resemblance of her locket to the one he was wearing as a watch charm. They laughed at their old-fashioned pictures inside, but said they would never part with them as

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12 THE MAGNET Has This Ever Happened to You? HE streets were empty, and not a living soul did I see as I walked up the road. It was a damp, dark night and here and there a street lamp blinked sleepily through the heavy blanket of mist, while not a star was visible in the black void above me. Yes, the conditions were ideal, for with such absolute darkness surrounding, my chances of discovery were reduced to an almost negligible .quantity. But perish the thought! Never would I be discovered. I must not mistake the house; there it was, the second from the corner, set back from the road and surrounded with massive oak trees which stood out in the mist like great, grim guardians of the house beneath them. But hark ! Someone was coming! I dodged behind a tree and the man passed by without noticing me. The footfalls grew more and more muffled and finally died away in the distance. I crept along on the grass beside the walk, ascended the steps with noiseless tread and stepped cautiously on the porch. At last I was before the door. Taking a bunch of keys from my pocket, I found one that would fit and placed it carefully in the lock; then slowly, oh, so slowly, I opened the door, a fraction of an inch at a time. It took me three minutes to open the door one foot and a half. I slipped inside. Not a sound broke the death-like stillness all around. Gradually I closed the door; softly, so softly. How alert my mind was; the plan of the house was as if burned on my brain. I had planned it long before, and, now that I was here, my faculties were so keen and acute that not the least sound escaped me. My movements were deliberate and I made not a blunder. I would not and could not fail in my purpose. I removed my shoes and, after fastening the laces together, hung them around my neck, for fear I might drop them. I started for the rear stairway, for there, I had thought, the chances of making a noise loud enough to affright anyone were less than on the front stairs. My steps were but an inch at a time and I set my feet down each time with the greatest caution, lest a board should make a sound and raise an alarm. Not a sound pierced the silence. At last I reached the stairs. How slowly I climbed that long flight! I neither knew nor cared how long I had taken in my entrance. I raised my feet with the greatest caution, and made sure to place them at the ends of the steps in order to avoid any noise. I knew just which ones creaked, and I skipped them in my ascent. How silently I climbed up; you cannot imagine how long it took. At last I could see the very door of the room. Only one more step to take! A fierce exultation rose in my breast and I hastened forward to reach the room, when c-r-a-c-k! went the step. Confusion !!!! ???? “I am discovered!” thought I. Then suddenly a heavy voice broke the almost uncanny silence that followed. “Son! what time is it?” “Three o’clock, father!” I answered. (The author swears that the foregoing is a more or less true statement of his actions on a certain night which will always be pleasantly remembered by the members of the class of Tanuary, 1915.) MAURICE CHARNOCIC