Catholic High School For Girls - Silver Sands Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

Page 27 text:

LITTLE B0 for he was shiny and black and sweet. SILVER SANDS This explained the permeating piny scent in the house. Although it was over a month since Christ' mas, people were still discarding mistletoe and ever' green and Pappy Brown was always around to proit by their riddance. Aunt Dilcey heaved herself out of the chair and went over to a pot steaming above the fire. While she was pouring the soup Elijah ventured, Did yo' all make it, Aunt Dilcey? He knew if she had, the soup would be somehow sweeter and spicier, for Aunt Dilcey worked uptown as cook for the Dwights. She lived there, too, but Wednesday was her free night and then she came to the Browns'. Sho' nuff, honey, she chuckled, Han' you'd bettah eat it all up, if'n yo' do, I've got a s'prise fo' yo'. Get long theah now. Only a few minutes ago Elijah had felt as if he never wanted to eat again, but as he was only a very ordif nary little boy with a little boy's appetite, the soup slid down easily. While sopping the last ounce of liquid with a piece of bread, Elijah meditated on the nature of the surprise. Maybe it was cake. There was a bakery at the corner that sold stale delicacies for a few pennies-and it was pay night. Sometimes the Dwight children gave Aunt Dilcey clothes and, al- though they were a few sizes too large for Elijah, they did keep him warm and dry. In the meantime, Elijah's pappy had come in, his arms laden with dry wood, and was grinning happily at his little ebony replica. There was something sheep' ish in that grin. Elijah catalogued it with the one Pappy used on Mammy when he had a new job to tell her about. When his mammy came padding out of the bath' room, her arms soapy to the elbows, Elijah knew defif nitely that something untoward was afoot, for Mammy never let her wash soak in the big tin tub once she had worked the suds up. There they stood all three in a row looking as if they deserved a spanking. Elijah wondered idly how Grandmammy had ever surrounded Aunt Dilcey's breadth to administer much-needed thrashings. By now, Aunt Dilcey had walked to the bedroom door at the end of the kitchen and opened it slowly. After she had made several clucking noises with her tongue to no avail, she squeezed her poundage through the doorway and went into the room. In a few seconds she reappeared carrying a fuzzy object under her arm. When she had successfully rnaneuvered her girth into the kitchen again, she put her burden down on the floor with a flourish. 25

Page 26 text:

I f you're looking for gripping drama or stirring thrills don't read . . . IT WAS snowing and the flakes on Elijah's clothing made him look like a sugared gumdrop-a licorice one, for he was shiny and black and sweet. In the late afternoon light he stood wearily piping, Payfpuhs, buy youah pay'puhs, payfpuhs, payfpuhs, pay-puhs . . . payfpuh, mistah? Now, at last, they were all sold and Elijah started homeward with lagging feet. Usually he hurried be' cause the soles of his shoes were almost as thin as his ragged little jacket, but tonight even the slush seeping through his cracked boots couldn't hasten him along. Spot was gone and Elijah would never feel the same again! Every day the muddy mongrel had stood close to the boy while he sold his papersg every day the pup had shivered with him, run with him-had even gone hungry with him. For Elijah was poor. Although his mammy took in washing and his pappy sometimes suffered spasmodic working spells to visit him, often the stew wouldn't stretch or the bread couldn't be cut thin enough. Now, tonight, the cheery jingling of pennies in his pockets was the only happy sound near Elijah. Of course, he didn't cry. All the tears he had ever held fell fast when he saw the dog catcher put Spot in the wired cage and drive away. He hadn't saved one to shed now. His little throat felt dry and cold from sucking in his breath so much. That was a habit he had when- ever his stomach was empty or his heart full. To' night, though, his tummy would feel warm and happy 'cause it was pay night for Mammy. Pay night meant bean soup-not thin, watery soup, but rich, heavy broth with brisket and a bone for-No! Spot wouldn't have a bone tonight, nor any other night. Now Elijah was running fast so those dry, hard sobs couldn't catch up with him. He stood for a long time before the rickety clapboard house with his little chin quivering and his brown eyes lusterless. Finally, he gave the paintless door a shove and shuffled into his home. It was a bare dwelling, but spotlessly clean and glowing under the leaping light of an open fire. The combined living room and kitchen held a sweet, soupy smell and was filled with the rhymthmic beat of Aunt Dilcey's contralto. 'Lo, gulped Elijah to the portly figure of his aunt rocking to and fro in a sagging cane chair. Hel-lo, 'Lijah honey, cadenced his aunt, did yo' papuhs all go slow today? Yo' is mighty late. Yo' mammy am sortin' de wash an' yo' pappy choppin' up some mo' pine sticks fo' de hah. 24 ELIJAH,

Page 28 text:

A dog gasped Elljah Oh that they even dared to th1nk any other dog could make up for Spot Why thxs one dxdn t even look l1ke h1m except for the same k1nd of black daub near h1s nose The new pup was l1ttler and wh1ter only one ear stood up the other flopped tlredly over h1s left eye h1S front legs weren t stralght and h1s ta1l was almost a negatwe excuse Its all for yo honey pet h1m Aunt D1lcey urged And wh1le the sm1les faded from h1s parents eyes Elljah mumbled a polxte thanks and went quxetly over to the Ere to s1t there 1n IIIISCIY After a wh1le he felt ashamed of hrs behavlor and looked pleadrngly at the hurt faces before h1m for sympathy He alnt Spot he deplored he just a1nt He doan know how Ah feels 1ns1de when de blg boys mek fun of mah cloes an and here he pushed away a mo1st frlendly nose and how t1s to work when you d l1ke to play he doan know what txs to lose a frlend l1ke Spot Oh yes he do reproved Aunt Dxlcey dat dawg am sorner dan yo be Ahs seed h1m wxf cans t1ed to h1s tall because the 111 crlppled boy what owned h1m couldnt stop the blg fellows from dom It Ahs seed h1m fight b1g dogs fo h1s l1l b1t o suppah Ahs seed h1m cry real watah tears when h1s masa got tooken to God An today Ah seed h1m all alone wet an col an hungry Ah knowed he couldn be anotha Spot but Ah thought you d love h1m a l1l El11ah looked unhapp1ly at the httle mougrel vtho was nuzzlmg h1s knee All at once he wasnt just a mutt any more he was a real pal Of course Elijah would keep h1m' The dog pound nught take th1s one too but now that Ehjah knew they were around he could watch and h1de the pup Now the dog yapped and w1th a llttle cry Elljah swooped h1m lnto his arms and held h1m t1ght Then as mf to make up for hls harsh treatment of the l1ttle anlmal he pressed h1s mouth close to the pups floppy ear and wluspered the blggest comphment he knew Ise gwme call yo Spot MARY RITA HBYDEN 38 SOMETHING HINTBD so.-mea'H1sNg gaufwsfn Welch s Grape wce eeps you thm Palrnolwe Soap grrls cleans the skm L1 ehuoy tends to charm your rzends Lzsterme Mouth Wash never o ends Lux 'Tmlet Soap use at too lklany a beaux you ll gam anew Camels tend to soothe ones nerves Whrle Mobzle Gas helps take the curves Lest coffee keep you wzde aw e Be sure that you some Postum ta e Ovaltme wlll 'nounsh you It wnll gwe the strength of two Baseball players for Wheatres call They say It helps to h1t the ball After you have read thrs through, Come on, gwls, you try them, too, They wzll please you one and all, If for our sales talk you wzll fall 26 MARGARET ROTH, '38 SILVER SANDS as u -- sn 11 ' H 1 ' 9 9 1 1 9 , . , , . . . . , . , . ., . . . . . , . . . . Q . - 1 ' - 1 . s , . . . , . .., . 1, . a s 9 ' . . . . f, . - 9 1 . . . . , . . . , 5 1 1 s 1 u 1 1 - 11 - , ' 9 9 1 - ' 11 . . . , , , .. . . A y 9 . . 1 - . . . , , 1 ' s - 1 1 ss ' 1 11 ss - - 1 9 9 ' . . . . . . . v . , 11 1 1 - 1 ' ss 1 - . . as 1 - 1 1 - , . Y ' 1 9 11 11 , ' , . 9 ' I ' k ' ' 1 1 1 p f f , if . .1 .v 1 x . 1 1 ak , 1 r