Cloverdale Union High School - Spectator Yearbook (Cloverdale, CA)

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24 THE SPECTATOR “You won’t take my advice then, Alice!” asked the Doctor. “You won’t give up this work and come to me? Tell me now 1 for I want to help you.” “No, I cannot—but I appreciate all your help and kindness —I will not forget,” she said—and thus the Doctor left. ‘ ‘ Oh Mother, he went away without his apple, and it was so nice.” ‘ ‘ He will come again soon, and then you can give it to him, dear,” she said aloud, but to herself she was saying, “Only too soon, I fear, but I must—I must complete this work; then I will rest, as he advised.” The next day came bright and clear, but the tired mother lay quiet. Gerald, looking in, was alarmed as he leaned over her and asked what to do. “Tell Dr. Fisher 1 want him quickly,” she said feebly and tried to raise her head only to drop wearily back with a sigh. “Thank God, the sketches are finished,” she breathed. “My poor babies, will he take them? But what a sacrifice! Oh God, have mercy upon me and let me live!” Weeks passed, still she lay hopelessly ill; the children were taken to the Doctor’s home, and tended by his mother. The Doctor and nurse fought many a hard fight, but it seemed her strength was gone. “It can’t be, I will save her,” the doctor murmured as he paced up and down the room, after seeing the children safely tucked away in bed. “My poor Alice, why wouldn’t she let me help her? I might have prevented her illness, had she let me save her this racking nerve-strain. ’ ’ “Telephone call, sir,” announced the servant, and the Doctor hurried to the phone. “Hello,” he said, and listened intently to the voice at the other end of the wire. “Hello, Doctor, the patient has had a decided change, and I can’t tell as yet whether she will rally or not. Will you come quickly? You may be needed. ” “Yes, Yes,” answered the doctor, “I’ll come at once,” and, hanging up the receiver, he hurried away. Alice lay quietly sleeping. She was pale and thin and to the anxious eyes of the doctor she looked like a great soul at rest, as he stood by her bedside. Her eyelids fluttered and she looked up at him, at first wonderingly, like a little child, then smiling and whispering the one word, “Doctor,” she closed her eyes.

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THE SPECTATOR 23 tell tlie Doctor he might come up this evening after his office hours to inspect my sketches and see if I could improve them in any way. ’ ’ Mary was Gerald’s twin sister. When their father died, he had left a family of five children and very little money to support them. Their mother, a well educated, refined woman, had declined aid from friends, had given up her comfortable apartments and secured a couple of cheap rooms in the tenement house and was earning an existence in the manner mentioned. Her baby, a delicate child, was not yet old enough to creep; the other two children, four and five years old; the twins, but eight. On this day she had gotten up feeling faint and dizzy, but so anxious was she to finish her work, that the strength of the ambition which burned in her soul had kept her working. “Can I finish them? Can I?” was the refrain running through her mind as she sat on the rug near the couch on which two other children lay taking their afternoon nap; Gerald, taking the blocks off the table, began to amuse the baby. Just then little Mary came in, a bag of apples in her hand. “Oh Mother, may we bake the apples for dinner?” she cried. “Oh goody, here’s Gerald! And the Doctor said he’d come right away, and he gave me this for the baby, ’ ’ she continued, speaking hurriedly, as she gave her mother a piece of money. ‘ ‘ Yes, you may bake the apples when the boys wake up. Now help Gerald amuse baby for awhile,” answered the mother, continuing her work. In this way the afternoon sped on, the shadows creeping darker and darker, until at last the children pushed aside the things they were doing and went into the next room to begin their apple baking. So happy were they laughing and talking that they did not hear the Doctor enter at the invitation of the quiet voice of tlieir mother. “Alice, how long are you going to keep at this? Let me look at you! Uli-huh! Just as I thought—aren’t well, are you? l r ou simply must put away this work and rest; you will be seriously ill if you do not.” “I cannot, Doctor, I simply cannot; I must finish these by tomorrow. Please don’t mind me, but look, at the sketches— criticise them as only you can, help me as you always do. I know I am ill but I’ll promise to rest when these are finished,” and she held out her work appealingly. The Doctor gave in, and for an hour he helped her, suggesting, praising, until at last he rose to leave. Gerald saw him and asked, “May I not give Uncle Doctor an apple, Mother?” and, upon her assent, he went to prepare it for the Doctor to carry with him.

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“Slie will live,” lie said fervently to the nurse near by, and softly left the room. It was only a week till Christmas and once more the family were living in the fifth story rooms of the tenement house. The mother sat alone by the fire, an empty purse in her hand, a dollar bill in her lap. “Only one dollar left for presents for five children,” she said aloud, ‘ ‘ and my dear babies who have been so good and who are expecting Santa to bring them their reward! How can I bear to see their innocent expectations disappointed? How can I explain to them?” The door had opened softly, unnoticed by her, and the doctor said gently, “Give the dollar to some poor orphan child and yourself and your children to me to keep always—the answer you will find in yourself then complete.” “I will,” she said, ‘‘ my children love you dearly and you shall be their Christmas present.” Z. M. H„ ’14. HERIDAN was a little Italian boy. As a baby he was a very handsome little child. He had large blue eyes, rosy cheeks and little fat kicking legs. As he grew older he played with the rest of the Italian boys that lived around the depot. He was a happy fellow and as he grew to be a young man he was liked by everybody. Six days he worked with men as a section hand and on Sundays he talked and played Italian games with the rest of the men. About this time two great things happened to Sheridan, namely, he was promoted to section boss on the railroad and he became deeply captivated by the charms of the fair Marguerita, the hotel keeper’s daughter. Marguerita was the pride of the little Italian settlement. Those bright dancing eyes, pearly white teeth, and blushing cheeks had played havoc with other hearts. But to all aspiring youths she had turned a cold shoulder until she met young Sheridan.