Compton High School - El Companile Yearbook (Compton, CA)

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He made that journey in two days and two nights, and by the end of that second day the party organized to follow Joe's dog. Meanwhile Joe, thinking to lessen the distance for his helpers, started to travel toward home, but had crawled very painfully less than a mile when he had to give up. Here he drank his last drop of water and lay still. VVhen the other men found him he was dead. Been dead for a day at least, was Bill's curt statement. The men found no diggings in sight and searching Joe, found no gold. Jake, an old regular, drawled, joe's old luck, while Mexican Hombre answered, Quien Sabe? ' W. HOPCRAFT, '21, My Mother As I sit here alone tonight, I think of you, O Mother mine, I think of your great love for meg I see your smiling, lovelit eyes, And seem to feel their soft embrace, Enfolding me in love so true That even now is thrills me thru To know that once you were my own, My Mother! My mother! how I miss you now! I sometimes wonder if you know How much I want you,-tho you're gone- How much I need your tender care, But most of all I want your love, The love that you alone can give, To guide me thru all doubt and fear, I want to say once more to you 3- My Mother! I long for just one more caress ,- To hear once more your voice so dear, The voice that now is ever still, I sometimes think my heart will break VVith longing for you, Mother mine. But God is good-with Him you are, And He will give me strength to live, To love, to serve, and then to find, My Mother! '21. 27

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dQuien Sabe? Nippo was a large sheep dog, pure bred from a fighting stock. He was big, ugly, and shaggy, but his heart was true to Lucky joe. Lucky Joe was a very unlucky miner by trade Qand you might think him a union man, the way he stuck to itj. He had been mining in California ever since Old 49,' and was one of the few 'lOl' timers. 'fLucky Joe was named thus by young Bill Stoke, who, with fine irony one day said, joe, you're the luckiest man in camp, but old Simms, the night watchman, spoke in his easy accent, Don't worry none 'bout joe, hels got a good dawg anyway ,H and he stooped to pet, or rather scrape big Nippo down the back with his big calloused hand. Joe was sitting all this time over near the stove, half asleep, half awake, wondering. Suddenly he straightened up and asked, How far is Dead Lake from here? lim going there for a spell! No one answered until Hombre, the Mexican, said, f'Mucho long way, can not go there, mebbe water holes dry, quien sabe? Joe had had his vision, however, of a large stake to be had at Dead Lake, and he wanted it now. f'How far?'l he questioned. Bout leetle over hundred fifty mile. VVell, l'm going to pack up now, come on, Nippo. Youlre not going to kill this dog, too, are you, you fool? spoke up the night watchman, f'I'll keep him here. Nippo at that moment awoke, and seeing his master leaving, got up and followed him out. That afternoon Joe left, whether he would come home or not was doubt- ful, but these ready men did not question that-they questioned his previ- ous luck, and shook their heads. Four days did Joe travel, mostly over desert, plodding beside his pack mule, taking meager sips from his canteen and encouraging the dog. The water holes were indeed dry, but joe still held up by assuring himself that last year's rains would still be in Dead Lake. When he was yet a few miles away from Dead Lake, he stopped to rest and to cook dinner, when he espied a jack rabbit sitting on his haunches. Jack rabbit was good for a change of food, so joe took his long 30-30 rifle from his pack and aiming quickly, pulled the triggerg the jack rabbit gave a jump, and fell, and as Joe walked toward him, the jack rabbit crawled in his nearby hole. Now Joe was not to be cheated, so he started to dig the rabbit up. Scarcely had he dug three feet when he struck a .soft rock, and leaning over to dislodge it, examined it minutely, then gave a whoop and threw his rifie high in the air for sheer joy! he had struck a large gold nugget. His joy was turned to sorrow though, when his rifle hitting the ground with a thump, exploded, and the wild bullet struck Joe low in the chest, fell- ing him. Nippo, seeing this from his post of vantage on a slight sand dune, ran down to his master, fully aware of his danger and licked the wound tenderly. Joe, almost unconscious, knew that his life was going, and told Nippo to go back and get help. Nippo understood and trotted away toward home, no more frisking as he had done coming outg he had three hundred miles to travel, and he knew that steady trot, trot, trot. 26

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Sold-Une Carpet-Sweeper Miss Hephia Cruge was dusting in the upstairs bedroom when the knock came. She went silently to the window at the end of the hall, raised the sash noiselessly, and peered down upon a carpet-sweeper agent. He, unmindful of the reconnaisance above on the part of the mistress of the house, was remov- ing a little pendant medal from the lapel of his coat. VVhen he had freed the medal he dropped it into an outside coat pocket. Miss Hephia Cruge, her curiosity slightly aroused, stumped down the front stairs to answer the knockg she was also actuated by visions of a clean rug or two. Good morning, madamf' the salesman said respectfully. 'KI have here a type B. model of the Pioneer Carpet Sweeper. This style is cheap, conven- ient, compact, and durable. I believe that I can convince you in ten minutes by a practical demonstration that you need this machine. VVould you oblige me by giving me the chance to show you how easily the machine is oper- ated ? ' I won't get a carpet-sweeper, but I suppose I can spare you about ten minutesf' Miss Cruge answered coldly. If there is any particular rug or carpet that you wish cleaned, the man stated, it will do just as well for the demonstration as anything else. That one over Napoleonls picture will do, or better clean this rug near the stand,'l suggested Miss Cruge. ' She watched the demonstration with a cold, uninterested eye. While the salesman ran the machine back and forth across the rug he made an estimate of the woman who sat in the rocker near the window. She was cold-hearted and selfish and quite old, he told himself. The hard lines of her month and the uncompromising glare of her eyes acquainted him with the fact that Miss Hephia Cruge was determined not to purchase a carpet-svveeper. He would leave as soon as possible. V Miss Cruge was indeed cold hearted and selfish. A long life alone had made her disagreeable and uncompanionable. Her curiosity also caused oth- ers to dislike her. The salesman finished the rug, drew out the dust chamber, and showed Miss Cruge the accumulation of dust that he had drawn from the rug. Plenty of dust there, eh Pl' he asked. XVcll, was the reply, 'fthe last fellow I allowed to make a carpet- sweeper demonstration filled the dust chamber half full of lint, I'd swear, before he began, because I had just cleaned the rugs the week before. How do I know that you didn't do the same thing? 'Of course, madamfl said the man, embarrassed by the accusation, I know that there are fraudulent persons in every business, but I have used no deception in my demonstration. If you think for an instant that I have attempted to, deceive you, I will clean another rug for you. You see the chamber is emptyf' As he stooped to replace the dust chamber, the little pendant medal fell out of his coat pocket. Ilut before he could replace it Miss Cruge had asked him a question. 'WVhat is that?H she asked. The aspect of the whole man changed. Ile could bear the woman's bitter 28