Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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THE LAUREL 13 Monarch who wrathfully sentenced him to be cast into the pit. He was taken outside of the city to a seemingly bottomless cavity in the earth, on the sides of which were jagged projecting rocks. He was not in the least disturbed by his intended fate for he well knew that he had the power to save himself. His manacles were released and he was cast down. As he fell he released the pull of gravitation on him. Accidentally striking his head on a rock as he fell he was sup- plied with the necessary impetus to arise. Another period of unconsciousness was brought on by this blow but not before he had a chance to see the terrified expression on the faces of his guards as they beheld him rising like a charmed spirit into the air. VVhen he next came to consciousness he was over the Mediterranean, fiying simi- larly as did Icarus of old. After this he returned home, surprised to find that his absence occupied a term of many years. The opportunity of reaping the rewards from his invention was never given to him, as I was the only one to whom he confided the above story. The night that he related this weird tale to me he informed me of his intention of immedi- ately selling his wonderful device to the Imperial German Government. I could see, however, that his mind was not so much upon this as it was upon the adven- tures he had had. And perhaps this is the reason that a few days later he seemed to have gone somewhat mad and because of this so-called madness people say on August 24, 1914, exactly ten years after his first disappearance, he drove his car over a cliff, causing his death. Whether this is so or not, remains to be discovered as his body is yet to be found. 1 '25. 8.8 THE MYSTERIOUS SPIDER T was in Los Angeles, that beautiful city of Southern California, in one of the main streets during the latter part of June. The rays of the pale moon seemed to make the even rows of palm trees stand out like waiting ghouls shrouded in misty grey, waiting, waiting for their expected victim. From one row of those waiting ghouls a black shape, which looked like a huge spider, glided forth. Nearing the side of a spacious white mansion it climbed spider- like up the inlaid wall and entered a dark- ened window. Douglas Brent awoke from a troubled sleep and looking at his wrist watch saw it was thirteen minutes past two. He shud- dered as he remembered an incident in a story he had been reading about a man tied in the bottom of a pit, and a great swinging sectometer drawing nearer and nearer. Even though Douglas was twenty-one years of age, he shuddered again for few people in this world are immune from the gruesome works of that great writer, Edgar Allen Poe. He suddenly shook himself and called himself an idiotic fool. He neverthe- less slowly opened the door and started to enter the corridor, when some strange power forced him to turn his eyes across the hall to the door of his host. I-Ie stood there spellbound at the horrible spectacle he beheld through the open door shadowed on the panels in the room opposite him. One shadow he recognized as that of An- thony Van Dyke, his host, because of his wonderful build. The other greatly resem- bled a four-legged spider which slowly rose on its hind feet and clapped the neck of young Van Dyke with its forefeet in a hor- rible embrace. There reached Brent's ears a gurgling gasp for breath which awoke him to his senses. Rushing to his room he seized a pistol which hung on the wall and jumping to the door discharged it at the devilish shadow. But when he reached the room of his friend he saw nothing but the body of Anthony stretched his full six feet on the floor. Then glancing to the window he saw a shadowy flash and the horrible specter was gone. It was a full half hour before Anthony with a gasp for breath and a fluttering of

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12 THE LAUREL He immediately became the center of atten- tion among a group of these beings, be- cause of his unusual appearance in com- parison with theirs. They were not hostile and he soon perceived that one wished him to enter a neighboring building. He followed this man and as they ap- proached the seemingly unbroken side of the buildings at a mere gesture from his guide an opening miraculously appeared, through which they entered. The opening similarly closed and the professor was amazed to discover that the light of day penetrated through the unbroken stone walls although they in themselves were more or less opaque. They entered a small room which moved upward and stopped at a command from his guide. An opening similarly appeared in the side of this room, through which they entered a lofty and spacious apartment, the walls and ceilings of which were cov- ered with beautiful paintings and carvings, entirely different in character from those fantastic ones seen on the outside of the buildings. In this hall were many people similar to his guide and through the respect which they paid to one seated on a throne at the other end of the room, the professor imagined him to be their ruler. He was summoned before this individual who seemed to be very much interested in him. Finally he was given an apartment of his own, being summoned at regular intervals for his meals and for a walk in the streets of the city. As the language of this race of people was very simple he soon learned to converse with the ruler. He found out that this was a race of people who for cen- turies had lived in this same city, each year in some way making the city greater, and that each of the huge buildings in this city was the home of one certain tribe or monarch. The professor was very much interested in the huge buildings and inquired how such huge slabs of stone could be raised in posi- tion and made suitable for a building. He was informed that all this immense labor was performed by great machines, having a name equivalent to Eternal Energy or Everlasting Power. From this he correctly deduced that this people must have discov- ered the great secret of perpetual motion, and he resolved to discover this wonderful machine. The ruler of his temporary home, however, could tell him no more than that the secret of this machine was known only to the Grand Monarch and his council. Power taps to this source of energy were situated at convenient places about the city. To discover this machine the professor daily explored the city, at length discover- ing in the outskirts another great building shaped like an upright cylinder from which came an intense buzzing, so great that the ground all about vibrated in unison. The building was surrounded by palings with many guards pacing to and fro. He knew that it would be impossible for him to approach this building which he believed to be the source of power, on foot, so by means of his own invention he projected himself through the atmosphere, to the ut- most amazement of those present, and light- ing on the escarpment of the cylinder shaped building he gazed awestruck at the sight below. Inside a huge gyroscopic affair with a great wheel which revolved at such aftre- mendous rate and with so great energy that crashing sparks, many feet in length, were constantly leaping from all parts of the machine. The heat escaping was so great that a sizeable stick of wood cast by the professor at the machine vanished in a puff of smoke before it had come within fifty feet of the machine itself. Highly inflam- mable gases were constantly being gener- ated which occasionally took fire and the whole machine was wrapped in flames. Further opportunities for inspecting this machine were denied him for turning he discovered that the guards were upon him. He was manacled, taken down the side of the building and brought before the Grand

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14 THE LAUREL eyelids showed signs of life. Douglas made a jump for the telephone. Chief of Police? Yes. Douglas Brent at the Van Dyke residence. Anthony Van Dyke was attacked and nearly killed, thirteen minutes past two. All right, good-bye. It was the following morning at the Van Dyke home in a sunny bedroom. Anthony lay unconscious in bed. His face challenged the pillow for whiteness, and the covers did not sufiiciently cover his neck to hide the bluish black marks on it. Over him hovered a doctor, while in the background stood Brent. The doctor finally spoke, say- ing, His assailant has superhuman strength and claws like hands. They were more than claws, they were talons, said Brent, but their owner was no human. As the day drew to a close Anthony re- gained consciousness but not his full senses. He still seemed to be under some magnetic force which tended to make him slightly hysterical. At eight o'clock, however, to all appear- ances he was normal. When Brent ques- tioned him concerning his experiences he shivered visibly and almost moaning sank deeper into his chair while his face turned a sickly yellow. This might be disgusting to ordinary eyes, but it only served to soften Brent's heart towards the big, good- natured athlete and aroused his pity to such an extent that he refrained from asking further questions. This for him was an exceptionally hard task, for he knew that no other fellow of his acquaintance had greater natural courage than Anthony. Then, as though by mutual consent, they both dozed off to sleep. Four hours later they were awakened by the sound of a banging window blind. Glancing at the window from which the sound came, they saw a face surmounted by a soft felt hat, the crown of which fitted like a skull cap. The soft roll brim, turned up away from the face, revealed a black mask of the same material as the shirt and cape which covered the shoulders. As if reading their thoughts, there was a slight movement and a similar black arm rose, from which extended a white hand in strong contrast to the black, and a long foretinger crossed the mask at the point where the lips were hidden, and the figure slowly immerged into the shadows. As Douglas turned to Anthony he saw a different Anthony. This time his jaw muscles were set and there was the fire of determination in his eyes as he said softly, That fellow got my goat at first, and now I will be on the lookout for him and give him a run for his money. I don't hold the intercollegiate boxing championship for nothing. After that for a strained half hour neither of them said anything. Anthony at last broke the silence by ringing for a servant and ordering coffee to keep them awake. Brent, however, realized it was for the purpose of quieting their nerves. Another half hour passed, and the silence was again broken by the striking of a large clock proclaiming the end of the first hour of a new day. After that things were not so quiet. Anthony, watching Brent, saw him stiffen and grip the arms of his chair. Then Brent asked, Did any of the servants have the night off, Tony? A No, answered Tony. Why? Because I felt a draft on the back of my neck, and I don't know who would be coming in at this time of night. Neither do I, Doug. Let 's find out who it was. - They both arose and entered a darkened room from which the stairs ascended to the floor above. Suddenly Douglas felt his arm gripped and heard Anthony whisper, Listen. Thus they stood and listened for a sound. A faint creaking reached their ears, and Brent muttered, They are going up- stairs. ' Standing there they saw the curtains of a