Hammond Central School - Spotlight Yearbook (Hammond, NY)

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HAMMOND HIGH HAPPENINGS from the chimney. After he had accomplished this he left the room. As soon as he was gone we began to discuss what we had better do—watch him as long as possible or go for a sheriff. Finally we decided that we would stay where we were and find ouj: what we could before getting help. Presently the man came back carrying a tin box, which he at once thrust into the hole in the chimney. Next he put the bricks back in place and left the room. We waited on the roof and soon we saw him coming out of the cellar door which hap- pened to be on the same side of the house. The man stop- ped, looked all about him, and then ran into the nearby bush. We then hurried downstairs, took Helen's car and went into town for the sheriff. We ar- oused him from sleep and told him of our discovery. He did not seem very an- xious to come with us but we finally persuaded him to do so. We drove to the house and showed him where we had seen the man put the box. He removed the bricks and took out the box. When he opened it we found that it was filled with precious jewels. The sheriff, upon examining the chimney, found more holes which also contained boxes of jewels. He told us that we had made a great discovery, and asked us to help him to catch the thief the following night. We caught the thief just as he was about to enter the door He confessed that he had been stealing jewels for the past five years and had used Will- ow Glen as a place to hide them. The news of our dis- covery spread very rapidly, and as soon as the jewels were returned to their owners and the thief put in jail, we were awarded eight hundred doll- ars, which we divided equally. Ella Mae Carter. THE BEAVER Last summer I had the pri- vilege of visiting a colony of beavers which was situated in the foothills of the Adiron- dacks. The beavers made their home in a small creek which they had dammed. It was about four feet high and extended in arcs for about one hundred and fifty feet. The trees that

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HAMMOND HIGH HAPPENINGS • THE GHOST OF WILLOW GLEN Willow Glen was the name of a large vacant house situat- ed upon Pine Hill, near Stam- ford. Nobody lived in it for it was said to have been haunt- ed ever since its owner had died. Stories were rumored about that the deceased owner, Mr. Smith, came back every night at 12 :00 o'clock and went through the mansion looking in every room. Three girls and I decided that we would go to Willow Glen and find out what the ghost really was. Helen, Dor- is, Hazel and I set out in Hel- en's car one bright, sunny morning in June. We were prepared to stay at least two months, if necessary. We traveled all that day and night and reached Pine Hill about ten o'clock the next morning. First we set up our tent and put things in readiness for that night. We thought that it would be better for us to sleep in our tent for a few nights and discover what we could from the outside of the house and later explore the interior. Our first and second nights passed without any excitement in the house. We took turns sitting up during the night and watching it. On the third night, during Helen's watch, she saw a light flash in the window upstairs. She immed- iately aroused the rest of us and we decided that now was our chance to begin exploring the interior. We put on our soft-soled slippers, armed our- selves with flashlights, and started. We had no difficulty in get- ting into the house as the cell- ar door was open. It was very still until we reached the sec- ond floor, then we could hear footsteps which seemed to be coming downstairs, so we hid behind some boxes and waited. The ghost went back into the attic so we followed. We man- aged to get into the room next to the attic and on to the roof, which shaded the porch down- stairs and was directly in the front of the attic window. 1 From here we got a view of, the “ghost. He was a man of about thirty-five years of age, very tall and homely with a deep scar across one cheek. He was dressed in a dark .suit and carried a flashlight. Look- ing closer we discovered that he was taking out some bricks

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HAMMOND' HIGH HAPPENINGS bordered this creek had been cut down by the beavers and used to make the dam. In cutting down the trees they gnawed them so that they would fall in the water. On my trip I saw a tree about 18 inches in diameter which had been cut down by these ani- mals. When a tree has been cut down it is then cut into short pieces and floated to the dam. A beaver house, which in shape resembles an Eskimo's igloo, is a large structure and is about eight feet in height and twenty-five feet in circum- ference. The entrances to the houses are made under water. As the streams are frozen over in winter the beaver has to pre pare food for this season. He stores poplar sticks in his home and also sinks them to the bot- tom of the creek. During my visit to this col- ony I'saw about eighteen bea- vers. They were swimming around in the water and look- ing for something to eat. When a beaver hears some- one approaching he slaps his tail, which is about ten inches long and five inches wide, up- on the water with a resound- ing whack, which warns the other beavers. If you stand perfectly still a beaver will •£' sometimes come near you. I A was fortunate enough once to get within six feet of one. -x A beaver has a fine fur that is worth from fifty to sixty'dol- lars. It is on account of their value that beavers are becom- ing extinct. Because of the scarcity of beavers laws have . been passed prohibiting the killing, of them in certain sec- tions of the country. Maurice Edgar. EDITH CAVELL Edith Cavell was a young English nurse in Brussels at the outbreak of the world war. She performed her work with amazing success until the Ger- mans took the city. Twenty thousand Germans then took up quarters within the city of Brussels. Edith Cavell, however, was allowed to stay and care for the wound- ed soldiers. Her letters give one the impression that she felt very sorry for the young Germans, who she asserted, did not wish to fight. Edith, however, aided sever- al Belgian and French troops in escaping. One day German soldiers burst into the room