Higgins Classical Institute - Scroll Yearbook (Charleston, ME)

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26 H. C'. I.SC'ROLL THE DISASTER. OF WI-II'1'E'S BRIDGE At Sebago Lake, Wh1te's Bridge extends across the stretch of water which connects Jordan Bay with the Basin. The bridge is an enormous, aluminum-colored, steel struc- ture which serves as a meeting place for all the young people in the community. Some of the most daring and adventurous of the crowd dive from the top of the bridge into the fast-moving waters forty feet below. It was a hot summer afternoon and a crowd of us were diving off the bridge and swimming in the lake. Some of us were try- ing new dives while others were showing off their skills. Amidst the gayety and laughter a cry for help was heard. Not much attention was paid to the plea because that is a practical joke among the lake crowd. The joke ceased to be funny as we saw Jim Churchile, our pal, sink below the surface of the water. Clayton Churchile, Jim's brother dove in after him and pulled him to the surface. O. K. brother, please stop fooling and swim ashore. After Clayton had swum ashore he looked back and Jim had disappeared. Everyone screamed for help as three of us volunteered to dive for him. I was nervous as I heard the panic-stricken crowd, but I plunged in- to the inky black waters. As I kept going downward I could feel the mc-tion of the water swaying my body back and forth. Then I saw his body standing upright on the 1:-:ittom of the lake, his eyes, like 9, crazy person's in a trance. I reached for his out- nung arm but to my despair I was about three feet above him. My lungs needed air desperately and I raced to the surface leav- ing his bo-dy behind me. As I reached the surface and gasped for air I shouted Down here! Another diver disappeared below the surface. Half an hour passed before Clayton fi- nally succeeded in bringing his brother to the surface. Jim's unconscious form was laid on a blanket on the beach and artificial respira- tion was immediately begun. Jim's discolored form, his twisted face and sunken sto-mach was a scene unbearable to the eye, and es- pecially to his intimate friends. After they had worked on him continu- ously for two hours without success, Jim's limp body was carried away, never to re- turn to his friends nor to the lake he loved so well. Go-lleen .Snow '45 UCK IS WHERE YOU FIND IT The four of us, Bud, Shine, Stanley and myself were seated around the fire telling of the different fish that we had caught dur- ing the day. The sky was clear, and it seemed as though we were a million miles from civilization. Off to the right of us we could hear the rush of the water as it made its way up over the rocks that lay in its path. In another h-our the moon would be up and then the trees would be clearly il- luminated by its rays. Suddenly a red squirrel began to chirp its warning cry off danger. And then with a rustle of leaves, a man stepped into the ring of light given off by our fire. He was dressed in the garb of a woodsman. His high leather bc-3-ts were hand made and on his head was a battered old felt hat. Hanging on his hip was a 45-colt revolver. Walking over to our fire, he asked if he could sit and talk with us until the moon came up so he could continue upon his way. We invited him to have some supper, but he said that he had eaten earlier in the evening. But as he t-ook his pack from his back, he took a piece of bread and a huge slice of meat, and began to eat them. Suddenly he began to talk, and as he spoke, we sensed a feeling of fear and un- easiness creeping over us. I-le told us that he had often spent nights in the woods, and that he had traveled from one range of lakes to ano-ther, sometimes going for months without seeing a single person. His eyes, I noticed them for the first time, had a wild, restless look, and he would often gaze at one of us and then look in back of him, as if he thought sc-mec-ne were behind him. Suddenly he picked up his pack, and without a word, vanished into the thick woods. When we had finished our fishing trip, wc packed our things and made our way out to the village where we had left our car. Walking into the general store to buy some tc-bacco for my pipe, I happened to mention our meeting with the strange man. The storekeeper looked up and said, The man that you young fellows saw was Old Man Mose. He has been wandering around in these woods for close to twenty years. May- be you didn't know it, but you boys got off darned lucky, for the last man who saw him is just around the corner of the church. Getting into the car, we passed by the church on our way back home and just around the corner was a small, but ade- quate, graveyard. , R. Watson '45 ALONE It was a bleak, stormy winter day, the day before Christmas, as To-mmy Matthews, a bo-y of ten, looked wistfully out of the window. He had just received a telephone call from his mother who told him that she and his dad would not be able to get home

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H.C.I.SC ROLL 25 door as they were instructed tc- by their hosts. As one door was opened, a blood-curdling scream vibrated throughout the hc-use. A skeleton collapsed from its place in the closet. Terror filled Henry and his compan- ions. T3-o scared to do or say anything, the boys just stood there and shook. Urged c-n by the ghosts after they were able to move, the boys went down into the cellar. It was a damp, musty cellar with un- familiar black forms lurking in the dark- ness. Mice hurried back to their homes, in- dignant at being disturbed. Peeking around a barrel were those same glowing sp:-ts Henry had seen upstairs. Look, he shouted, I saw those upstairs and now they are down here. What are they? Everyone looked in that direction. Then into the radius of the candlelight noncha- lantly walked a common house cat. Scared of a cat, are you? chided Henry's classmates who had been just as frightened as he. At this incident one of the ghosts became angry, If you are afraid of a cat, then we don't want you here. Get out before we lcse our patience. A' chorus of voices all talking at once agreed. Yes, we don't want you here. Get out! Be quick about it! Hurriedly the boys scampered up over the cellar stairs and out the front door, full speed ahead. After gc-ing a short distance the boys gathered together, recovered their courage and decided to go back to the house. Creeping up to the back door and peek- ing through the keyhole, they saw only a small light, but they heard voice.s. One voice said, I guess we gave those freshmen a good scare. Anc-ther added, 'R1ey probably won't come back here again. Freshmen initiation is all over now, put in another voice. This was enough for the freshmen -c-n the other side of the door, so they pushed the door open: and there sat the ghosts eating doughnuts! Jean Allen '46 NEVER AGAIN I walked up the rickety stairs, my heart in my mouth, and -knocked at the door. Stealthy steps on the other side of the d-cor warned me that the door might presently be opened. I stepped quickly back. In what had I become involved? The door cautiously opened and a, pom- pous little man stood before me. An eerie light from within shed a ghastly PHHO1' Cn his face. His eyes were bloodshot and pro- truded fearsomely. Ah, he was speaking! You wanted something, ma'am? he in- quired. I winced as his grating vo-ice penetrated my senses. Why-er-yes. I tried to be firm and de- cided. Well, then be quick about it! I have other things to do. After clearing my throat with great care, I said, I want-I mean, a friend wants you to do a little favor for her. Come in, come in, said the spider to the fly. He was suavely genial now. Please sit down. Do you have the -er- package with yc-u 7 No, Well, I mean, its downstairs. My heart slowed to the gentle, methodical beat of the triphammer. How many are there? he questioned in- terestedly. Four, I answered, feeling like a, can- spiratc-r. Four, he snorted indignantly. Get out! Get out! How dare you waste my time and risk my safety! I never do less than eight at a time! Please, I remonstrated, please listen to me. I-my friend thought you would make an exception, with sumcient reimbursement, of course. He brightened perceptibly. Well, he pulled his gcatee thoughtfully, under that cgndition, certainly. Jfnl decided to end this conversation. A guilty, hunted conscience was stabbing me. Will you send a man after it? I inquired abruptly. Yes. He now seemed as anxious to end this conversation as I. Leave it at the foot of the stairs. He moved ponderously to the door and I fc-llowed suit. He made no move to open lt. Then, it dawned on me. I opened my pock- etbook, preparatory to meeting his mone- tary demands. He scrutinized me closely. Twelve, he said and braced himself. Twelve! I repeated indignantly. Twelve, Three for each one done. Weakly gasping, I paid him and descended the stairs, still gasping. Twelve dollars for laundering four shirts! It was preposterous! I made several mental resolves. I would never again patronize a black market laundry-even under the assumed role of friend. I would never again pay such outrageous prices. I would do my own laundry after this. I would never, never re- peat this experience! g,,' J. B. '46

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I-I.C.I.SC ROLL 27 ii 4 - that night because of the snow-blocked roads. They had gone twenty miles away that morning to see his sick aunt and planned to return in the. afternoon. She tcld him that he might stay with his friend, Red Dillow, that night if he wished. Even Tommy's faithful collle, Laddy, seemed to realize the terrible predicament they were in. Tommy, though, gave up the idea of stay- ing with his friend because he wanted to win R,ed's approval more than anything else in the world, except to get the jacknife and compass that he wanted for Christmas. It had been Tommy's ambition ever since the secret club, of which Red was president, had been formed, to win Red's approval that he might also become a member. He was still pondering over his ambition when Red came across the yard. Tommy re- lated his small tale to Red who listened very attentively. Red invited him to stay over at his house that night but Tommy re- fused. They talked and had supper. Red told a strange st-:ry about the superstiti-ons of the former owners of the house. The queer old people declared that on stormy nights they saw lights in the woods, heard terrified screams, and saw white-robed figures rise frc-m the earth. Tommy listened in horror- strlcken silence while cold chills ran up and down his back. As Red started to leave, he invited Tommy -over again. When Tommy refused, because he was determined now, more than ever, to prove he was brave, Red reminded him that it was a very stormy night. After Red's departure, a dreadful quiet settled over the house, but he wou1dn't give in and call his friend. He decorated the Christmas tree but even with this diversion he couldn't erase from his mind Red's story. It must have been eleven cfclock when he ascended the stairs with Laddy close behind him. Finally he summoned enough courage to get into bed and turn off the light. A fearful hour had passed when he thought he heard a noise outside the win- dow. It grew louder and louder until it be- came a steady thump, thump, thump! He dared not move! His body grew rigid! His hands became as cold as ice! But what did he do? In desperation he sprang from his bed, dashed tc- the window, and flung open the shutter! There a twig from a tree by the window was being dashed against the house by the storm. He was so relieved that he flopped into bed and fell into a deep slum- ber. 'I'he next mcrning he was aroused by his mother telling him to come downstairs and open his Christmas presents. He uttered a cry of joy as he opened a, package contain- ing a jacknife and a compass. About two hours later, Red came over to find out what he got for Christmas. Tommy was just about the happiest boy in the world as he heard the words, I know the gan will be surprised when they find out that we have a new member in our club. Joan Johnson '47 'THE SCREAM One summer if llved with my aunt and uncle in the country in a large, old colonial building. There was a. rumor that the house had been -used by many, long forgotten people, whose ghosts came back at regular intervals to haunt the place. Now I don't believe there are ghosts and, of course, I thought, all that the people said was foolish. There was one night, however. that I do not like to remember and when I do, cold chills run up and down my spine. This particular night my aunt and uncle had gone to town leaving me alone in the house. I picked up one of those exciting books which make one's flesh crawl. Well, after reading half the book, I kept getting more and more uneasy at every little noise I heard. I looked, this way and that, around me but as I saw nothing and which I fervently hoped I would not, I re- sumed my reading. aI was reading one of the most exciting parts of the story--something like this- The man suddenly raised his arm, slashed down, and stabbed the old woman to death. Just as I finished that sentence I heard the most blood curdling scream that one could imagine. Even in the movies one never hears anything like that. The scream started in a low pitch, quickly ascending the scale until it nearly broke one's eardrurns. When it reached its highest note it broke off as abruptly as it had begun and silence reigned. I sat up straight as a ram rod and held my breath. I was petrified. I could feel the short hairs on the back of my neck suddenly come to attention and I wished I were so-me place else. After that awful scream I read on more but at first tried to whistlekas though that would keep my spirits up. I was a failure at whistling, let me tell you. Every time that I puckered up my lips to whistle, I would hear a noise: and my breath would just wheeze out of my mouth. I turned on the radio hoping that a nice musical program would make me feel bet- ter. Every station to which I turned seemed to have a murder mystery so I shut the radio off. In desperation I finally resolved to hunt