Higgins Classical Institute - Scroll Yearbook (Charleston, ME)

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28 H,C.I.SC'ROLL up this inhuman creature which could make such a scream. I hated, however, to leave that room. Should I wait in the rc-om until my aunt and uncle returned. No, I resolved. I won't be a sissy be- cause of the wind or a cat or -. I finally crept to the door, opened it and turned on the lights in my uncle's den. I went to a corner and selected one of his numerous rifles. I quickly loaded the gun with some bullets I found on a shelf and bravely started out to iind the source of the noise. I searched the rooms that I thought the noise did not come from, at first. This gave me more courage to explore the last room which was directly over the one in which I had been reading. I walked down the hall and stopped be- fore the door to the room. I started to open it but a sudden thought came to me. What if it is a ghost, I reasoned, one of the former owners? Of course, as I said before, I dion't believe in ghosts, but to be on the safe side I walked back down the hall. At last I got up from where I was sitting cn the stairs, and walked back to the door. I put my hand on the knob two -:-r three times but it didn't do any good to do that. So finally, musterlng every ounce of courage, I threw open the door-and found the room-empty! A. Ainero '46 MURDER, IN TI-IE NIGHT . It is midnight-a little foggy, perhaps, at a haunted mansion on a deserted island, far out in a bay. In this mansion there are three sets of winding stairs that creak, and floors that sink because of rotted timbers. There is also a small set of stairs leading to the tower. Down to the cellar we go. In this cellar there are two dark, damp rooms. The floor is of mud except for a block of cement in the middle of the room with the stairs leading up to the first floor. What was hid- den beneath this block of cement no one had been able to discc-ver. Out of this secret vault our heroine emerges. Unlike most heroines, she is not streamlined but somewhat plump. From the cellar she goes directly to the stairs leading to the first floor. She goes very cautiously as thcugh fearing to cause a disturbance, as she would in a deserted mansion. When she reaches the Hrst floor, she starts through the kitchen, then evidently changing her mind, she starts up the rickety stairs to the sec:nd floor. For no reason at all, she goes through all the rooms as though looking for someone or something. At last she decides to go to the third iioor where she stops be- cause there is no place else to go, except to the tower. She starts on this last flight of stairs. In the meantime the villain appears on the scene. He approaches through a win- dzfw. He is small with long arms and legs. He enters the cellar and not iinding what he is looking for, starts searching through the mansion as our heroine did. First, he gces through all the rooms on the first floor and the same on the second and third floors. Then he comes to the small set of stairs leading to the tower. There he hesi- tates, undecided whether to go up or not. He seems to be looking for the first visitor whom we left in the tower, but finally he goes up to the top and into the tower rc-om. There i.s a slight swishing noise, then silence. The spider has killed the ily. Dorothy Higgins '48 THE SCARE OF MY LIFE It was in the mountains of Kentucky that I got the worst scare of my life. I was traveling as a shoe salesman in mid-Sep- tember, which is the rainy season, and the roads were so muddy I had to travel by horseback. I stopped at a small inn about five o'clock one afternoon and had a light supper. After feeding and watering Sally, my black mare, I set out for Hadyville, a small town ten miles from the inn. When I had been travel- ing for a half hour, darkness set in and a terrific thunder-shower came up. The thunder crashed and banged and the lightning streaked through the pitch black- ness on both sides cf the trail. A large tree came crashing across the trail about six feet in front -cf us and it was then that I began to get a little shaky. I suddenly realized that we had wandered off the nar- row trail into the deep Woods. Knowing that Sally had a better sense of our whereabouts than I, I dropped the reins and let her travel where she pleased. A clearing soon came into view and Sally trotted towards a. set of old tumble-down buildings. I was leading Sally to the shed when a hunch-backed, snake-eyed moun- taineer came c-ut, carrying a lantern and a double-barreled shotgun, which he kept aimed at me until I explained, I am very wet and cold. Do you suppose there is any possible way for you to put my horse and me up for the night? He grunted and motioned for me to fol- low him. The inside of the cabin was just asdirty as the outside. The windows looked as though they had not been washed since the cabin was built. Even under these con- ditisns, I was content to stay overnight, for the lightning was still Dashing and the rain beat against the windows with terrific force.

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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

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H. C. I. SC' ROLL 29 4 I Having partaken of a meal of corn pone and greens, I asked, Have you a spare bed where I might sleep tonight? There is an old cot in the attic, he gruffly replied. Then, taking his lantern he led me through a trap door in the ceiling to the attic. Oh, you seem to have another visitor, I said, as I noticed someone in a cot by the trap-door. Yes, but he is dead. He died of pneu- m-:fnia last night. Here is your cot over here. With this he left the attic and closed the trapdoor behind him. In the eerie glow of my candle, I stosped over and examined the dead man. To my great horror I discovered that he had been murdered, for there was a large lump on his head. The cold sweat stood out on my forehead as I sat and th-ought what might happen to me, if I should go to sleep. Then I noticed a small window in the other end cf the attic and without waste of time I crawled through this window to the roof. After dropping to the ground, I hurried t-3' the shed where Sally was patiently waiting. She seemed to sense the danger we were in and proceeded to carry me away at breakneck speed. When we were a safe distance frcm the cabin, I suddenly realized that I had just had the worst scare of my life. 'Ihe old mountaineer apparently discovered my es- cape, fo-r, when I returned the next morn- ing with the sheriff, he was gone and I have never seen him since. Harold Hanson '45 A HORRIBLE NIGHT My friend and I were passing the night in an old, deserted mansion out in the country because our car had two punctured tires and we had no way of contacting a garage in the city. While we were preparing for the first night, stamping feet were heard in the attic. Being greatly alarmed by these noises, we were afraid to do much ex- ploring. After we had listened to this dis- turbance a while, we decided to Hip a coin to see whc- would lead the way to the attic. As luck would have it, I lost. As I was about to climb the stairway, fl knife struck the floor a yard away from me. There was a note attached which read: I am warning you. Do not step through the attic do:r. Having no means of travel ex- cept by Shank's mare , we had to stay that night. I could not sleep much, want to. I lay awake and ways to catch the ghosts , were, but doing is better than saying, I in fact, I didn't thought of mmv or whatever they thought. Finally morning arrived. We started for the brook a mile away to catch s:me trout for breakfast. I was so upset that I thought there were creatures behind every tree and rock. An hour afterwards, when we had caught our limit, we started back to the house. Af- ter getting lost several times, we reached the house late in the afternoon. We knew we would have to spend the night there again. We ate supper and soon went to bed only to be awakened by a tremendous racket which brought us out of bed. This is the last straw, I said, listening to a board being sawed and ripped from place. We had decided to get rid of whoever it was or at least make an attempt. Again we flipped the coin and again ,I lost. Reaching f-:-r a brokeng piece of stair- railing, I bounded up the stairs. Mustering my every ounce of courage, I threw open the door, found the room empty, a window open, and a ladder -outside. Charles Priest '45 LIZZIE'S TRIP Lizzie was going to take a trip. In all her b:rned days Lizzie had never been c-ut of her own yard. Now she was going to see what was beyond that clump of trees and who resided over the top of the hill. 1'm sure that everyone experiences at one tgme or another, that same feeling of unrest which urges us to explore and to satisfy that intense longing for a change of scene. 'Ihat is what Lizzie felt and she was plan- ing a trip. Then she would be satisfied to return h-:-me and to stay there forever more. Finally she was ready and pulling up her stakes, Lizzie started out. As she slowly ambled past the shed and barn, through the fence to the road shc curiously looked all around her. Suddenly she heard a dog barking. Look- ing behind her she saw the neighbor's hound running after her. Instantly she began to run, but that was difficult for one so large. and the dog was s-:ion nipping at her heels in a very uncomfortable manner. Lizzie was becoming very panicky when the dog abruptly stopped annoying her, having tired of the sport. She sighed and continued on her way. Lizzie soon found that beyond the trees flowed a rippling brook and beyond that a dark wr:-od Was to be seen. She explored contentedly for some time. Then she decided to see what was beyond the hill in the other direction. CPoor Lizzie, if she had -only re- frained frc-m venturing further.l As she went up the road a great black