High School of Commerce - Tradesman Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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TI-IE. TRADESMAN When I regained consciousness I found myself in a small room made of stone and cement. A rank odor similar to stagnant water greeted my nostrils, and there was a damp feeling in the air. There was no light vis- ible and I suspected that I was in a sort of a dungeon or underground room. After what seemed to be four or live hours, a door suddenly opened and the room was flooded with light. I immediately made a minute ex- amination of my prison. It was about twenty feet long, ten feet wide and fifteen feet high. I was about to inspect further when the door was closed and the light blotted out. While I was lying there I began to think of the position I was in. I could conceive of no plausible reason for arousing the anger of these men, or could I recollect anybody that I had for an enemy who would capture me like this. It suddenly flashed upon me that perhaps they would try to starve me, but while these thoughts were rushing through my mind, sleep overtook me. Upon awakening, however, I found that my first fears were groundless, for on the Hoor not far away from me was a bowl of water and some vic- tuals in a dish. Soon after I had eaten the food, I again slept, and I dreamt of many weird and fantastic things. Suddenly and without warning I was rudely jerked from the ground and pulled into the air. For a moment I was nonpulsed at this maneuver, but it did not take long for me to come to my senses. I was being drawn up through the ceiling by a rope which had been fastened about my body. As I passed through the ceiling I found myself in a dimly lighted room. My first impulse was to cry out and ask them what they meant by bringing me here, but on second thought I remained silent. I could see at a glance that these men were not responsible for their actions, by the very look in their eyes and the manner in which they were dressed. But this wasn't helping me. There were seven of them, all seated at a large table facing me. They wore long black flowing robes with a skull and bones pictured on the chest. After they had looked at me for several minutes, one of them stood up and motioned for me to come for- ward. I decided it was time for me to talk and I asked why and with what right they had taken me prisoner. My captor seemed to ignore my question at first but at length he said that I was a menace to the Order of the Green Goats, and that I had violated several of their rules, Cthough he would not tell me what they werej and that after much deliberation, they had decided that I should die between midnight and seven o'clock the next morning. The method of execution was not explained and after that I was lowered back into my prison to await the worst. At about six o'clock the next morning I was again drawn up through the aperture and placed before my captors. The black bearded one an- nounced that my time had come. I was blindfolded and told to step live- ly. After walking about five minutes I came out in the air. How good it felt to breathe fresh air again. The cloth was removed from my eyes and I saw, much to my astonishment that I was in a small clearing in the woods which was surrounded on all sides by high mountains. I knew that in this god-forsaken place, no one would ever hear me shout and come to my rescue. The next objects that met my gaze were two wooden frames outlined against the sky. One, I could plainly see was a gallowsg the other, I could 11

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Tl-IE. TRADESMAN not describe, though it seemed like a pile driver. While I was wondering which one they would take me to I was led towards the latter. As I looked upon it I realized that this was the most fiendish method of execution in modern times. There was a space of about six feet between the uprights, and here was a huge wooden block with manacles on it. At the top of this device was a gigantic piece of iron, six feet long and three feet wide. This was raised and lowered by a rope which was attached to a tackle. One pull of the rope and this mass of iron would come down with crush- ing force upon the wood. I had no time for further thought, for I was seized and placed upon the block of wood and tied. Une of these men stood with his hand on the rope and the rest looked on. I could no longer thinkg cold beads of perspira- tion stood upon my face and forehead waiting for that pull on the rope, that would blot out my life, but it never came. Suddenly a great shout smote the air and-the sound of musketry was heard, mingled with cries of pain. My executioner gave a wild scream, tottered and fell at my side. The next moment a figure rushed up to me and cut the thongs that bound me. As I arose a peculiar sight met my gaze. All my captors were stretched out on the ground, killed or wounded. The state militia, who had been looking for these men had come upon their stronghold at this opportune moment for me. MIXED HATS By james J. Gilmartin There were few sales on Monday and Mr. Smith, head of the millinery department of a certain department store, walked in furious. If you girls don't sell something today, he said, you won't be working here much longer. The girls said they were sorry and would do better. What they thought was, If people don't want to buy hats, we can't make them. A distinguished-looking gentleman escorted a young lady into the mil- linery department with the evident intention of buying a hat. The salesgirl, thinking of what Mr. Smith said, began commending the hats on the counter. The customer tried on nearly all the hats in sight, while the poor salesgirl tried to make a sale. Thinking she would try once more she picked up a small hat. I don't know where this one came from or where it was made, she said to her- self, 'but I'll have to make a sale. She told the customer everything she could think of, that it came from Paris, was the latest style outg and other things. The customer looked pleased and the salesgirl thought she had made a sale at last. Finally the customer picked up the hat and said, 'fAfter what you say about my hat, I don't think I need a new one. The salesgirl could think of no reply. l3