Holbrook High School - Echo Yearbook (Holbrook, MA)

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THE ECHO 17 “I am the second sentinel of the Devil,” said he. “What is your mission here in Hell?” Noting the seemingly friendly tone in the deep, gruff voice, Hamel and Josh both braced up. “We come to capture the Devil’s Ruby,” said Josh in a voice full of confidence. The Chinaman stooped toward them and said in a low voice, “I help those who con- spire against the Devil.” Then with his big, burly hands he clumsily untied the knots in the ropes that held the two friends. With a bound Hamel and Josh were on their feet and ready to go. Even as they turned to continue on their way, the Chinaman let out a low, gut- teral grunt, and fell dead. Again the weird, whining voice screamed. “The second sentinel of the Devil is dead,” it said. “He died because he was a traitor.” And again the cold, clammy cur- rent of air swept down the passage. Only for a moment did the two remain still; then they proceeded with hurried steps. After walking a short distance, the two friends came to a city. I t was Sedah, the capital of Hades, and the home of the Devil. Disguising themselves in some old clothes that they found outside the gates, the two entered the city which contained only buildings of the blackest marble with splashes of red here and there for decora- tions. After a short search, Hamel and Josh found the palace and entered very cautiously. As they entered the Palace Boom, both men suppressed an exclamation of surprise; there before them was the Devil, the monster that couldn’t be killed, and beside him was the ruby, placed in an ebony box, the cover of which was up. The two youths left the palace very perplexed. How were they going to get the jewel? Upon talking to some people, Hamel and Josh learned that when anybody in the city died, the cover of the ruby box was closed and a window opened directly above it in the roof. This decided the plan by which the two young men could capture the ruby. Josh, having borrowed a long piece of strong cord, tied it to the handle of his dagger and hid it in his coat, while Hamel sharpened his dagger on the corner of a building. The time had come. As Josh sped off toward the Palace, Hamel seized a young man by the throat, dragged him between two build- ings and killed him. Then he ran out in the street and shouted the news of the sud- den death. As soon as the news reached the palace, the cover of the ebony box was shut, and a window above it was opened. Josh, who had gained the roof of the pal- ace, seeing the window open, took the dag- ger from his coat and with a little flip of his wrist sent it speeding downward. It was a perfect throw; the sharp blade stuck solidly in the cover of the box, and by a few quick pulls on the attached cord, Josh had the Devil’s Ruby in his possession. It was truly a miracle that Hamel and Josh escaped from the city unnoticed, and with running steps the two fairly flew up the dark passage. It wasn’t long, however, before their flight was discovered, and with a roar the Devil was after them. With an untiring pace the red monster followed them, while they, almost exhausted from the uphill run, crawled into a salt cave for temporary safety; how near they were to the mouth of Devil’s Hole they did not know. Almost ps soon as they had reached a safe place in the cave, their pursuer had discovered them. He stopped and crouched low, a deep, grumbling growl coming from his throat. Slowly he approached; always prowling. He had reached the mouth of the cave. He kept coming. He was almost to them. With arms upraised he was about to pounce on the two terrorized men when a beam of sunlight, coming from above, fell across his face. As if struck a mortal blow, the Devil fell to the ground and started rolling down the long, d rk passage. With ,Tr eary, but fast steps Hamel and Josh fol- lo’ T ’ed the guiding beam of sunlight to the mouth of Devil’s Hole. No crowds were there to welcome them. w hen they looked for the town of Bokenho, they found only the ruins of some old build- ings. They looked at each other. Both had lo’gg, white beards and the features of old men. Ah! they knew; they had been in HaJ s for many, many years. They had succeeded so far. But how were they go- inn- to get the ruby back to Heaven? The two old men needed a rest and both ! y down to sleep. No sooner had they s f rted to slumber than two beautiful, pure white angels, floating on silver wings, came from the heavens to greet them. “Hamel,” said Josh to his friend, “we are wanted in Heaven.” Then, assisted by the two fairies from Heaven, the two old men went up to the bine skies. There, after a council of the ods, Hamel and Josh were made saints nn.d given charge of the recovered Ruby of the Heavens. Now, each evening, when the world has b°en good for one day, Hamel and Josh flash the ruby before the sun and make the gorgeous red sunset. That, my friends, is the legend of the red sunset. Basil Martin, ’29. Frederick: Basil, what’s the best way to rawe corn beef and cabbage? Basil: With a knife and fork.

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16 THE ECHO THE LEGEND OF THE RED SUNSET Long, long ago, in a little island in the Mediterranean Sea, a most startling thing happened. At sunrise one morning a ter- rible booming noise was heard around the world, and in the center of the island a big hole was torn in the earth. Up through that dark abyss came the Devil, a big red monster riding in a chariot that was drawn by thirteen ugly witches. Upward toward heaven he rode, and as he neared the blue sky, dark clouds began to gather. Soon he reached the heavens and immediately a thunder storm commenced; the gods were fighting the Devil and his witches! Four days that battle lasted. Lightning, the strokes of the gods, lighted Mother Earth; and thunder, the mighty roar of the Devil, could be heard around the universe. At last the earthly brute was beaten, and he returned swiftly to the mountain-top, carrying with him a huge red object, the Ruby of the Heavens. For a moment he stopped on the lofty peak and shouted his defiance to the gods; then, with a swish of his tail, he retreated to his home in the middle of the earth. Hundreds of years passed during which the island became known as the Isle of the Devil’s Hole, and the precious stone as the Devil’s Ruby. Many young men had en- tered that dark cavity in quest of the jewel, but none of them had returned. Now, how- ever, there was great excitement in the lit- tle town of Bokenho, a community that had grown up on the island. Hamel and Josh, two of the most prominent young men of the town, were prepared to capture the Devil’s Ruby. Amid the cheers of a mob, the two, armed only with two stout daggers each, entered the dark passage. For many hours they walked, always down, down, down, until at last they saw before th em two gleaming green specks; the eyes of some monster! What could they do? Only one passage, a monster before them, and behind them, a holy vow to cap- ture the precious stone or die in the at- tempt. A fight to death was inevitable, and they approached the silent living obstruc- tion slowly. Suddenly the green specks disappeared, and an instant later the two friends were carried to the floor of the pas- sage under a tremendous, fleshy, crushing bulk. Even as they landed, Hamel and Josh had drawn their daggers and were inflict- ing deathly wounds on the green-eyed brute. The monster, for a moment, as- tonished by the sudden attack, released his crushing pressure, and in that instant Hamel had freed himself and was on top of his adversary, a huge deformed ape. With one mighty swing of his powerful aim, Hamel buried his dagger in the back of the beast. It was the last blow; with a muffled grunt the big body toppled to one side of the passage. What hanpened then almost killed the friends by fright. A wierd, whining voice screamed above them. “The first sentinel of the Devil is dead. He died fighting,” it said. The voice had come from nowhere, and it was followed by a cold, clammy current of air that swept down Devil’s Hole. For a moment the two young men seemed frozen, but as the horrible echo died out, both men regained their self-control, and after a short consultation, Hamel and Josh decided to continue immediately. They plodded on, slowly now, not because of fear but because they were tired. Sev- eral hours of steady, fast walking, a hard fight, and a nerve-racking scare such as they had just experienced was enough to make any normal person tired. They had walked but a short distance when they de- cided to sit down and rest. Selecting a broad flat rock which protruded from the side of the passage, the two young men sat down with a quiet little sigh. Almost im- mediately the two friends fell into a deep sleep. After what seemed to them a very short time, they awoke with a start and regarding but slightly the bonds that held them, each let out a cry of horror at what they saw. Before them was an immense, ugly Chinaman with sallow skin, long black hair, and very primitive features.

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18 THE ECHO “HE AIN’T GOT NO TAIL!” A little “yaller” dog slunk warily down the street. Out of a near by alley crept two dirty little urchins carrying sticks over ther shoulders. “Yah! Yah! He aint got r.o tail,” they chanted in unison, “lil’ yaller dog ain’t got no tail, Yah! Yah!” The lit- tle dog turned tail (although he had none) ?”d fed, his only thought to hide from those shrieking little demons. The mongrel skirted several ash barrels, squirmed through a hole in an old wooden fence, raced through several back lots, un- der another fence, and thus came out on the same street from which he had been driven by the urchins. “He ain’t got no tail” went swiftly up the dirty street and then stopped suddenly, sniffing at the air. Then still more suddenly he bounded up the stairs end into a dilapidated apartment house. Presently a large funnel of smoke poured from a second story window and one could hear the muffled screams of children and a distant “woof, woof” of a dog. Just as the fire engines appeared on the scene, a little yellow dog with a badly singed face and coat bounded out of the door carrying a small, live bundle in his teeth. This he dropped at the feet of the spectators and then galloped back into the now furiously blazing house. Twice he went into the furnace-like building, and twice he came out carrying a small child. “Catch him. Don’t let him go again,” was the cry as the little yellow dog started back into the flaming structure, and some kind person laid a detaining hand on the pup’s neck. Soon the firemen had the blaze under control, and all the spectators were prais- ing the little yaller dog for his brave res- cue. The pup went home with good will in his heart for all mankind. A few days later the little “yaller” pup, as he was going proudly down the street, was seen by the two small ragged children who carried sticks in their hands “Yah! Yah! He ain’t got no tail at all! Yah,” was the taunt that rang out as the boys caught sight of the little yellow dog. But little, “Ain’t got no tail,” continued down the street, unheedful of the stinging taunts and safe in the importance of being the town hero. Penelope Hutchinson, ’30. Teacher: Johnny, put pasturize in a sen- tence. Johnny: A wad of paper flew past your eyes. A SUMNER JAY WALKER IN HEAVEN A Sumnerite had died and was now at the r ates of his celestial abode. The golden gates beckoned with a gleaming brightness rnd far beyond he caught a glimpse of the pearly streets. At the gates he met St. Peter. That benevolent gentleman smiled warmly and welcomed the newcomer. He received the Sumnerite’s pass-port and pro- ceeded to peruse it. “Well, my dear young man,” said St. Peter as he finished reading, “this pass- port speaks highly of you, but one thing is wrong. Your principal and teachers of vour high school state that when attending lhat abode of learning you were a chronic ' ay-walker. What have you to say for your- self?” “I can only say that I am sorry and will try to be better in the future,” replied the cor trembling Sumnerite. “Once a jay-walker, always a jay- walker,” growled St. Peter, “but we will place you on probation. Jay-walking is prohibited in our city because of its °rowded conditions. You may enter, but ” (, member if you disobey our rules, after ” ee weeks you will be punished.” The gates were flung open and the Sum- rerite entered. He stared amazed at the si erht which he beheld. The street resem- bled any busy down town street. Cars drove swiftly by, people rushed along, and everything was a bustle and hurry as in the world below. The Sumnerite wended his way along the street until he came to the house where he was to stay. The landlady showed him his room, and he sat down to ponder on the perplexity of things. The Sumnerite had spent two profitable weeks of his probation very well. He had secured a job and was conducting himself very well. His probation would soon be over and then he could live happily in this wonderful place. Not that he was unhappy. Oh, no. But he had to be so careful that his r»prves were becoming frayed. Soon he would have conquered this habit of jay- walking and then all would be serene. Oh, how he wished that he had obeyed the traf- fic rules of Sumner High. On this particular morning when the Sumnerite’s mind was dwelling on the traffic question he was walking along the main nearly street when suddenly he saw in the middle of the road a package of Wrigley’s Spearmint gum. Now, back in Sumner this had been the Sumnerite’s fa- vorite kind of jaw exercise. Many had been the times that the baskets of Sumner had held these specimens of Wrigley. Ever since his advent in this wonderful place the Sumnerite had longingly yearned for some of Wrigley’s masterpieces and now, before