House in the Pines High School - Log Yearbook (Norton, MA)

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Now again he approached the fork, his tasks finally com pleted Fe had provided well for his young son, he had become rich and respected Now, for the last time he paddled homeward to the house he had built so long ago for his young bride H had built it in the full flush of youth and promise, he left it now in the pall of age and sickness It was best he should leave it, for it now held nothing but memories His son was married, and held a responsible posi tion in a large city firm Fe, himself, was ill and feeble, the strain of his hard, woodsman s life finally leaving its mark It took all his strength to navigate this gentle river, yet he knew in his heart he could not have left without paddling it just this once more He tried to put the thought of leaving behind him, but it would not go He had been to town and settled his business, now he was returning home to meet his son and his daughter in law They would go to live in a nice little suburb, where he could live as a well to do man should, and where it would be properly cared for No more would he endanger his life in the rough and The old scout s heart cried out, and the eagle joined in his cry The man watched him as he circled, and wondered if perhaps this eagle was the same mountain king that had so often greeted him on those river journeys of the past If it was, he too must be old, but he would never leave the forest With the inherent instinct of the wild, he would know when his time came, and would fly even deeper into the wilderness that he might meet it alone The scout looked up, startled, he was at the mouth of the fork, and suddenly, without any warning, the call came again It was silly, it was crazy, he was old, infirm, he couldn t possibly but this time there was no turning back Stronger and stronger came the pull, and suddenly the old man knew, as the eagle would sometime know, as all wild things know Because he knew, the fear and indecislon which had filled his life in the past few, sickly years melted away The small canoe hesitated only an instant, then the current caught lt and carried it swiftl along The man at the stern was no longer the broken scout of yesterday He was young, and strong, moving -not toward death, but toward life' The eagle screamed again overhead, and the wild free notes stirred the canoe, so straight, There was spring in his guided the canoe up the the eternal vastness of the very soul of the man who sat there in so still, on this morning in early spring heart, and laughter on his lips as ne 'Road to the Forgotten Land,n up into the mountains Shirley Ann Fay, '48 Y 0 A 0 . e I A I O C vigorous forest, that was for younger men. I O 0 I . . . w O Q I 0

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THE EAGLE SCREAMED The canoe shot swiftly down the stream, the old scout at the stern guiding it with all the skill that he had had thirty years before although most of his former strength was lacking. with sure even strokes he sent his slim craft farther and farther into the beckoning green forest as if in a last, desperate attempt to lose the civilization which was pressing its unwelcome presence on all the wilderness he so loved Only the forest, wild and primitive, could understand what was in the old man's heart only the forest, which had reared him, tried him, taught him the unforgettable lessons of life and death That forest now stood open before him, fierce and free, as it had ever been, although civilization was already crowding at its borders As the ancient scout paddled, his eyes took in and read the messages of the wild as they had done so often in the days of yore when his life, and those of his friends, depended on his knowledge and alertness They took in, too, the fragrant beauty of the morn ing, filled with all the bitter sweetness of early spring The dew lay like tear drops on tree and.flower alike, while, laughing l nlight sparkled over all It was as if CD18 early spring morn ing, where the death of the old year mingled so intimately with the birth of the new, held the very secret of life itself with all its varied joys and sorrows An eagle circled in the air, and his screams drifted down to the lone man in the fragile boat The white head moved, looking upward, and as the old eyes fell upon the circling bird, other scenes suddenly flashed into view First was a young man, paddling strongly and vigorously down this very river, but he was not alone A lovely and laughing girl sat in the bow, listening while her husband proudly told her of their new home out here in the wilderness, of the river and its many legends She looked wlth lnterest at the oranch OI the river Forgotten Landn he said it was call d, because no one had ever gone all the way up But he would It had a certain hold on him, that river with its promise of vast and unknown territory Some day, when he had gotten everything settled in his new home, he was going up it all the way up and as he paddled on, an eagle screamed over head Next came a picture of an older man, who moved slowly and sadly, returning from a final goodbye to the lovely and laughing girl who had been his wife He passed almost unseeingly through the woods he loved so well, but as he neared the fork branching off into the nRoad to the Forgotten Landn he felt again the call, pulling him toward the welcoming green of the heavy forested moun tains Up until now he had never had time to answer that summons, and now he had a young son to provide for, but some day the eagle or the mountain screamed overhead he pointed out to her a little fur-ther on. The Road to the

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LIGHTS Out of the inky black darkness came the bird like plane blinking its emerald and ruby liphts to signal any pasl rby in that high, misty vicinity Its wings were brushed by the wisring touch of white, feathery flakes, floating softly downward still it cut through the darkened soace and hummed its man made energy was exerted I was there I knew the thrill of soaring near the heavens playing hide and seek with the nomad clouds I had seen the golden rays of the sun crowning the amethyst mountains and snow crested hills I had seen the silver moon beams over the saonhire blue water To me, all nature w as a multicolored robe of jewel , srln np at God's touch Yet that night it was qulte diff rent from befor , for the sipht I beheld filled me with great exultatlon and caused my heart to beat in irreaular time Below me and around for mlles, stretched endle s streams of twinkling diamonds laid over the barren.andfTdpjd land to keen it warm blanket held my gaze This sight was mine I owned every jevel I was as a miser floating over and counting my riches The bird flew closer, almost touching the blanket and wlth each step nearer my eyes seemed to fill Qoon we were Dart of that ight, those riches I no longer ownec that ff wealth for now I was a rart of lt, and perhaps, bove, som one felt he was my master, too '3 ' ' I X Torothy Qteiner '47 JF' EFA f If-gg rx w k X gtk' 1 - 1 1' , . re I Q L , I I-J , y -.. as . , M 0 0 J L ' i. , ' - - L ' Q A L. 1 3 - ' L .- a . as ., s f' 1 ' . . . ' Q- 2 -A O ' ' ss L. I was oblivious to surroundiny ob'ects- onl this s arklin 9 - K. - L J c , . .V 'v e , , .Q - .- ' 9 . s O s ' s Q V g , 1 , ' ll . 4 - Lf G A C Ks I In - 4 ' M ' - x ,.-1 I qv ' ,I ' 1 I a 4 L-Q r md' 5 5 S ' ff 3, N . g . ,