Lancaster High School - Mirage Yearbook (Lancaster, OH)

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hold duties naturally fell. The other worked in the woods and fields and did all the man’s work cf the two. At iast came the news of the great rebellion, and the men and boys responded to the call with magnificent enthusiasm, and undaunted valor. Eager and ready to sacrifice their lives for freedom, their imagination took fire and carried them unhesitatingly to the front. And so the older of the two mountain boys, fired by the spirit of the war, left the little shack in the clearing, the towering ranges, and the deep, quiet valley, to join the Continental Army. Early one morning, with a farewell and God speed,” from his mother, he swung off along the dewy trail, which led over the far foot-hills to the east. Far above, on the crest of the mountains, whither he had fled at day-break, stood his brother, with clinch- hands and convulsive features, watching the tall frame until it became a mere speck in the distance and al last disappeared over the summit o? the sun-bathed ridge. His stronger brother had gone to save the liberty of his country-men, while he, the weakling had been forced to remain at home, to care for his mother, and perform the irksome duties of the house and field. Not that he did not sincerely love the dear invalid, but how, the love of country rises above everything else in the hearts and minds of the youth. Bitterly he cursed liis frail body and the fate that kept him tied at home. For a long time, he struggled with the hate and envy cf his brother, and resentment of his mothers helplessness, which strove to drown the feeble protestations of his loving nature. At last however, he gained control of himself, and went back to the cabin, deter- mined not to show his grief to his mother. But mother eyes are sharp and keen and although she said nothing to him about it she knew how wretched and miserable he was. Days and weeks passed, and as the news of the Continental defeat or victory came back to the mountains, thru some occasional straggler, the boy’s heart was mutinous and his humiliation complete. Then too, the work in the patch, to which he was un- accustomed, added to the increasing care cf he invalid was almost too great for his weak constitution; he grew pale and haggard and at night, tossed, sleeplessly in his loft, too tired to rest. He formed the habit of climbing at the close cf day to the top of the mountain, and there, as the setting sun illumined the bare rocks and forest-covered slopes, with its last red glow, he would gaze unseoingly across the foot-hills, toward the east, in mind and spirit engaging in the war, which racked the entire country. His patient mother never questioned his absence, but as on his return, she saw his light- ed features and restless manner, she knew, that in his imagination, he had been fighting for the Great Cause. But the shock of her elder son’s leaving, and the worry concerning her younger, proved too great a strain for the little mother, and daily she grew weaker and weaker. Alarmed at this, the boy. for a time, forgot himself entirely in his efforts to restore her fast-going vitality. But to no avail. At last one evening, he realized that he would soon be alone. Grief-stricken, he knelt by the old bed ar.d buried his head in the coverlet. The mother laid her hand upon the shaggy head, and spoke scarcely above a whisper: “Don’t take on so, honey. I’ve been lots of trouble for you, and you’ve been a good boy to me. 1 know how you wanted to go to the war, and I’ve played at nights that I'd be taken so you could go, for I’ve been no good all these years. And now—that I am leaving you can follow Jim. and fight like a man.” “Oh, mother, mother,” sobbed the boy. “I can’t bear to lose you. I didn't mean you to see how I was feeling about the war. I couldn’t help it.” And a paroxysm of grief shook his slight body. (10)

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she exclaimed, “I’d just bet the last custard pie in this shop that that's from “Pinkey.” At this, Mrs. Smith smiled, and “Pinkey” felt a cold shiver go up his spinal column. Mrs. Smith sat down on a stool and fanned herself, while lizzie stuck a stick of tutti frutti gum in her mouth, and began to chew vigorously. ‘‘What d’ye want me to do first?” she asked of Itfrs. Smith. “Well, you better wash them prune dishes,” said the Madam, “their gettin’ kinda dirty.” Lizzie accordingly lifted the condemned prune dishes from the shelf, and as she did so a dust stained letter fluttered from the shelf to the feet of Mrs. Smith, who picked it up wcnderinglv. “Why, here’s a letter for me,” she exclaimed. “1 wonder how it got up there.” She drew out the contents and as she read the first page a look of amazement spread over her face, but as she turned to the second she suddenly hurst out laughing. “Ha! Ha! Ha!” she cried. “Them kids thought they hid play a joke on me, and I never got it till today, Ha! Ha! Ha!” and she left the room convulsed with laughter. “Pir.key” crept out from behind the counter quaking with fear. There was something terribly wrong: what did she mean by “those kids”? And what did she mean by “joke?” Nervously he picked the letter from the floor and looked at the first page; it was just the same as when he had seen it before. Then he turned to the second page. “0, cruel Fate! There, before his very eyes, on that accursed second page, in inch high letters stood two words— APP.TL FOOL! “Pinkey” gazed dazedly in front of him, then sat down weakly on the stool. “My goo’ness.” he gasped. The End. A ©rue Alitor On one side of the ocean a tyranical monarch believing firmly in the “divine right” of kings: on the other side a liberty loving people, with the hatred of despotism and the love of freedom instilled deeply within them: and between them was being carried on a great and mighty struggle, the Revolutionary War. Day after day, and month after month, the Colonists were losing or winning battles, but each time gaining strength and courage, while the red-coats were gradually losing their confidence and easy assurance, but not their determination to win. Far back in the mountains, overlooking a narrow valley, was a small cabin, surround- ed by tall trees. Within lived a mother and her two sons. They were very poor, like most mountaineers, but managed to raise enough corn and vegetables on their small hill patch upon which to live. The father had been dead a number of years, but bravely and unweanly, the woman had toiled to keep and raise her sons. She had succeeded, but in the struggle her rugged health had failed and she became an invalid, devotedly, if at times unskillfully cared for by the two boys. The elder at this time, was nineteen years old, stalwart and strong. The younger was seventeen, a slight delicate youth, on whom the care of the mother and the house- (9)

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Suddenly, he raised his head. His mother’s lips were moving, but no sound came. He bent close to her face and heard the words: “I didn’t blame you, Abe—tell Jim—” Here she ceased, a slight tremor ran over her body, a smile illumined the gaunt face as she passed from night into day. Until day break, the boy sat as in a stupor. He could scarcely realize that the wasted form on the bed no longer needed his care, that he was alone and free to go to war. Finally, he roused himself, and went to get the help of the nearest neighbor over the ridge. The next day. they buried her beside his father, and the following morning with his head bared, the boy stood beside the fresh-covered grave, for the last time before leav- ing the mountains. Hot tears blurred his vision, shutting out the two mounds of earth, the lonely cabin, and beyond, far beneath, the narrow ravine, flanked on either side by the rugged ranges. She had been so much to him; far more than he had ever realized before, and now, that she was gone, he yearned with all his heart to see her again. But in a single night he had become a man, and a man’s duty lay before him. Shouldering his musket, he slowly descended the slope, passed along the edge of the tumbling stream, and on over the same trail his brother had trod several months earlier. Day after day, footsore and weary, he climbed ridges ar.d crossed deep valleys, until at length he reached the foot-hills and soon gained the level country. He had really been ill when he started from the strain of his mother’s death, and the work, which had been so heavy for him. But now. after miles of tramping, sleeping at night on the wet or cold ground, and with insuificient food, begged from the scanty mountain homes, his will-power alone kept him on his stumbling feet, the strength almost gone from liis gaunt body. His eyes were sunk deep beneath his brows, and his cheeks burned with a feverish fire. He had become possessed with the one desire—to reach General Washington—of whom he had heard as he went along; to confess to him the circumstances, which had kept him from joining the army; to throw himself completely at the great man’s mercy. For to the delirious mind of the boy. he became fixed in the belief, that he had committed some great fault that the stain could never be wiped from his honor. Aching in every muscle, mile by mile, he slowly dragged himselt along, often com- pelled to lie for half a day by the roadside, until he regained strength. At last one day, when he felt that he could go no farther, he learned, from a farmer that the Continental Army was camping only several miles beyond, and that General Washington was, of course, in command. With a last effort, he pulled himself to- gether and started for the end of the long journey. An hour later, several soldiers, in ragged uniform, standing at the edge of the camp, were startled by the sudden appearance of what first seemed to be the apparition of a boy. Then as he stumbled forward, they saw his face, ghastly white, his eyes hollow and star- ring, his torn homespun hanging loosely from his thin shoulders. As he saw them, his parched lips formed the words, “General Washington,” and he fell unconscious at their feet. Pittingly, the men lifted his slight weight in their arms and carried him to an old building, which was serving as a temporary hospital. As they passed thru the midst of the camp, the soldiers, curious, pressed around them and the news spread from mouth to mouth. Some thot that he might have an important message for the General, which he had risked his life to deliver. As his ap-pearance was being discussed to a little group lying on the ground, a tall young man sprang to his feet and cried: “Where is he? I want to see him!” “They took him to that old house over there,” answered one of his companions. (13)