Milford High School - Oak Lily and Ivy Yearbook (Milford, MA)

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10 Oak , Lily and Ivy. “Lazy” stopped in sheer amazement: a sweet girlish voice on the opposite side of the garden wall had taken up the refrain. Recovering his voice and turn¬ ing aside toward the wall, he resumed (in perfect accompaniment with the sweet¬ voiced unknown)- “The joy almost divine, When like a rock we stand the shock And tackle ’hind the line.” Both singers stopped and Lazy mounted the barrier with an agile leap,-to meet the mischievous and friendly gaze of his new neighbor,-an extremely pret¬ ty maiden of eighteen years or so. The boy’s hand involuntarily stole to his head to remove the cap which was not there, and to call forth a hearty peal of laughter from his beautiful observer. The formality of an introduction was precluded by the young lady herself. Mr. FitzHugh?” Lazy acknowledged with a bow, vaguely wondering how this “dream” had recognized him so readily. “I’m Miss O’Leary, Marie O’Leary,” volunteered the girl. “Awfully glad to make,-” began Lazy but was halted in his formal ac¬ knowledgement by an avalanche of questions and information. “Are you the Mr. Fitzhugh who played on the Weldon High team last year? Wasn’t it too bad you didn’t win the Mid-County League pennant? I’m a sopho¬ more; I’m going to enter Weldon High tomorrow. I came from Springton. I like football best of all the sports. Do they allow anyone to watch the practice?” Lazy, at last recovering his composure, nodded in the affirmative. There ensued a conversation carried on almost entirely by the girl with an occasional comment by the youth. Lazy departed on very good terms with the world in general and thorough¬ ly enchanted by his new neighbor. Practice on Tuesday was ragged and Coach Harley severely criticised the team especially the giant half-back who, abstract¬ ed by a vision in crimson and white who gesticulated wildly from the sidelines, failed miserably in his half-hearted attempts to break through the “scrub” line. Wednesday the practice was less encouraging. Thursday, the coach was in despair, for on Saturday the first game with Westerly was scheduled and rumors came thick and fast that the neighboring school had a strong line and a clever back-field. Coach Harley withdrew Lazy FitzHugh from the game and escorting him to a far corner of the field, told him exactly what he thought of him. Con¬ sidering the fact that Harley had confidently massed the most plays so that Lazy, his best and most reliable backfield man, should bear the brunt of the enemies’ attack it was not strange that such terms as quitter,” yellow” and lying down” should figure largely in the conversation. But the speech was supposed to be strictly confidential and neither man noticed the diminutive freshman who, sneaking around to hear what was being said, took in the entire call-down, and who, after practice went down town and proceeded to inform everyone he knew and some people he did not know, that FitzHugh was a quitter”-and even the coach had called him yellow” in practice.

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Oak Lily and Ivy. 9 saw their bodies side by side in a thicket; he could only surmise that they had partaken of some po isonous plant and died immediately. Here was deliverance! Darkness was approaching and he had four days to escape, for he felt sure he could reach the hill and gain the world beyond without detection. At dark he started. The night was cloudy but he managed to keep his way and in an hour or so he had once more attained the height where poor Air- ah had met his fate so long before. But he had paid dearly for it. Two years wasted! Two years utterly losfiand he had aged twenty years in that time. He stumbled on through the darkness always with that thought goading him. And Gretchen—would she have been faithful ? Surely God would not have let her be otherwise. He was raving thus when the group of white men found him. He had travelled miles in those three days and without food; but the party, when they heard his story, hastened to put a greater distance between themselves and the “ White Temple.” Hans had not told them of the jewels and they humored him in what they termed a sick man’s fancy in allowing him to keep the shoes, rotting to pieces, always with him. And he still had the shoes eight weeks later when he sailed for home and happiness. For Gretchen had been true to his memory. N---T6. 20—17, “They talk of joy in fighting Mid whistling shot and shell They rime of bliss in love’s sweet kiss A bliss which none can tell. For ages they’ve been lilting The praise of ruby wine,— All joys most rare but none compare with tacklin’ ’hind the line.” Lazy” FitzHugh sauntered toward the rear of the cottage, tossing a rather dilapidated head-guard on the porch as he passed. His ponderous voice chanted the well-known football war song in rythmic beat to the tap of his leather cleats on the board walk. His voice bore the hearty ringing cadence of well-fed, well- exercised and carefree youth,-unfatigued by the harrowing preliminary practice of the gridiron. Give me the football battle, The captain’s signal call. The rush that fills the heart with thrills The line that’s like a wall. Give me- the hard-fought scrimmage—” i

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Oak Lily and Ivy. 11 Lazy FitzHugh whistled a couple of times from his lofty seat on the wall, and immediately a little form rushed from the neighboring cottage. But Marie was petulant. Lazy wondered why. However, not until he was about to return home for supper did the bitter truth come out. Mr. FitzHugh requested that Miss O’Leary accompany him to the theatre Saturday evening and that peeved young lady refused to promise. This worried Lazy, so with characteristic blunt¬ ness, he blurted out the query, What’s the matter tonight anyway?” And out came the shocking allegation! “Hadn’t the paper publicly proclaimed him yel¬ low,’ breaking up his team’s efficiency just before an important game? And what consideration was he entitled to expect from her if this were the case?” Thunderstricken, Lazy denied the News’ assertion, promised to “show them” Saturday, and before he left he arrived at the understanding that only a victory Saturday could obtain that evening’s engagement Friday, Coach Harley surveyed his charges meditatively and dismissd them with a curt “That’s enough.’ 7 The man FitzHugh had certainly come back” strong—too strong in fact: the brilliant and daring personal attack which he made upon the scrubs was commendable, but there was absolute lack of team work. Coach Harley had his doubts. Westerley won the toss and elected to receive; the wind was with Weldon. Kelley booted the oval far back into Westerly’s territory, but it was received and carried forty yards before FitzHugh brought the runner to the ground. 54-16-3,” and a Westerley back shot around the end for ten yards. “11-47-5,” a cross-buck and the quarterback tore off thirty-five more. “Petey” Morris, Weldon’s quarter, pleaded with his line to stop them. Lazy ground his teeth; unquestionably Westerly had a good team. “47-22-8,” Lazy smashed the line and violently downed the opposing full back in whose arms the ball had been thrust. “Five yards loss,” he muttered, and, happily looking up, he found the fullback laughing in his face; the left-half was sitting on the ball behind the goal-posts. “Clever too,” commented Lazy. They lined up again, the whistle blew, Westerley kicked off, and plump in¬ to FitzHugh’s eager arms the oval dropped—and bounced out to be fallen on by a Westerly end. Lazy groaned in anguish. He didn’t believe now that he would go to that show tonight. “61-28-11,” the Westerly full-back pretended a punt, slipped the ball into the quarter’s arms instead, and he cariied it over for the second touchdown. 14-0. The first half ended with the score 17-0, Browning having dropped a goal for his team. Slowly Weldon dragged off the field. Coach Harley said not a word--which cut deeper than abuse. But Lazy had something to say. True, he had played “rotten” himself, but he’d retrieve yet. He instructed his quar¬ ter to make him work. The whistle blew. Weldon’s midget quarter made a splendid catch of the kick-off and ran it back twenty-five yards by wonderful and elusive wiggling and turning. “14-9- 62,” Lazy received the ball and smashed through for six yards with three West-