North High School - Polar Bear Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

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THE O ' BRIAN ' S THANKSGIVING DINNER. Catherine Clock. OMEHOW, no one ever seemed to think much of the O ' Brians. But it was not so strange, perhaps, for they were the poorest family in the village and, as was perfectly natural, made themselves as insignificant as possible. The town folks regarded them with a sort of in- different tolerance, all except the Elwood Twins, who were always searching for some- thing unusual to do. They had suddenly developed a prodig- ious interest in the dirty little Irish children, who greatly appreciated their frequent visits, and even more so, the bags of candy and other goodies that usually accompanied them. Therefore, the Monday before Thanksgiving found the twins sitting before the old-fashioned fire-place, cracking nuts, munching apples and planning a magnificent Thanks- giving diimer for ' ' those poor little O ' Brian children. ' ' Which shall it be, pumpkin or mince pie? asked Mildred. ' ' Both, ' urged Madge. ' ' We ' ll get mother to bake some for us. She ' d have to bake some for the family, anyhow. If Harriet would only contribute her share, but we ' ve asked her twice and she positively refused. I told her we only needed one dollar more but she snapped back, ' Dollars don ' t grow on trees, and you won ' t get any from me to feed those stupid, worthless O ' Brians. ' While Madge and Mildred were thus confiding in each other, Harriet was reading in the Town Library. Tiring of her book, she strolled down to the basement, where, in one of her previous researches, she had discov- ered a room in which many interesting stuffed birds were kept. For almost an hour the girl busied herself with queer birds from every land. Then, noticing that darkness was falling, she turned hastily to go. 87

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the dictionary, so that when it was pushed back, the bell was rung. This important discovery was reported to Miss Jackson and Mr. Sargeant, who at once decided that some clever student, who had access to the building on Saturday for gymnasium work had done the mischief. They decided to see who would next use the dictionary. The first person to use the dictionary, after their de- cision to wait for the transgressor, was Jack Patten. Upon the completion of his task. Jack closed the book and care- fully pushed it back to its accustomed place. The ringing of the bell at this time, caused much disturbance among the pupils. The teacher in charge of the library at once re- ported the matter to Miss Jackson, who requested Jack to meet her in the office at two-thirty that afternoon. Upon his arrival. Jack was at once taken to the library, and shown the button which was causing all of the trouble. When accused of being the inventor of the clever piece of workmanship, he earnestly denied being guilty. His pro- tests were vain, for had he not been seen using the diction- ary? He, Jack Patten, member of the Senior class, was ex- pelled, and his high school days were at an end. Finding these reflections poor company, he started down town, hoping against hope that something would happen to show his accusers that he was innocent. On the way, he overtook Bob Merrill whose greeting was, Hello, Jack, hear you ' ve been invited to cease from your high school labors for a spell. ' ' ' ' I guess I can ' t deny it, said Jack, but it seems to me that you ' re mighty concerned about my affairs. How about it. Bob? Well, Jack, I was kid enough to fix up that wire deal, and I at first thought it was fun to see the commotion I stirred up. But, I hope. Jack, that I am man enough to take my own punishment. I ' m on my way now to see Miss Jackson and Mr. Sargeant. 86

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She had not noticed the janitor, when he looked in at five o ' clock and decided no one was in the room, for at that time Harriet w as completely absorbed in some birds that she had studied about in school. The old man had locked the door and gone away, leaving Harriet a prisoner in one of the most unusued parts of the building. The rush of feeling that swept over her when she en- deavored to open the door can better be imagined than de- scribed. After the first moment of despair, Harriet cried out for help as loudly as she could, but her thin voice was shut up in a dark room, and besides, she reasoned on second thought, it was far past five o ' clock, the library ' s closing time. The poor girl sat down on one of the high-backed old chairs and tried to collect her thoughts. She remembered reading a story of a man, who, being shut up by accident in a safe vault, passed through such terrors before his release that he believed he had spent two days and nights in the place when he had really been there only a few hours. Harriet resolved to try and think of pleasant things, perhaps they would distract her mind from the horrible reality. First she thought of home, but that involved the twins, her only sisters. Harriet never realized before how much she loved those mischievous, boyish little sisters. Why, oh why, had she so rudely refused their offer to have a share in their little charity work! How dear home was to her then, when she seemed so far from it! This thought made her feel that she must find some way out if possible. The only windows were so high that she could not possibly reach them. Perhaps she could with the help of a chair! Harriet found that by standing on tip-toe in the chair she could just see out of one of the windows. She pressed her nose against the pane and looked all about her. Across the street was the grocery store, beyond, two or 88