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

Page 22 text:

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

Page 21 text:

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

Page 23 text:

three farmhouses and, away in the distance the black, black trees. Harriet looked up the other way, where the business part of town was situated. She thought she heard a faint whistle. Just then the full moon broke through a bank of clouds and the girl discerned a figure. The nearer the figure came the more plainly could she distinguish a jaunty Irish air, and— surely that was ragged young Felix O ' Brian ! Felix Oil Folix! she called, her voice tense with anxiety The whistle stopped. Out of the darkness came a sur- prised voice, ' ' Sure and Til be comin ' if ye ' d be kind enough to tell me where ye be. Fm here, Felix, shut in the library basement. It ' s Harriet Elwood. Huh! grunted Felix, and in a moment he had found the window and was within a foot of Harriet. Got another chair? he asked in a very matter-of-fact voice. Here, Til pull ye up. With one bang of his first, Felix brokeT;he window pane into a thousand pieces, then proceeded to pull his neighbor out of her prison. What a relief it was to stand outside and breathe the fresh autumn air! In a lew words Harriet explained the odd situation and poured out her thanks to the boy she had hitherto scorned and despised. Fll never be able to pay you back for your service, she ended with a grateful sigh. I ' ll not be askin ' nothin ' , the boy returned. His Irish humor was very amusing and Harriet relaxing from the strain of the last hour or two, laughed till she almost cried. Of course, on reaching home the story had to be re- peated but Harriet allowed herself very little sympathy be- fore she dropped her pocketbook into the astonished Mil- dred ' s lap and said verj penitently, I ' ll take it all back, Milly, what I said about the O ' Brian children. I ' ve saved up just enough to buy my new kodak but please take it and use it for my share of the O ' Brians ' Thanksgiving dinner. ' 89