Norway High School - Caduceus Yearbook (Norway, ME)

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14 THE CADUCEUS spend the week end at his magnificent es- tate in northern New York. I did not leave until Friday night, as l had some work to do on the manuscript of my latest book. He had his private car and chauffeur waiting for me at the near- est railroad station when I got off the next morning. It was a ten-mile drive from the station to his estate, which situated in a mountainous district. I The Professor, himself, welcomed me when I arrived. I was shown to a room which I al ways occupied when I was visiting him. Quickly changing my clothes, I spent the morning visiting and examining the various laboratories and surrounding grounds belonging to the Professor. At dinner, which was attended only by the Professor and I, his wife and daughters being away, he told me that he had invited me up for the week-end because he wished to show me a new machine which he had in- vented. lie led me through several rooms filled with apparatus and chemicals of all sorts to another room, the door of which was locked and bolted. He unlocked the door, but, as soon as we had entered, he locked it again. Three sides and the top of this room were completely covered with apparatus. The other wall contained a large screen com- posed of some dark, metallic substance. Sev- eral benches and part of the fioor were cov- ered with very intricate and delicate ma- ehinery. After a moment, the Professor said to me, This room contains the 'Barton Anti- Time Machine'. I had previously noticed that there were two seats in the room placed side by side and giving anyone in them a clear view of the screen. Between the two seats was a metallic slab completely covered with dials and small push-buttons. The Professor told me to sit down in one of these seats. In a moment, he sat down in the other and started explaining the dials and machine to me. Ile said that he had discovered a kind of ray which when used with the proper apparatus would eliminate Time and Dis- tance. The apparatus was controlled by the dials between us. Ile handed me a helmet and told me that because of the noise it was necessary to wear sound-proof helmets. Then he spun the dials and the screen commenced to glo.v. ln a moment it became clear, and large dinosaurs, hrontosaurs and other reptiles were seen moving about in a steaming swamp of the past. He again spun the dials and this time the screen reproduced a scene in the London of today. In a moment it shifted to San Francisco at the present time. Ilowever, this was soon changed to an- other scene which appeared very slowly and though unfamiliar, it seemed to be a scene from the distant future. There were no living creatures in sight and no vegetation except some messes. The land looked cold and lifeless, although the ruins of many large buildings could be seen. Again the dials twirled and no scene ap- peared for some time. When it did appear. it seemed to be a scene from the planet Jupiter as several moons whirled through the atmosphere. Life on the planet, how- ever, seemed to be extinct. After a time this also faded and, as no more appeared, I removed my helmet and found the Professor had removed his, also. I looked at my watch and found that it was almost seven o'clock and that we had spent the entire afternoon in the laboratory. The Professor and I then had supper and after talking over our experience he and I went to bed feeling very tired. We must have fallen into a kind of trance for during the night there was a terrific thunder storm and we were not even awak- ened.

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, l' fi? , , s . 2 i in ff' 3 5 I ' X -I l : ll---Axsx is or 1 X4 NN V ..- 'I ., - xv H yy ig xl 6 . . 'I .f V X 1 - 1 L..f.-gr. ,,:---f1 3-q-3- gg ,-'J-, -- lli e- ' s - is -. I I Life In My House On Fleet Street e-as written by Samuel Johnson Uh, what a dog s life I lead when stay- ing at my house on Fleet Street. Ican real- ly call it my home no longer for the occu- pants have d1'iven me from the dreadful place. Mrs XVilliams, whom I placed at the head of the house, is blind a11d deaf and about as useful as a boat in a desert. She is constantly complaining about the conditi- ons and food there, and never gives me a moment's rest from the time I cross the threshold until I start house. Mi-s. llesmoulins and her daughter are flying from tl1e not invalids or cripples, but they might just as well be as far as l'm concerned. They are just pests. 'tlliss Carmichael, generally called Pol- ly, is a queer woman. She always wants her o ' n way and is therefore as much of a nuisance as the other humbugs. The two male animals are Dr. Levett, an old, disagreeable, quack doctor, and Frank, my negro servant. I can stand them longer than the others, but they are no angels. t l'his completes my menagerie, and, thank heavens, there are no more. It is harder to try to pacify them than it is to nail jelly to the wall. 'tOccasionally I drop in for a quiet, peaceful evening but war starts as soon as they hear my footsteps approaching. They swaifm around me like bees in a hive, telling me this a11d that, and each one anticipating that I will agree with him. Ulf it were not for the kind and sympa- thetic 'l'hrales, I believe I should make my abode in the park and call that my destina- tion. Hlt is better than a comedy to watch them eat a 111eal at the table. Their motto is, tl1'irst come, first servedf Poor, old Mrs. VVilliams, her blindness is certainly a handicap. She often reaches for the bread and sticks her hand into the soup, or spreads her bread with mustard, thinking that it is jam. Old Doc Levett often helps her, but the others don't seem to mind whether she eats or not as long as their stomachs are satisfied. t'lsn't this a disgusting life? But, after all, that 's the only enjoyment they obtain. so why should I interfere? Do vn deep in my heart, I really sympathize with my me- nagerie and I would not turn them out of my home for all the money in the world. -G. E. P., y30. The Barton Anti-Time Machine Several weeks ago, I received a letter from my friend, Professor Barton, a prom- inent scientist and inventor, inviting me to

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THE CADUCEUS 15 The next morning we found that the light- ning had struck and entirely destroyed the laboratory containing the new machine. I have visited the Professor since, but so far he has been unsuccessful in attempting to build another machine like the one de- stroyed. -Francis Hutchins, '31, That Locoed Horse from the C. B. Did you ever hear tell of a locoed horse? NYell,'now, it is one of the worst kinds of horsetiesh a man ever rode. I'm going to tell you about a locoed horse that was owned by the C. B. Ranch. She was the prettiest little horse you ever laid eyes on, and she could run the legs otf any horse in the dis- trict, when she felt like it. But she had a fault which no one knew but Ring the Rell Brown, owner of the C. B. Ranch- and his gang. I was running horses for the outit at the ranch joining the C. B. As I was at the station the day that 'tRing the Bellw and his gang were shipping a carload of horses, Ring the Bellw came up and asked me whether I knew anything about the country around those parts and did I know xx here the water holes were up north. Yeah, said I, Ifm acquainted from the Pumpkin Buttes clear to the Black Thunder Hills. f'Just what I want, answered Ring the Bell. Could I get you to chauffeur us up to Bear Creek? Several horses of ours are up in that section somewhere, and I think during this dry spell we will find them near Bear Creek. Ring the Bell offered me forty bucks for the trip and any of his horses to ride. 'Well, now, I began to sit up and take noticeat this, for if therels anything I like to do, it 's fork a high spirited bronc. At once I decided I'd go. I had heard a lot about that brown mare from the C. B., but as I never had a chance to ride her, I thought, Here I go! The next morning we headed for the north country. I was riding the C. B. mare and she was going along at a good clip. IVe were well started when she de- cided that she did not want to head for the north country, so she struck off in the oppo- site direction. I couldnlt hold her and tin- ally she stopped after a run of several miles. As she refused to move, I got off and started to lead her. Still she balked, so I went to a clump of bushes nearby to get a stick. I started to use it on her, but before I struck a blow, she was off again to the north without me. Now, if I didn 't have a good time walking in the hot sun with riding boots! I finally found the mare, quietly feeding beside a small stream three miles away. She allowed me to catch her and swing into the saddle. Nothing unusual happened un- til I got almost back to the rest of the gang. Then she began to gallop and went right on past the others. As I went by, the boys shouted for me to stop, they had something to tell me. They were all smiling, but they changed their looks xx hen that locoed horse started for a cliff a little distant. There was a sheer drop of about one hundred feet and that mare was travelling! Well, I tried to turn her toward a tree on the edge of the cliff, that was all I could do. The limbs hung low, and as the mare went under them, I jumped. I failed to grasp the largest branch, but it struck me in the chest. The next thing I knew the boys were bending over me and applying cold water by the gallon. They told me tl1e horse had gone over the cliff and that she never moved after she struck the rocks be- low. It was just as well for she was plum locoedf' If she had lived, she might have killed someone. The boys said they were sorry for not telling me about the mare, but they thought I could look out for myself.