Norway High School - Caduceus Yearbook (Norway, ME)

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24 THE CAIJUCEUS ming me around as though I were made of They pushed me into an old tray sort of thing that rolled along and first thing I knew I fell into a long, white cage with a cover on it. It was all dark and gloomy, and, oh, so close !-not a bit of air anywhere. Later I found out the thing was called a 'box', and, believe me, you never want to let yourself get caged up i11 a horrid 'box'. t'Then one day someone took the cover off and I could breathe at last. Wllen I looked around, I saw many other pens be- side me and people passing by, looking at us. This was preferable to the old box, but it was noisy and confused, and I didn 't get a bite to eat! People would look me over and handle me, saying, 'Oh, that old black thing-not that! There's a much nicer one over here.' Finally a little boy with a dirty hat, grimy hands, and ragged shirt, came and grabbed me up. Soon I was stuffed into a, little cave with a mass of nails and string. I found this cave was called a 'pocket'. After a few days, he stuck my head into a bottle and opened my mouth wide. I drank all I wanted. Gee, it seemed good to get my stomach filled up! I was so hap- py I thought I'd be kind to this chap. I worked like a Trojan all day long, but he was hateful to me. He crammed my cap on over my ears so tight I could hardly hear. Then he jammed me down into a little corn- er of that pocket cave and piled papers and cloths over me till I was nearly stiiied. He didn 't feed me any more or even give me a bath-just kept me there in the dark all the time. iron ! One day he swapped me for an old jacknife, with only half a blade! I never was so mortitied in all my life as when he set me beside that knife and said, 'It's a bargain'. My new owner is even more cruel. He slams me down every 11igl1t after Iive been banged around and worked hard all day. My teeth are dull 11ow, and, as he won 't get me any new ones, I just scratch, scratch, scratch, and he wonders why! He only feeds me half ink-puts water in it to make it last longer. Oh my poor stomach! Every day I go over a great big bridge with him and some day I'm just going to jump out of his pocket into the water be- low and that will be the end of me as far as he 's concerned ! -C. E. Longley, '31. The Great Detective Jimmie, the Great Detective, sighed as hc looked at his false whiskers. If Aunt Jane only would go homeli' His ideal was Sherlock Holmes, and he wished to imitate him, but how could he with his aunt there? Aunt Jane was a tall, thin woman. She wore spectacles on the tip of her nose, which made her look still worse. She was a very superstitious old lady, fussy, and hard to get along with. She always hoped to get some message from her dead hus- band. Her unexpected appearance had saved the Great Detective from a scolding, how- ever. He had been sent to the bank to de- posit the money just received on his 10th birthday. On the way, he had met another hopeful detective. Come on over to my house and I'll show you something awfully important in your business, Jimmie,H said Johnny. This proved to be a skeleton. Of course Jimmie bought it. His parents forgot to scold him in the excitement at Aunt Jane 's arrival. But everyone, including Jimmie, always referred to the skeleton with horror. They called it the H Thing. Aunt Jane had a habit of prolonging her visits indefinitely. She always cautioned Jimmie about wearing his rubbers, and not eating too much. She even stopped his

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THE CADUCEUS 23 spades and various other implements, went out and excavated a few skeletons. Then l went home, CI live nearbyj, and got some strong wire, strung it from the top of the steeple, and anchored it to the base of a gravestone. We then dug up a few more skeletons for a stage setting, and I must say we were scared, because it was the first time we'd ever robbed graves! l stood one old bag of bones behind a door to keep it open. It was very pictur- esque. Next I sent Bones for two five cent cigars, to be put into the mouths of two of the skeletons. We also secured some can- dles, and an old fog horn fused on the arkj , an alarm clock and a violin, also some sheets and a bottle of red ink. We sent word for Billy's brother, Simeon, to come. VVe nominated him property man. As soon as Bones returned, I dressed him up in the sheets and poured some of the red ink over him. I melted wax on his head and stuck a lighted candle on it. Bill struggled some at this last, but if I do say it, I can handle William Erastus Bones any day. Well, we were soon prepared for a first nighter. It became dark, and weird, eerie noises were heard all over the tumbledown place. We all felt a little shivery, I think. Soon four people came in. In the even- ing the church was very often used as a lovers' retreat. Soon two more individuals came in. I thought this audience large enough for a beginning, so I motioned to Simeon to start the fog horn. Those of the female species started screaming. Simeon shut it of Then he began to make a few discords on the violin, not loud, you know, but like the soft, mournful wailing of a spirit. As I could see that our uninvited guests were growing uneasy, I dared not delay tl1e main attraction. I lighted a candle and hurled it across the room. The folks thought it was Tinker Bell come back to lil' e. Over the church organ, I had already sawed a hole through the roof, to which Bill and I now mounted. I tied a cord around his waist and let him down. He began to moan. VVith the alarm clock under one of the sheets, he gave a line imitation of a death watch. Bill flapped his arms and out ran the audience. I then climbed to the Steeple and let out a whoop. Of course everyone ,turned to look. I slipped one of the skeletons down the wire. It surely looked uncanny, with that five cent cigar burning. tliater Bill Hnished it.j How those lovers hur- ried to leave l Of course this created a great sensation and at last reached the ears of old Johnny himself. He notified the press that he and a few other fogies would pay us a visit. Well, the great night arrived and every- thing went as before, until I let Bill down through the hole- in the roof. One of the old dutfers with Johnson, a fellow by the name of Nelson, thought it was the spirit of his first wife. He ran out to embrace the ghost, and too late I tried to pull Bones back. Bones dropped and fell into Nelson 's arms. Of course we were now discovered and our pictures and history oeupied the front pages of all the morning papers. But I realized my ambition-Cummings hired me and at present I am playing the lead in The Arrival of Kitty. i -Carroll, '30. The Complaint of a Fountain Pen I'm not very old-only seven months, but Iim ready to go to the world beyond right now. Maybe I haven 't had a hectic time! If not, no one ever did! VVhen I first opened my eyes, I knew my life was to be one of hardships, for the first thing I felt was five tough fingers slam-

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THE CADUCEUS 25 mother from giving him money for candy, as it would make his teeth decay. Poor J immie! No wonder he longed for her de- parture. His dad spoke of Au11t Jane to his mother one evening. YVell, said Jimmie, H If Dad and Moth- er don't want her, that settles it. She isn't going to stay any longer ! H Then. he thought of all his detective meth- ods. His false whiskers wouldn't do, be- cause she had see11 them, and it would take more than that to scare her away. Maybe he could scare her with something spooky! VVell, he'd try, anyway. About midnight, that night, he crawled onto the porch roof right under her window. He was dragging tl1e heavy skeleton behind him. He climbed up on a post near the porch, and dangled the t'Thing. There was a scream, then silence. A trembling voice spoke. Will, is that you? Jimmie answered in a gruff voice, Who are you? Then to himself, Gee, she thinks it is Uncle William! Her voice came to him, shrill and scared. t'Will, what do you want'!!' Gruffly, Jane, I want you to go home. This is no place for you. He withdrew the skeleton, and ran to his room. He was becoming rather scared him- self. The next morning Aunt Jane surprised the family. She was leaving them on the next train. She said she had received an urgent message . Mother and Dad looked at the Great De- tective. He had on his false whiskers and his police badge, and was absorbed in a de- tective magazine. If they had any idea of what had happened the night before, they gave no sign, for Aunt Janels departure was welcomed by all. -Alice Lal-France, '31, He Learned to Like Baseball The coach of the Dalton baseball team looked rather gloomy. IIis star player of last year, James VVatson by name, had graduated. The infield as a result suffered, Watson having played first base. Young Bob Grant came to Dalton College with his brother's fame still being talked of. Young Bob was tall and much slimmer of stature than his brother 5 he was fine look- ing, although not handsome. His head was covered with a mop of curly black hair, he had black eyes, and his features were regu- larly formed. Everyone at college waited in expectation when the time of baseball practice should arrive, for all expected that Bob would turn out to be the man to fill his brother 's shoes. The first day of practice arrived and, to the college's surprise, Bob was not on the field. Everyone had taken it for granted that Bob would follow his brother's foot- steps-and his father's. The college boys believed Bob would go out for practice in the next few days at least, but, as he did not appear, his friends questioned him. He an- swered them all in the same way. saying he did not intend to play baseball. The coach urged Bob to make the team, but Bob said that he preferred not to play. After a few days, Bob noticed that his friends did not gather in his room as they always had and he also detected that they did not seem so friendly as before. The first game of the year was played with the local high school team. Everyone expected the game would be a runaway for Dalton. Instead, the college barely won by the score of nine to seven. Four of the high -school's runs were due to errors made by the first baseman. The coach made a final exhortation to Bob to get into a uniform. Bob refused. Dalton played the next two games with two small colleges, and managed to win both games by a margin of one run.