Norway High School - Caduceus Yearbook (Norway, ME)

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22 THE CADUCEUS touch my keys. The stool was silent for a moment, and then said, Well, I don't know that I should feel so sad, because they can 't touch me as they touch your keys. Did you ever notice how careful they are, not to place their feet on my legs, and scratch me? The piano and stool stood in the parlor of the little bungalow many years, and on the stool at that piano Jeanette and Royce learned to become real musicians. They both play in orchestras, but even to this day, they are thrilled when they can come home, sit on the old stool, and play their old piano. . -Marjorie Judkins, '32. Who Was He? It was noon, and the day was hot, when a. loud knock came at Aunt Nancy 's back kitchen-door. A rather tall man, dressed in a coarse brown hemlock suit, looked up inquiringly at our old aunt. He carried his body erect and held his head straight up. There was an axe in his left hand. On his feet were tough cow-hide boots, which encased the bottom of his heavy trousers. He wore a faded blue shirt, open at the neck. His face was one of noble character, with high cheek-bones and a sloping forehead. His head was topped with tousled black hair. which left his temples bare, but grew in shocks at his neck and ears. He had a stiff, square mouth and jaw with well-set, firm teeth. His eyes were of a blue tinge, deep-set in his kindly face. His hearing was erect, but rather awk- ward, he was about six feet tall. His hands, though well-formed, were large, and calloused with toil. Aunt Nancy gave us a perfect descrip- tion of the man. Who was he? . -J. F. Wiles, '32 The Boar Hunt King Aegeus had not made a sacrifice to Artemis, the huntress, at her feast. fShe was a goddess especially worshipped in the locality of Calydon in Greecej VVithin a week after the feast, a terrible wild boar was reported ravaging the country side, destroying the corn stacked there, and at- tacking thie people. The creature appeared now here and now there with a suddenness that seemed supernatural. The people be- lieve this to be caused by the slighting of Artemis. King Aegeus organized a party to hunt the boar. This morning the hunting party of about thirty men are assembled in a designated place. King Aegeus's young son, Theseus, after much. begging, is allowed to accom- pany them. The clear blue sky with the green fields, in contrast with the darker for- ests, form a sublimely beautiful picture. Now let us turn to the hunting party. They are dressed in a chiton-a sort of robe reaching a little below the knee, fastening in the front like a shirt, also, they wear boots and wide brimmed hats. They are girdled tightly, and there are knives in their belts. They also carry spears and bows and arrows. The party proceeds with the yelping dogs running ahead. They march on and on through green fields, now climbing summits of high hills, sometimes crossing the cold, rushing mountain streams and stumbling through rocky gulleys and passes. Also the party passes into valleys where sheer rock rises majestically to tow- ering heights. One might easily imagine himself in the stronghold of the gods. In contrast to this picture, we see sheep and cattle grazing on peaceful hillsides. At last we are coming to the country of the dreaded boar. The dogs pick up the scent. Now all is confusion as the men madly try to keep pace with the dogs. The- seus. quickly being left behind in the mad

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THE CADUCEUS 21 a thousand pieces on the cold floor. The phantom was creeping, crawling, shrieking toward him all the while, and with a start, Reginald realized that he must get back out of that place, but he found the wall without a door. All the pressure he exert- ed was in vain. As he stood pushing and trembling, a creaking was heard, a rustling, and a claw- ing. Turning about, he faced a ghost-a real ghost-not that of the story books. It was only the skeleton of a man bent and deformed, surrounded by a veiling of white- ness. No sheet or cloth, but the vague form of a man enveloped in a jelly-like, misty, softness of a substance whiter than snow. Reginald did not move, he did not breathe, he even stopped living for a few minutes as that horrible apparition ad- vanced with the rapidity and smootlmess of lightning. It was upon him-not hammer- ing him, but enveloping and overcoming him with its wicked supernatural power. Gradually Reginald felt the sting of this thing and there in that dark, unknown pas- sage this man felt his life line grow weak, and, under tl1c influence of this thing, it snapped. He departed to the shades of the world below. -Charlotte Longley, '31, The Two Faithful Servants In a secluded corner of the Jones fam- ily's attic, stood an old piano and piano stool. The Joneses had discarded it be- cause they had purchased a new electric radio, illld the room did not allow space for the old friend, the piano. After standing in the attic about two months, the piano and stool were sick of their new home. One day the piano said to the stool, This is a horrible place, isnlt it, my little friend? Why did Mr. Jones ever have us moved way up here? Wllell we were down in the parlor, Mandy, the hired maid, kept us shining and polished, all of the time. Wasn't it fun for us when the J oneses were' away and she would sneak into the parlor, sit down in front of me, and make faces in my polished surface? How funny she did look with those little curly pigtails that colored mammies often havef' Yes, said tl1e stool, But it wasn't so much fun for me wl1e11 Mrs. Jones accom- panied herself 011 the piano, while she was singing soprano. Did you hear what she said to Mr. Jones one Tuesday night? I fairly felt my legs creaking wl1e11 I heard her tell him, 'Dearest, I was weighed today, and I weigh only two hundred pounds nowl' 5 IIark,,' whispered the pia11o. I hear someone coming. I hope it isn't Mrs. Jones. If she heard what you said, she certainly would feel insulted. There was silence in the attic. .Suddenly a voice remarked, They are right over here. ' Soon the keyboard cover was lifted, and all the dusty keys were revealed. Mr. Jones had brought a man to see the old piano and stool. He was poor, but wanted his two children, Jeanette and Royce, to have some sort of musical education. You may have them both for twenty- iive dollars, was Mr. Jones 's offer. The man 's heart jumped with joy. IIe answered, I will send a truck im- mediately, as he paid the money. In about an l1our the piano and stool were on their way to Middle Street. They came to an attractive little bungalow and were moved inside. Royce and Jeanette proved to be very pretty, w1tl1 fiaxen curls and bright blue eyes. How happy they seemed! HK ilk if ik If ll! if ll? Another day, about one year afterwards, the piano said to the stool, How happy we are, here with this nice family, and how I enjoy having little Jeanette and Royce

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THE CADUCEUS 23 rush, is picked up and carried on by one of the men. At last we reach the spot where tl1e dogs have the boar cornered, he is concealed in a swampy spot in a clump of reeds. The thick reeds of the swamp make it im- possible to see more than a few feet ahead. The nerves of the party are on edge as they await tl1e rush of the boar. Suddenly there is a great trampling and the immense form of a muscular boar hurls itself on the hunting party. The party make a break for cover, except one man named Ancaeus, who gives battle with a battle axe, but is gored to death by the boar's cruel tusks. One by one the hunters run by and launch their spears at him. On man named Men- leus, relying on his fleet-footedness, runs near the boar and inflicts a mortal wound. But thus maddened by this wound, he turns and rushes on Aegeus and Theseus. The king easily gets out of the way, but These- us stumbles in his attempt to escape his terrible danger and falls to the ground at the mercy of the boar. Just as it seems that Theseusfs life is to be ended, a young man, totally disregarding his own danger, closes in with the boar with only a knife, while Theseus makes good his escape. After a short struggle, the boar falls to tl1e ground, dead. Now the party starts on its homeward journey. After having been given the boar's head and hide, according to the an- cient hunting custom, tl1e stranger seems to be missing. Confusion reigns in the party. It is even rumored that he might be Jupiter in disguise. They reflect on his being able to overcome the boar with a knife. Whoever he was, he had done a brave deed, the story of which has been passed down from generation to generation. -Donald Partridge, Jr., '3-1. My Demise I died on the seventeenth of March, 1930, about a year ago. My death came about in tl1e following manner: After having eate11 a hearty breakfast, I was in the best of spirits as I strolled along the muddy road. Suddenly, I heard the hum of an airplane, and looking up above me, perceived that tl1e pilot of the- plane was using very queer tactics in ma- neuvering it. The ship was coming at a fast rate of speed, so it seemed to me, a11d after watching it for some time-that is, until my curiosity was well satisfied, and, incidentally, my neck well tired out,-I proceeded on my way thoughtfully. After walking about one hundred yards, I was suddenly enveloped in a great wave of heat. I was spellbound. As I looked up, I understood the danger of the situa- tion, for that monoplane, a mass of fiames, came tearing straight at me! Imagine my terror, if you can! I stood speechless staring at that horrible spectacle, and to this day, I can still hear the blood-curdling screams of that doofned pilot. I could not move a muscle, and simply stood there, watching my fate de- scend upon me i11 the form of a blazing mass of wreckage. Although my body was horribly mutilat- ed, I passed out quickly, and without much pain. My former ideas of demise were sadly corrupted after this disastrous trage- dy. I was immediately removed to the home of tl1e undertaker, Mr. R. E. Smith. Here I remained for two days, undergoing the embalming processes, which, I assure you, dear friends of the earth, was the most gruesome experience I have ever been sab- jected to. My funeral was a very elaborate affair, and a grand success. It gave me great pleasure, as I lay there in my casket, to observe the expressions of my many ac- quaintances and friends as they viewed my