Pembroke High School - Mattakeesett Yearbook (Pembroke, MA)

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THE WAMPUM 11 then went to change his clothes, but more troubles were in store for him. He discovered that he had lost his pocket- book, and what was worse, the ten dol- lars and sixty-two cents which were in it! This he decided must have been lost when he fell down, and he made up his mind to go over and try to find it. This time he took the lantern, so that he would have no more difficul- ties. It was now about ten o ' clock so the neighbor and dog were home and in bed. Taylor reached the hen house door in safety, but since the hinges were rusty, it squeaked quite loudly when he opened it. Naturally this awoke the dog, and he began to bark. Neigh- bor Smith poked his head out of the window, and in a loud voice demanded who was there. Eeceiving no answer and seeing the light at the hen house door, he picked up the shotgun which always stood in the corner of his room, and delivered a charge of rock salt. Taylor was just entering the hen house when Smith shouted, so he stepped back from the door. But not daring to make himself known and not want- ing to lose the money, he was just step- ping in when the rock salt struck the door. It struck with a rattle and crash, and swung the door against him, blow- ing out the lantern. As he did not want to risk another shot, Taylor pick- ed up the blown out lantern, and ran home for the second time that evening. After going home, he sat for about two hours, trying to think of some way of getting the money back. He could think of nothing better than to go over to Smith ' s the next morning. Upon this decision he went to bed. He lay awake for some time, worrying about the money and wishing that he could get it back, but finally he went to sleep. The next morning he went out and did the chores as usual, and when he arrived at the hen house, he found the three lost White Rock hens trying to get in. Somehow he did not seem pleased to find that his neighbor did not steal them ; and the realization of what a fool he had been came to him sud- denly. After finishing the chores and eating breakfast, he started for neigh- bor Smith ' s. He found Smith with his sleeves rolled up, hard at work at the wood pile. After talking about the weather and various other things, Taylor asked him if he had found any- thing around there lately. Smith re- plied that he had found a pocket-book with some money in it, belonging to a dirty hen thief. He went on to say that he had shot at the thief once and missed him, but that if he caught him around there again, he would push him to the full extent of the law. Mr. Tay- lor had nothing more to say, and a few minutes later started home, a sadder but wiser man. He never told anyone about it, not even his wife, but after that, he never looked at a neighbor ' s for anything until he had first looked at home. H. B. J. ' 16. Stung. Imagine a swamp of large pines, large for these days, when the lumber- man ' s axe has made many a broad woodland a waste of brush, stumps, and scrub oaks, standing tall and straight in the cold winter sunlight, the snow of a recent storm lying white and smooth between the trunks and making a broad, white lane of an old wood road which ran through them. The silence, which is particularly noticeable in the winter wood was unbroken until a blue jay screamed as if in warning. Then slipping silently through the pines from the direction of the bird ' s call came a fox. He trotted along with his head held low and his tail almost brushing the snow until he reached the road, where he stopped for a minute, testing the light breeze, which had sprung up, for suspicious odors. After that he got leisurely onto his : feet, stretched, and trotted off in the woods on the other side of the road, as silent- ly as he came. A half hour later the silence was broken by the creak of heavy footsteps on the snow, and a tall man appeared, walking down the road with a quick, swinging stride. He was rather rough-

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10 THE WAMPUM anything bend to his will, not through fright, but through love for him. Pa- tience was his motto, and he followed it very closely. Finally the day of the race dawned clear and bright, and the contestants looked very beautiful in the sun light. At the last round Ben Hur ran into Messala ' s chariot and broke it, thus winning the race. This was not consistent with his character. It was below Ben Hur generally but he was so anxious to win the race that he let his desire overrule his judgment. There had been many bets on the race, and Messala ' s followers were heavily in debt; but Ben Hur was relentless and exacted the last cent from them. He might have been more merciful, but no, he was firm. One redeeming virtue was his zeal- ousness in following Christ. Many times he was disappointed, but he did not falter. His faith was strong and he believed. All this time he kept up the search for his people, and when he found them, he did not forget to thank his Master for his joy. Through all his troubles and misfortunes, through all his baser and more degrading ac- tions, there ran a faithfulness to all his people and a loyalty to his God. H. C. ' 15. Almost Caught. Horace Taylor was noted as the meanest man in town. When anyone had business dealings with him, he always felt as though he was being cheated. He lived in an old, ram- shackle house which rumor said had been inhabited by his ancestors since they first came to America. He kept two lean cows, an old horse, and a small flock of hens regularly, but in the course of trading, sometimes ob- tained a large amount of stock. At the time at which I write, his family consisted of his wife and a boy of about fourteen summers. One evening upon going to the hen roost, he discovered that three White Rock hens were miss- ing. This worried him very much, but instead of trying to find the missing hens, he concluded at once that some of the neighbors had stolen them. He went into the house for a coat, and while in there his boy asked for a half dollar to buy a new hat. After growl- ing a while, the father finally handed over a quarter, and shoved his pocket- book back into his pocket. As he had nothing better to do at the time, he concluded to go over to neighbor Smith ' s henyard. He knew there was no fear of detection, as he had seen Mr. Smith drive by with his dog about thirty minutes before. When he reached neighbor Smith ' s, he did not hesitate to enter another man ' s hen house, but slammed open the door and marched in. Once in there, the thought of the consequences if he were caught struck him, and he started to the roosts in a hurry to find out whether he was right or not. Since it was nearly dark, he could not see very well, and he hit his foot against an iron feed dish. He landed at full length, knocking over a pail of muddy water as he struck. The water, as it ran out of the pail, formed a large pool, in the middle of which was poor Mr. Taylor. Naturally such a commo- tion awoke the hens that before had been sleeping peacefully, and such a disturbance was never before known in the hen house. Mr. Taylor began to use language not fit for publication, but stopped suddenly, choked by the thick dust which filled the hen house. Fi- nally the tumult partly subsided, and Mr. Taylor rose to a sitting position. Just then the rooster — perhaps mis- taking Taylor ' s head for the roost — landed on the very top of his head, spurs first, and emitted an exceeding- ly loud crow. This was too much for poor Mr. Taylor; picking up his hat which was half full of water and clap- ping it on his head, with muddy water running down all over him, he started on the run for home. Upon entering the house, other dif- ficulties presented themselves. His wife asked where he had been, and not wanting to tell the truth, he said that he had just fallen into the brook. He

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12 THE WAMPUM ly dressed and wore a heavy canvas coat and leggins. On his head was a woolen cap of the style worn by north- ern trappers. Under one arm he car- ried a double-barreled shotgun. This he leaned against a tree, and proceeded to thrash his arms, for the morning was cold. As he stood there, he looked about and saw the fox track just in front of him, and picking up his gun, he stepped to the track and examined it carefully; then raising his head, he note d the direction of the wind, and, changing the shells in his gun, he started off at a swift walk up the old road. For a long time he swung along through a maze of paths, choosing first one and then another without hesita- tion until he reached a ridge with a faint path running along the top of it. He gave a quick glance at the path to see if the fox had passed, and gave a sigh of relief as he saw the path was free from tracks. Then walking to a thick clump of bushes, he went behind them, brushed the snow from an old 6tump, and seated himself with his gun across his knees, loaded and ready. After the fox crossed the road, he kept trotting slowly along through the woods, now and then stopping to sniff the track of a rabbit or partridge, but he had had his breakfast, and beyond satisfying an idle curiosity, he wanted nothing to do with any of these ani- mals. Finally he left the swamp and came to a ridge, the same one in fact, where the man was watching for him. When he reached the top, he turned and went slowly on in the direction of the hunter, without a suspicion of dan- ger. The hunter, in the meantime, had been sitting patiently on his stump, watching the trail. Once a blue jay lit on a branch a few feet above his head and watched him carefully, but as he sat perfectly quiet, the jay flew away with a derisive scream. At last some- thing, reddish brown in color, flashed in the trees along the path. The man ' s eyes narrowed a little as he raised his gun and waited for an open view of the same. The fox appeared, still traveling slowly, and thirty or forty yards from the gunner, he stopped as if his suspicions were aroused. He stood for a second with his head thrown back listening, and then the roar of a gun broke the silence, closely followed by another as the man fired the other barrel. The fox whirled, ran from the ridge in long leaps, and vanished among the pines. The man stood for an in- stant, then went and examined the tracks. jSTo telltale drop of blood met his gaze, and he muttered a curse as he drew the empty shells from his gun and started for home. That evening the man stepped to the door of his house. The moon was shining brightly, and the snow-covered fields were light as day, while the shadows of the woods and buildings were black as ink. The woods where the hunt had taken place were dark and still. Suddenly from the woods came the sharp bark of a fox. The man shook his fist at the sound, turned and entered his house, slamming the door behind him, and again silence reigned over the dark, cold woods. W. E. C. ' 16. Son Amie. II n ' y a pas long temps qu ' une petite fille voyageait un jour a la Boston sur le train. Elle n ' avait que six ans, et etait absolument seule. Une dame dans le banc derriere elle, ayant peur qu ' elle s ' effraye, pensa qu ' elle lui parlerait. Ma petite enfant, n ' avez-vous pas peur de voyager seule? elle demanda. Non, reponda la petite fille, je n ' ai pas peur. Mon pere me recontra quand j ' arriverai a Boston. Mais supposez que le train s ' arre- terait, et que vous iriez, a pied, et iriez a pied, et ensuite vous ne trouveriez pas votre pere; que feriez vous? demanda la dame. Mon pere me dit n ' avoir pas peur, quelconque arriverait, parceque Dieu serait pres de moi, reponda la jeune fille. Bien ne se dit plus, mais la dame re- garda avec un oeil la jeune fille pour