Pennell Institute - Whirlpool Yearbook (Gray, ME)

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THE PRNNELL Mrs. N.: ‘Did you try to track this strange creature?’’ John: ‘‘No, you see Miss Nelson had to return to the hotel early, and since then I have had no time.’’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘Are you at liberty now ?”’ John: ‘‘Why-er-er-yes. Why?” Mrs. N.: ‘Suppose you track him now ?’’ John: ‘ But the footprints are probably destroyed by now.”’ Mrs. N.: t I half believe you are afraid.’’ John: ‘ No-No I assure you, I am not afraid.’’ Mrs. N.: ‘ Prove that you are not afraid by following the tracks.’’ John: ‘‘1°ll try.’’ Iéxit John. Curtain Seene IL Place: The same. Time: The next morning. Enter Jim. He sits down in a chair in the corner of the room and picks up a magazine. Enter Myrs. Nelson and John. They sit down facing each other without noticing Jim. Mrs. N.: ‘'Did you follow those strange footprints?”’ John. ‘‘Yes I—’’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘And you found—’’ John: ‘Nothing but—’’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘You found absolutely nothing? How far did you follow the tracks?”’ John: ‘‘I followed them until they stopped.’’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘ Where did they stop?”’ John: ‘‘I followed them to a eave back in the woods about three miles. WHIRLPOOL 11 The tracks went toward the cave but the entrance and floor of the eave were a ledge and I could not tell in which direction they went. Nothing was in the cave. On second thought I think it might have been a bear because I saw some fur hanging to a pointed rock at the entrance of the cave. He might have torn it from him while going into the eave. Furthermore, as you must know, the footprint of a bear much resemble the footprint of a human being. Mrs. N.: ‘ I congratulate you, my boy. You have done a wonderful piece of work and solved a deep mys- tery. I sincerely hope that Eva will reward you.’’ John (depreeiatively): ‘‘It is just an idea and may not be right, you know.’’ Mrs. N.: ‘SOF course you are right. I will go and tell Eva that her wild man was only a bear. Exit Mrs. Nelson. John picks up a paper. Enter Mrs. Nelson and Eva. Eva sees Jim reading a paper and runs up to him. Eva: ‘‘Oh, Jim, Mr. Flich tells me you are a detective. You knew from the first that it was a bear, didn’t you? IT am sorry I—”’ Enter Mr. Flich. He goes quickly up to Jim and grabs his hand. Mr. Flich: ‘‘Congratulations, old man, th at was good work. He sure was a tough looking customer.”’ Mrs. N. (to Jim): ‘‘ What are the congratulations for? Oh I see. Who is she?”’ Mr. Flieh: ‘‘T don’t know = any- thing about any she’s, but didn’t you

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10 THE PENNELL WHIRLPOOL and a davenport. The curtain goes up showing Mrs. Nelson on the davenport reading a magazine. Enter Eva and Jim. Eva is very excited and Jim is laughing about her. Mrs. N.: ‘Well! What is the mat- ter now?”’ Jim: ‘‘Oh, she thinks there is a wild man out there in the woods, and she is afraid that he will run away with her.”’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘Ump! Is that all?”’ Eva (indignantly): ‘‘I don't care whether you believe it or not, but I saw his footprint on the sand this morning.”’ Jim (sarcastically): ‘‘She will tell you next that she has seen him.’’ Eva: ‘‘I can prove it.’’ Jim: ‘‘Ha! Ha! Ha! Didn’t [ tell you? Tell us how you can prove that you saw him.” Eva: ‘‘I didn’t say that I saw him. I said I saw his footprints and I can prove it.’’ Jim: ‘‘How?” Eva: ‘‘I can prove it by John. He was with me when I saw it.’’ Jim: ‘‘Who is John? Is he the brother of your wildman?’’ Eva: ‘‘If you want to talk like that, we will drop the subject.’’ Jim: ‘‘O well, I guess it is just as well before you drive us all crazy.’’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘I guess there is nothing to worry about.” Jim: ‘‘Come on, Eva. I will race you to Leaton’s Island and back.”’ Eva: ‘‘I suppose I might as well do that as anything.”’ Exit Jim and Eva. Enter John. John (to himself): ‘‘It certainly is funny about that footprint. I don't think there is a wildman around, but it does look as if it was made by a human’s foot.”’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘Pardon me, but have you gone crazy too?’’ John: ‘‘I beg your pardon, madam, I didn’t know anyone was here. ’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘I thought I heard you say something about a wildman. Do you believe there is one too?’’ John: ‘‘Well-I-er-er-I-no, I Mrs. N.: ter?”’ John: ‘‘I-er-er-we were walking on the beach this morning and discovered an immense footprint and I-er-we have been trying to decide what made it.” Mrs. N.: ‘‘And who mean ?’’ don’t’’ “Then what is the mat- ? may ‘we? John (growing very nervous): ““Why-er-er-er a young lady and my- self were taking a walk to-er-er gether.’’ Mrs. N. you say Doris?’’ John: ‘‘N’n’no I tion her name.’’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘I will tell you then. Her name is Eva Nelson and I am her mother. So you needn’t be embar- rassed. Jiva is very excited over that footprint and I want to find out what made it. Please tell me what you know about it.’’ John: ‘‘The footprint must have been made by a large person, if it was made by a person. The country people are bringing reports of strange cries heard in the neighboring woods. That is all I know about it.’’ herself): ‘‘Did lady’s name is (enjoying the young d’d‘didn’t men-

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12 THE PENNELL know that detective Jim had solved the mystery of the footprint ?’’ Mrs. N. (Coldly): ‘‘l think you have made a mistake. Mr. Stone here has the honor of solving the mystery of the footprint. He has proved con- elusively to my mind that the footprint was made by a bear.”’ Mr. Flich: ‘‘I d on’t think you know what I mean. I mean that detective Jim solved the mystery of the footprints found on the sand, down by the beach.’’ Mis. N.: same thing. Mr. Flieh: ‘‘Then you must be mis- taken about Mr. Stone and the bear. Jim was hired to run down the mur- derer O’Conner.”’ Eva: ‘‘Not the Irishman, ner?”’ Mr. Flich: ‘‘Yes, I mean the Irish- man. Jim believed that his man had come to this part of the State. There- fore he came here incognito. Jim ar- rived here a little sooner than O'Con- ner and was very disappointed when he found that his man was not here. He thought it best to wait for his man a few days, however, and one day he did come as expected. When Miss Nelson found the footprint, he did not seem to take much notice but he did “T am talking about the ”? O’Con- some investigating by himself last night. He found that O’Conner had swum across the lake from Newsburg. Whien he set foot on shore, he was weak from his swim and staggered enough to make the footprint on the sand. Ie thought that he had left his pursuers behind by swimming the lake and did not try to hide his tracks on the way to the woods. Jim and the County WHIRLPOOL Sheriff followed him to a eave about three miles back in the woods. O ’Con- ner was asleep when they got to the cave, but he soon realized that the Cops were after him. He fought all the way back as could be seen by the rents in his bear skin jacket and the torn clothes of Jim and the Sheriff.’’ Eva (throwing herself into Jim's arms and kissing him): ° Oh, Jim, what if he had killed you?) What made you face such danger?”’ Mrs. N.: ‘‘What an outrage. Ihva, go to your room immediately.’’ Kiva (stoutly): ‘‘Can’t I kiss my own husband without it being an out- rage?’’ Mrs. N.: ‘SW’? W’ What, your hus- band?” Eva: ‘Yes, Jim and I were married in Newsburg yesterday.’’ (Mrs. Nelson falls back in a faint). John (springing up and taking Jim's hand in both of his): ‘ Congratula- tions, old man. Long live the Bel- dins.’’ Curtain Carroll Foster, 1929 A VIRGIL RECITATION It was a cold bleak day in the mid- dle of January. The snow came down in thick blankets which encompassed everything. The windows in the audi- torium rattled to such an extent that people talking a short distanee apart could understand one another only by watching the lips. The wind howled and whistled around the corners mak- ing as much noise as a saxaphone blown at full blast.