Petaluma High School - Trojans Yearbook (Petaluma, CA)

Page 29 text:

THE ENTERPRISE ’ 17 hastily away. A few minutes later Graton’s eye fell upon a pocket book under the bench where his double had been sitting. He picked it up and looked it through. It contained twelve dollars and a first-class passage to the Philippines. As he read that word, the words of his father came to him. Here was an opportunity to see a foreign land! Why not? He had found the ticket, why not use it! And the ambition to win his wager blinded him to his honesty. But such is human nature. So he took the ticket, left the wallet and money and hastened to find when his first boat sailed. He found it left at two o’clock that afternoon and also that from then until the end of his voyage his name was to be Harold Blake, for such was the name on the ticket. The first day out, Hen was a victim of sea-sickness and he laughed as he thought of the time lie wanted to join the navy. Be he was able to enjoy the deck sports next day and that night he ventured into the danc¬ ing parlor. Many couples were on the floor and he noticed that only one girl was left without a partner. “By Jove,” he said to himself, “that’s the girl who looked at me so strangely the first day and who has fol¬ lowed my actions so closely. It can’t be that she is trying to flirt, for she doesn’t act as if she were. Well, she’s not bad looking, and she doesn’t look like a “wall-flower” and this is a fine fox-trot, so I’m going to find who and what she is.” And he did, but it was not until the last night of the voyage. They had spent all their time together since the night he first danced with her. Her name was Marion Handon and she lived in New York. They were leaning over the rail, watching the dark water speed by and neither had spoken for quite a time. At last she broke the silence. “You have been a very pleasant companion,” she said, “and I like you a great deal, Mr. Blake, but I — it — it pains me dreadfully to have to tell you that I have had orders to arrest you for embezzling from the New York National Bank.” She showed a detective badge. “I never thought I would care for a man I was sent to capture. You don’t look like a thief.” she added on a second thought. “And I’m not! Why I can prove that I —.” He caught himself. How could he prove it! He had no way of clearing himself, but if he could, if he only could. Five thousand miles from home and proof and in the hands of a lady detective! She was speaking. “ When we get into Manila tomorrow, I am to turn around, bring you back to New York and”— “Did you say that we are going back to New York!” he broke in with surprise. By the time he arrived and cleared himself he would have about one month left to earn the thousand and find a bride — and he cursed his ill luck. As he thought it over he decided to ask the detective if she would let him earn the money before they went back. It was his only hope. t £ — 29 —

Page 28 text:

T H E ENTERPRISE ’17 He leaned forward with a sudden determination, and sat on the edge of the chair, so poised, until his father rose and put his hand on his shoulder. If the old adage “Variety is the spice of life,” be true, then Hendrick Graton was well and highly seasoned. Eleven months had passed since the day of the wager, and he had been in five different states and now he was in the sixth, California. He had taken his twenty-five dollars, given it to the agent in New York, and asked to go as far west as he could. The kind man gave him a ticket to Guthrie, Illinois, and while the train was waiting at Chicago —for Guthrie was twenty miles from there—Hen took a stroll around the station. As the engineer could not wait ten minutes for him, he left. That was the beginning of his luck. His next piece befell him on the University football field. He was getting along swimmingly and the five dollars that was promised if he would play as a IT. C. member, was nearly his; but just as he was kicking the deciding goal, his foot slip¬ ped—! He managed to procure his coat and trousers as he ran through the gym. When he had out-distanced his frenzied pursuers, he sat down in a park to take an inventory. All he had was his suit, a foot-ball outfit, and a pair of spiked shoes. So he pawned all that was not his own, purchased a pair of shoes and a hat, and with a few remaining cents, sent the pawn ticket to the football manager at the University. This was his only affair in Chicago. A later month found him in Colorado, and it also found a new Hen Graton. He was healthy and happy and willing to work at anything, and he had saved fifty dollars. He figured it up. “Fifty, or one-twen¬ tieth of wliat I must have, and I’ve ten months left to raise the other nine fifty. But at this rate I’ll only have three hundred at the end of my year. Ah, ’tis a cruel world,” and he sighed, smilingly. If all the attempts that Hen made, were to be briefly written, this would be a volume and not a short story. In short, he dabbled in every¬ thing that looked like money—herded sheep, kept books, spent a week as a circus acrobat, tried the “movies,” was deputy sheriff for a day, did a little plumbing, clerked in a hardware store, nearly joined the navy, did a little gold mining, ran an elevator, and posed as a chauf¬ feur—so it went, ad infinitum. The beginning of the eleventh month and he was with a wholesale establishment in San Francisco. He was sent ' to San Diego with instruc¬ tions to buy four tons of raisins, but he found better raisins could be procured around Fresno so he went there and did his buying. The man¬ ager thanked him for his good buy and then fired him for not obeying orders. After receiving his salary, he wandered up to Union Square and sat down to think things over. On the other end of the bench there sat. a man who could have passed as Hen’s twin brother. Hen did not notice this, however, and presently the stranger stood up, yawned and walked — 28 —

Page 30 text:

T H E E N T E ' EPEISE ’17 6 Mar—er— Miss Handon,” and lie looked at her steadily, “If I give you my word of honor, as a gentleman, not to try to escape, will you allow me to work over here until I have made a thousand dollars?” “But why,” she asked, “What do you want with a thousand dollars?” “I can’t tell you just now, but if you will trust me, you will be doing me a great favor, and you will be squaring yourself for arresting me.” He smiled, but as she was convinced that he was the embezzler, she saw no reason for squaring things. “Mr. Blake,” she said, after a long pause, “as I have told you before, I like you and you seem honest. I believe you are. My time is limited to about a week here, so if you want to try that long to get it, you have my permission. How much have you?” He counted it. “One hundred and two dollars.” “Is that all?” she asked wonderingly, for she didn’t see where all the embezzled money had gone. “Well, if you look around you might find some way to invest that money. If you can’t do it in a week, we’ll have to go anyway. I’m giving you a week longer than I should.” And he cursed the man in whom nature had created his double. Four days had passed since Marion Handon and her prisoner arrived in Manila. Hen was patiently and unceasingly searching for a get-rich- quick method. On the fifth day he had found nothing new and so to ease his trouble brain, he and his sponsor walked along the beach below the city. It was the close of day and as the fiery sun sank below 4 the western horizon, the first rays of the moon stretched over the eastern waters. Both were watching the beautiful sight and, heedless of their steps, Hen stumbled over an object in the sand, and out of mere curios¬ ity, he stopped and knelt to see what this object was, in the smooth ex¬ panse of the beach. As his face neared it, a peculiar odor was inhaled through his nostrils. It was sweetish and sickening, and, as he dug around his discovery, it became more noticeable. The girl gave a cry of surprise. “Harold—Mr. Blake, you’ve found it! I know what it is, for I have often heard my old sailor uncle speak of it. It’s ambergris! Just as sure as I’m alive! Now don’t look that way, because I’m going to ex¬ plain righ t away. This stuff is called ambergris. It’s a secretion from whales and it’s awful expensive. You see, it’s used for making perfumes. How many pounds do you think there are?” He had stopped digging while she was talking, but now he dug as a terrier for a rat, and soon he had his prize uncovered. It’s surface was hard, but rather flabby. In fact it resembled an immense piece of kelp, such as is found along the ocean beaches of California. He tried to lift it from the hole, but failed in his attempt. And when Marion saw he was not able to raise it, she said, “We will be leaving Manila tomorrow evening, or else the price of ambergris has gone down.” «— 30 —