Pickering College - Voyageur Yearbook (Newmarket, Ontario Canada)

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Joe and his wife stood at the door of their cabin. The trees seemed to he drinking in the cool darkness after the hot fall day. It was a good night for the barn dance. Just then William pulled up smoothly in the big black Packard to take them to the dance. Joe was looking forward to this danre. It would be like old times. The barn had some red and yellow lights hung on posts around the cleared circle where the people were dancing. Further back some hay hung from eriss- cross racks. A reaper threw a grotesque shadow on the near wall. The other wallsand the roof were in darkness. It was hot and noisy and Joe was a bit drunk so he wandered to the door to get some fresh air. He shivered slightly as the cool air touched him. Joe had a feeling that this had happened before only last time he had been enjoying himself. The music inside turned to jazz. Joe looked up at the stars and wondered. A. lNI.icDoNALo. bluebottle Heavy sluggish fly, Fussing in the windou' frame. Stumbling as though doped, Confused by glass. You stop and preen The loathsome f'urrine.w.s Of that black body. Your presence is unclean. Hurrying in uncertainty, Jloring erratically, llncleauness is your soul,- The devil have you. You retrace smutty trarlfx Of your ouru making: Then stop again and twitch, Fall down To the bottom of my urindou' Where you buzz And thump the glass In disgusting helplessness. You go away Your going rleanses me. But coming lmelf You are begun again. You will go ou. until I hill you: Stupidity lilorlus your escape. .Veither said nor Cruel ls the killing of' you, For you lfnou' no feeling. cillll yet you live. I shall let it be, For you are part of me. IJUNCAN CAMERON. Nineteen

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as you were UE sroon ivr THF: nooRwAY of his cabin and looked out into the warm dark- ness. He had just finished chopping some wood for the pile behind the small cabin. He liked chopping wood. It soothed him and helped him to think. The lights of Bill 's old Ford sh-one dully the car bounced down the dirt road. Joe had been looking forward to the barn dance they were going to that night. The barn had some red and yellow lights hung on posts around the cleared circle where the people were dancing. lfurther back some hay hung from criss- cross iron racks. A reaper threw a grotesque shadow on the near Wall. The other walls and the root' were in darkness. It was hot. and noisy and Joe was a bit drunk so he wandered to the door to get some fresh air. He shivered slightly as the cool air touched him. Fall coming around again-probably get some rain tomorrow. -loe talked to himself when he was lonely. He looked up at. the stars and wished to hell that he didn 't have to work what little land he had. When he looked down again a well dressed man was walking toward him from a sleek black car parked on the other side of the road. l'm looking for a Mr. Joseph Smith. 'l'hat's me mister, what can I do for you 'V' I have some important business to discuss with you, Mr. Smith. It appeared that a rich uncle of -loe's had died and -'Ioe was the sole heir. Naturally he felt happy and naturally he went to the big city. He bought clothes and two cars llc married a chorus girl and bought his way into society. There were parties and dances and a thousand things to do that he had never had the chalice to do before. The months whirled by and before he could stop to think it was SlllIlIll9l'. -loc was not a very introspective type but he knew himself well enough to realize that something was missing. All summer he grew more restless. The parties were not so exciting anymore and his cars didn 't seem as shiny. Nothing was as much fun as it had been when he first came into the money When fall rolled up Joe informed his wife that he was going to take a holiday. She was rather puzzled and wondered if he thought he had been working. The holiday was to be in the country at a dude ranch. At the dude ranch -loe and his wife established themselves i11 a small two- room cabin. Hut in the country he did not have the closed in feeling anymore e --he had time to relax. lt seemed strange to him that he had enjoyed chopping the wood so much. lt seemed to make clear thinking easier. fiiigfzlcen

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the hitch-hiker UGH 1+'E1,'1' A I,1'r'1'L1-1 HUNGRY so he walked into a lunch stand beside the gas station. He sat down at the short counter next to at guy he tigured was the driver of the trailer-truck parked outside. They were the only customers. A young waitress was washing dishes in an enamel pan of soapy gra.y water. He'd heard these truck drivers didn 't. pick up riders on account of the insurance companies. But what the hell, there's no harm in trying! Hugh slid a coffee cup, a crumpled napkin and a large jar of crusted mustard over to the other side of the counter. The truck driver was eating a plate of boiled frankfurters, beans and sauerkraut. Pushing the last shreds of sauerkraut into his mouth he ordered some apple pie and ice cream. Hugh followed with his order in a tone of voice he thought sounded a lot like the driver. Heh, will you give me a hamburg and a coke? Neither the waitress nor the driver paid much attention. The driver would be leaving any minute. Hot day, iSlllt it?,' The driver, almost through his pie and ice cream, glanced at Hugh. Yeah, it is. Utloin' through to Montreal? Yeah What time you hope to get there? Tomorrow morning, maybe. Pretty heavy load, I guess. The driver picked up his coffee. It was cold, so he ordered another cup. Don't suppose you could give me a lift? ssN0-3? I could drive if you get tired. I've driven one of those jobs before, he lied. It's against company rules. I can 't give nobody a lift. How much is this? The waitress answered, Eighty-tive cents, took his 2152 bill, rang up 00.85 on the cash register, and gave him his change. She noticed he left her a 15 cent tip. The driver gulped down his coffee and went out, letting in half a dozen flies as he opened and slammed the screen door. Hugh was served his slightly burned hamburg. Do you want fountain or bottle coke? Hugh looked up from his hamburg. She wasn't bad looking at all. He hadn't noticed her much before. Bottle, please . . . thanks . . . you like workin' here? The waitress picked up his 22 cents and answered, t'Not. bad . She went out into the back room returning in a moment with a loaf of bread and a package of hot dog buns. llugh decided she wasn't so good looking after all. Her hair looked dyed. Ile took thc last swig of the coke and walked out. The sun was too bloody hot. He looked around for some shade. There was a farm house with some trees hanging over the road about a quarter of a mile away. Twenty