Quincy High School - Goldenrod Yearbook (Quincy, MA)

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6 THE GOLDEN-ROD which Madeliene’s father spent a great deal of time. Betty wondered, too, why Madcliene often wandered in the garden of roses, and returned looking so wistful. But before any of these things were ex- plained America entered the war, and Betty left this wonderland of roses for a very different scene, a grim and hor- rible scene, to nurse in one of the hos- pitals only a short distance behind the firing lines. Madcliene went, too, al- though Betty had objected at first. feelr ing she was not old enough. » One day a larger number of wounded soldiers than usual was brought in, among them several who had been badly gassed. Betty was very busy when Madcliene came excitedly to her and said: “Oh! Betty! I don’t know what to do! There’s one boy there—in American uni- form—he won’t keep still. He keeps muttering about Rose—and if he doesn’t —the doctor said his recovery depended on his keeping still—W hat shall I do?” Betty went to the restless boy, and found him tossing and turning, mutter- ing somethin» about Rose. Betty tried everything she could think of to quiet him, and finallv he dropped off to sleep, much to the delight, but wonder of Betty, who was never able to tell how she finally quieted him. When he awoke Betty was there, and catching sight of her, he smiled. During the long weeks that it took him to recover, Betty was often with him. Physically, he was improving rapidly, mentally—he appeared normal enough, and was very intelligent, but one thing troubled the doctors—he could remember nothing that had happened before he was wounded, not even his name, which they had no way of finding out, as there was no identification tag on him when brought to the hospital. Betty strove in vain to lift the darkness which seemed to cloud his past. One day, thinking of when he had been delirious, she mentioned “Rose,” and asked if he could remember anyone of that name. He tried to think, but finally replied, “Rose?—no, perhaps it was but a dream, perhaps not. Anyway,” he ended, with a good natured laugh, “I’m beginning to think I must be someone else instead of myself—whoever I am.” Thus it happened that when Buddy, as the nurses called him, was able, Betty took him for his first out door walk. On the way back he had to stop and rest. As they sat together, Betty thought he was acting very queerly. He seemed to be thinking very hard, perhaps of the front line trenches, or some battle he had been in, for every few moments he shud- dered. Finally he broke the silence by saying: “It is getting dark, we’d better be go- ing.” Then, after hesitating a moment, he continued, “I suppose I’m foolish, but something seems to tell me there is dan- ger near, for I have the same queer sensation that came to me before I was wounded. If anything should happen, if we shouldn't get back, I’d like you to know how much I love—” A blinding flash followed, the earth shook, rocks and dirt flew in all direc- tions, and Betty and Buddy did not con- tinue on their way back to the hospital. For some time confusion reigned in the hospital. Every nerve was on edge, wait- ing for another explosion. A French offi- cer came riding in, and told them that a bomb had been dropped by a German air- ship, probably intending to hit the hos- pital. The plane had been brought down by French machine guns, and there was no longer any danger. After this peace once more settled in the hospital. Madeliene was the first to notice the absence of Betty and Buddy, and, greatly alarmed, she ran to tell the head nurse. A search was at once made, and when everyone was about ready to give up, Madeliene found them, lying side by side about fifty feet from where the bomb had landed. They were carried back to the hospital, where it was found Betty’s arm was broken, and she was suffering from a severe wound in the head. The recks had also done their damage to Buddy. When they were at last restored to consciousness it was found that they were in a very nervous condition. After a consultation with Madeliene, the doc- tors decided to send them to her home, to recover in that wonderland of roses. Madcliene was given a leave of absence,

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1 Rose? Betty Wilson had been left an orphan at the age of eight, when her mother and baby sister had been lost in a ship wreck on their way to France. Betty had inherited an immense fortune, and after her graduation from college she decided to take a trip to France, for she was often lonely in the great house of which she was mistress. When she arrived in Paris, she spent some months wandering about the places of amusement, and the historical sections of the beautiful city. Then, feeling lone- some, she decided to look for a com- panion. Many young girls applied for the posi- tion, and in the end she chose a pretty, bright-eyed girl of seventeen who was different from the typical, excitable French girl. She was very quiet, this fair-skinned Madeliene. Her parents she explained, lived in the suburbs of Paris. They did not wish her to work, but she felt she was too much of a burden on them in their old age, for they were not very well off. They had always given her everything, had struggled to send her through one of the best Lycees—now she wished to repay them a little if she could. Betty became very fond of pretty little Madeliene. One day Madeliene came hurrying to Betty, holding a paper in her hands and exclaiming: “Oh! Mees Betty, regard ez-la-look! la guerre! the war! Eet ees begun, enfin, what?” Betty took the paper exxcitedly, and saw that it was true—France was at last engaged in war with Germany! “Cette guerre est mouvaise!” exclaimed Madeliene, “I must go to my parents. Je ne veux pas d’aller—I do not wish to leave you—But oh, peut-etre, you come too? Please, Mees Betty, please do!” Betty, after her first surprise, agreed to accompany Madeliene home. The next evening they arrived at Made- liene’s house—a typical French building, almost entirely hidden behind a big stone wall. As in most of the yards of these houses, there was a large garden, through which led a walk to the house—But this garden! It was the loveliest that Betty had ever seen. The place abounded in roses, roses of all colors and kinds. There were other flowers, too, but it seemed as if whoever had planned this exquisite gar- den had been very fond indeed of roses. Betty managed to gasp, “Oh! how i lovely.” Madeliene smiled and replied, “Oui, mon pere et moi, oh—we think so. Comme je suis content! happy, yes, oh so happy to be home encore.” They were welcomed by Madelienc’s parents, who. if they were surprised to sec Betty, did not show it, and bade her welcome in true French fashion. During her long stay, Betty was treated very kindly, and could not have wished for a better companion than Madeliene. At times, though, Betty was puzzled. Madclicne’s parents spoke nothing but French, yet when she or Madeliene spoke in English they seemed to understand perfectly. There was also in the house a room which was always locked, in

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THE GOLDEN-ROD 7 and when Betty and Buddy were able to be moved, Madeliene accompanied them to her home, to act as nurse until they were entirely better. Soon Betty and Buddy were able to walk in the garden. As the days passed slowly by, Betty began to be puzzled as she had been before she had left this land of roses. Buddy—he acted queerest of all. When he passed the room which was always locked he would stop and sniff, and then look puzzled. One day, as he and Betty were passing this room on their way to the garden, he stopped suddenly, sniffed—grasped the amazed Betty by the arm, and very ex- citedly exclaimed: “Rose! Rose! Now I know! Rose perfume!” Before astonished Betty could find an answer to this startling outbreak, he con- tinued: “My name is Bob—Robert Channing. My father is a New York dealer in per- fumes. Rose perfume—” At this interesting point, he was inter- rupted by the opening of the door of the locked room and Madeliene’s father fairly bursting out. With him came the most exouisite cdor of roses. “I’ve got it! I’ve got it! At last I’ve got it!” he exclaimed, rushing out to where Madeliene and her mother were picking roses in the garden. Betty stood speechless, not even won- dering to hear him speak in English. If he had suddenly soared into the air, and had blown into the garden, Betty, at this point, would not have been surprised or thought it out of the ordinarv. Mechan- icallv she followed him and Buddy to the garden. There, in due time, explanations were given. Madcliene’s father, an American scien- tist, bv the name of White, had been em- ployed by the Robert Channing Co., some twenty years before, to duplicate a rose perfume, the inventor of which had died without telling anyone his method of mak- ing it. A rival concern had offered bribes, and when Mr. White had refused, they had tried other methods, until to be able to work without being disturbed, he and his wife had gone to France. When they had been there long enough to get a good idea of the French language and customs they had settled down in this house to work, and to be known by the neighbors as a French family. Mr. White had never communicated with the Robert Channing Co., wishing to wait until he could bring them the much desired per- fume. Buddy, it seemed, was Robert Chan- ning. Jr. His father had shown him some of the precious perfume, and after one smell which he had never forgotten, he had decided to make a search for Mr. White, in hopes of finding, and being able to put the perfume on the market. He had afterwards gone to war, where he had received the wound which had blotted his memory. At this point, Betty glanced for the first time at Madeliene, and uttered a scream. “That locket!” she cried. “It is just like one my mother had!” “Your mother!” exclaimed Mr. White and his wife. “Yes! Yes!” cried Betty, “Mv sister was wearing it when they left for France.” “Your sister! then—then Madeliene is your sister! For she is not our own daughter, as we have given everyone to understand. When our boat was wrecked, a woman with a beautiful baby was one of the few saved with us. From the shock of it all, the woman went crazy, and in her delirium entrusted the baby to us. Shortly after she died, and we had no means of finding out who she was, the only clew being this locket. When Made- liene, as we named the baby, was old enough we told her, and gave her the locket. She has never worn it until today, fearing to lose it, as the chain was very ' frail. But a few weeks ago we sent it to a jeweler who strengthened the chain— and r day it came through the mail—how odd that it should have come today!” Thus it was that when Betty returned tv) America, her sister, Pauline, and her foster parents accompanied her. As for Bob Channing—he finished the proposal which had been so abruptly cut off, when he was known only as “Buddv,” and wired to his anxious father that he was at last returning home, bringing with him the long-sought-for rose perfume, and the most precious rose of all for a daugh- ter-in-law. Mabel Guilhop, February, ’25.