Reading Memorial High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Reading, MA)

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Page Seventeen The Pioneer ‘What—what? Have I been asleep? Oh dear, I was having the most ex¬ citing adventure!” replied ' , Beth, “Why did you wake me up just at that critical moment?” MARION E. PARK, ’12. A STORY OF DIXIE LAND “Wa’al, now, as I was a-tellin’ yo’, missy. Yo’ grandfa’er, Massa Lee, was a right brave, smart man, an’ when dem Yankees corned down hyar, he jes took his pop gun an’ went right after dem. Missus, dats yo’ ma, walked right up to dat cap’n jes as dignified as could be, when he asks can he go through de house. She says, ‘No! Yo’ cain’t!’ and fol’s her arms so fashion. Wa’al honey, yo’ see dem was de times when dey hid de powder an’ shot in de houses. Dem was great ole times, dey was. Yo’ ma she knowed dat de powder an’ shot was hid in her room, an’ she warn’t goin’ ter let dem Yankees get it eff she could help it. But de cap’n he say he hab got to, by de orders ob de gen’rui. ’Tween yo’ an’ me, missy, t’warn’t de powder she didn’t want him to get, but twas- yo’ pa. He corned home de night befo’ to see us. Lors, honey, mebbe we weren’t glad to see him! Wa’al, dem soldiers dey jes walk right through de house an’ opened all he do’s, nebber saying, ‘By yo’ leab.’ Yas, honey, dey did jes dat. When dey came to de do’ ob yo’ ma’s room it was locked, an’ she was a-standin’ in front ob it. De cap’n, he say, ‘Open dat do’.’ Yo’ ma, she say, ‘No, I won’t; ma chile’s asleep in thar.’ But she talked pret¬ ty loud so yo’ pa could heah jes’ what she said. Dey foun’ it warn’t no use to ask yo’ ma to let dem in, so dey jes right up an’ smash dat do’ in quicker’n yo’ can say ‘Jack Robin¬ son.’ Dey found yo’ and yo’ doll a- sleepin’ peacefully in bed, as yo’ ma said. Dey tipped ebrything upside down, but couldn’t fin’ nothin. Dey went away disgusted, an’ we went back up thar, an’ dere was yo’ pa jes’ crawlin’ out ob dat trunk in de corner, where one ob de niggers had put him when he heerd yo’ ma a- talkin’ to dem soldiers on de fron’ po’ch. He packed a lots ob clo’s ober him an’ dem soldiers dey jes’ opened de trunk an looked in, an’ didn’t stop to ’vestigate. Wa’al, it’s high time yo’ was a-hed. Come ’long, honey.” HILDA PRENTISS, ’13. We went into the garden, We wandered o’er the land, The moon was shining brightly, I held her little—shawl. Yes, I held her little shawl, (How fast the evening flies). We spoke in tones of love, I gazed into her—lunch-basket. I gazed into her lunch-basket, I wished I had a taste. Here sat my lovely darling, My arm around her—umbrella. Embracing her umbrella. This charming little miss, Her eyes were full of mischief, 1 shyly stole a—sandwich. —Ex. What does the cow say? Ask Edith P., T2.

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The Pioneer Page Sixteen AN AFTERNOON’S ADVEN¬ TURE “My! but I’m glad that I haven’t got. to be out in this storm,” said Beth to herself, as she looked out of the living-room window, to see the air filled with whirling snow-flakes. The bitter wind blew them in all di¬ rections, and made her fairly shiver to look at them. “I’m all alone, except for cook, and this is just the time to read that old novel of Aunt Sara’s that I saw in her room the other day. She told me that I might take it to read any time I liked. I’ll go and get it,” she thought. Suiting the action to the word, she got the book, and returned to the living-room. She drew up a spacious arm-chair before the huge fire-place, where two immense logs wore burning. She seated herself and soon became deeply absorbed in her story. It was a tale of old England in the time of gallant knights and fair ladies. The heroine was a beautiful damsel with dusky hair, eyes of the softest brown, and a sweet, senstive mouth. She was tall and stately, and graceful as a lily. The hero was sturdily built, with broad shoulders and muscles of iron w ' hich betokened woe unto his adversary. He was tall, and had the clear blue eyes and flax¬ en hair that marked him to be of Saxon descent. He had gone to a tournament sev¬ eral leagues distant, when it seemed to Beth that in some way or other, she had become .entangled in the story. She saw clearly what a splen¬ did figure he made, seated on his horse, and clad in bright armor. He was wearing her favor, a scarf of royal purple satin, embroidered with amethysts. She sat with the lords and ladies of the court, where beauty and mag¬ nificence were manifested on all sides. The splendor and brilliancy of the attire of both lords and ladies alike fairly dazzled little Beth, born and bred in our modern times. The opening event of the tourna¬ ment was a tilting match between Beth’s hero and a Norman baron of high rank. They each start at op¬ posite ends of the field and ride at each ether at full speed. Beth watches breathlessly! Now they meet! There is a crash, and the baron is thrown from his horse! Beth’s hero dismounts, the baron rises slow¬ ly. and they continue the combat on foot. They are so evenly matched that the contest is extremely excit¬ ing. Oh! Beth’s hero has fallen heavily! The baron stands haughtily aside while he slowly regains his feet. The struggle is renewed with redoubled vigor. “How magnificently he fights,” says Beth to herself, and surely, she does not mean the baron. Ah! The baron is thrown from his feet by a clever thrust from the lance of Beth’s hero. He does not rise. They take him from the fie badly wounded. Upon examination, his wound is not pronounced fatal. Beth’s hero has won the tilt. After receiving the prize, a miniature lance of gold, richly inlaid with precious stones, lie makes his way toward Beth. How her heart beats! “Beth! Beth! Wake up! Supper’s all ready,” cried her mother, gently shaking her.

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The Pioneer Page Eighteen JIMMIE’S VACATION Deer Cousin Fred, You’d oughter been here last week. Me an Tubby Biggs had a dandy time. There wasn’t no school all the week, an Tubby an me both got new skates for Christmas, an maybe we didn’t have some fun skating on Oak Pond. You Temember Lizzie Smith, don’t you, that tow-headed gurl what lives side of Tubby? Well, she’s just crazy over him, an he just hates her. The first day we went skating, she come tagging along with me an Tub¬ by, and we tried lots of ways to get rid of her. Finally Tubby, he went an hid behind a tree, and left me with Lizzie. Lizzie started crying, an gee, she most drownded me! I told her if she’d sit down on the old wall side of the pond, an wait, Fd go an find Tubby for her. Then I went off, an Tubby an me met on the next corner, sneaked round to the other end of the pond, an skated till most dark. I s’pose Lizzie stayed there most all the afternoon. The next day I was going over to Tubby’s house, an ali of a sudden, Lizzie’s big broth¬ er Bill come out an grabbed me by the neck. Gee, maybe he didn’t shake me! I thought Fd have to pick up my teeth one at a time an take them home in my pocket! Then he punched me, an kicked me. Bimeby he let go of me, an went off. I went home, an went in the back door, an up the back stairs, an went to bed. Perhaps I didn’t ache all over! Pret¬ ty soon Ma come up, an I told her I got mixed up in a hockey game. 1 felt kinder guilty, cause she don’t like to have me lie to her, but I knew if I told her the truth, she’d tell Pa, an he’d lick me for fighting, an 1 thought bimeby after I got over be¬ ing so lame, Fd tell him, an he could lick me if he wanted to. Oh, say, Fred, we had a regular circus last Wed. night. You know that tent Fve got out in my yard, an the one Mike Doane’s got right next to it. Wed. night you know how warm it was for this time of year, so Ma said me an Tubby could sleep out in my tent, if we took an old feather-bed an some blankets. Mike Doane found out we was going to be out there, so he an Skinny Taylor slept in his tent. About midnight there was an awful noise under my bed. Sounded as if somebody was groaning something awful, an Tubby an me was most scared to death. It kept up for about half an hour, an then stopped. I didn’t dare look un¬ der the bed, an course Tubby was lots scareder than I was. Pretty soon the groaning started again, an I just told Tubby I was going to find out what it was, so when it stopped again I looked under the bed. There wasn’t nothing there, so I kinder had a clue about what it might be. I went out ar.ound the back of the tent, an pretty soon I found out what it was. Say. you’d never guess! That Mike Doane had taken a piece of garden hose an put it across be¬ tween the tents, and he an Skinny had been hollering into one end, an the sound come out of the other end, under my bed. I sneaked out, an went in the house an got a big pail of cold water, an Tubby an me poured the water in the end of the hose, an then blew in it as hard as we could, an the