Riverbend School for Girls - Vox Fluminis Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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VOX F L UM I NI S Page Fourteen Tom obeyed instantly and as soon as he got in the cave he was chloroformed and taken in a passageway down a tunnel where he was bound so tightly he could not move. Suddenly there was an unearthly yell followed by a volley of shots. My friend Brown Buffalo, said Tom. He then shouted, Brown Buffalo, can you come and release me P There was a reply of a volley of shots from Pete but none of them hit Tom. Pete had fired wildly because he was hard pressed. King and Bill went down under the Indians and were bound up. There was a final shot and Pete killed one of the braves. Then the Indians pressed around him and he was borne to the ground and tied up like Bill and King. Then a brave came and untied Tom and said, Come, Pale Face Tom, we have no time to lose, I show you the way. Tom went and he found Bill, Pete, and King tied to trees. VVell, said Tom, are there any more men Pete ? . Naw, said Pete, we used to belong to Snake Anson's gang. I see, replied Tom, I suppose you are wanted by the sheriff, are you not ? No answer. VVell, said Tom, turning to the Indians. you have done me a great service and you will be well paid. VVill you bring these men to the Pale Face village ? Yah, said Brown Buffalo. we bring 'em. Bring them along and I'll ask the Sheriff if he will give you and your tribe some blankets and hatchets. Come on! It was long ago that this happened and Trapper Hawkins is old and grey. He does not hunt any more but he lives in the little village of Great River where he was born. -Morna Kenny, Grade VII. i., A FIRE f2nd placej I Gerald, the young fire-chief of the little town of Home-Haven, had just left the jeweller, Mandaly, from whom he had purchased a real pearl necklace for his mother, who was to celebrate her wedding anniversary on the morrow. ' Next to Mandaly's was a small old wooden house, very badly built, which had now been standing empty for at least three or four years. On the other side of the house, the fence was only about two feet away, and against it stood the small shack of the Hiky Club for the boys of Home- Haven. As this Friday night was the last warm one they could expect, they were celebrating the last meeting of the year with a marshmallow roast. So at eight o'clock just at dusk the boys gathered at the shack, some holding sticks, some tins, and others fire-wood. The camp fire was soon ablaze in the open field at a safe distance from the shack and the boys crowded round, each holding a green stick, with at

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Page Thirteen VOX FL UMINIS .............-.....-.-.........- ..... . ..... ....-..-.. .......... ... ..... ..-...-.. ...... ...-. ......... ....-... ........... -.-.--.--.-. .................................. ....-.-.......... SENICDR SCHCDGL 014' The following story The Trapper's Adventure, by Morna Kenny, was awarded first prize in the Senior School Short Story Contest. A Fire, by Isobel Hutchison came second. A Piece of Gum. by Margaret Aldous and The Adventures of a Dollar Bill by Katharine Walton gained Honorable Mention. THE TRAPPERUS ADVENTURE In a remote spot in the Rocky Mountains where there was no one but white trappers and Indians, lived a young trapper named Tom Hawkins. He trapped wild animals in the winter and in the summer he took the pelts down to the village and sold them. One day in mid-winter Tom Hawkins was in his cabin cleaning his gun. He was a tall young man about twenty-five years old, fair, broad shouldered, and very bronzed. I guess I'll go and see to my traps, he said, after a while. He picked up his gun, strapped his snowshoes on his back and started off. The first trap he reached he saw snowshoe marks all around. He did not think anything of it but he said, I hope those Indians didn't touch my traps. He went over to a tree and leaned against it. He heard a rustle in the bushes and a voice said, See that there tree above ye P Yes, said Tom. W'al, reach for itf' said the voice, I got a gun and I'm a good shot. Tom slowly put his hands above his head. Go an' get his gun, Kingf' said the man. O.K. Pete, replied another voice. There was a movement in the bushes and a tall man with a black beard stepped out and took Tom's revolver. The next thing the man did was to tie Tom's hands behind his back and order him to get a move on. With one man in front of him and another behind him Tom approached an old tumbled-down shack. Tie him up well, an' leave him there, said Pete, while I hunt for his traps. About two hours later Pete came back and started to cook the meal. King, he shouted. What do ye want P replied King. Bring that young friend of ours out here so's he can have his grub. We don' want to starve him. A Tom's legs were untied and he came out of the shack and started to eat his meal. The next day he was ordered on his snowshoes and when the men were not looking he got away. He was soon recaptured and taken along to an old cave. Get in there, said Pete, Han' Bill will take care o' ye.

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Page Fifteen Vox FL UMINIS least one marshmallow on the end of it, at some stage of the roasting pro- cess. Suddenly Arthur, the most particular boy in the crow'd, burnt his marshmallow, and then with a few words which sounded more like a growl threw the crazy stick which had brought him all the bad luck to the top of the shack, still with a spark of fire in it. He was then compelled to eat marshmallows roasted by the other boys, even if they were burnt, for he knew that awful word sissy which was applied to any boy so particular as he, if he were ever noticed. Now that the marshmallows were finished the boys took turns at telling ghost stories, then a sing-song followed, wound up by Good Night Ladies. Later footsteps running hither and thither to be home at the promised hour were heard. At half-past eleven or about that time Cso the weather-man certified the next dayj a furious wind came up, blowing the leaves off the trees and incidently carrying also a very small portion of the stick from the club shack to the roof of Mandaly's and also helping to light the remaining spark which had nearly gone out. At quarter to twelve Gerald made his usual tour of inspection of the town for the fire department and, passing Mandaly's he said to himself, Goodness how I hope nothing happens to that store to-night of all nights -for he had left the pearl necklace at the store as he was going directly home to his mother's at the time. After a sigh of relief, he looked up at his mirror in the car just as he was turning the corner, but something seemed to tell him. that there was smoke rising from the jeweller's shop. But as he was at the corner, he must watch where he was going, to avoid a collision, therefore after he had backed and stalled at the nearest lane and again turned the dangerous sharp corner he found the whole roof ablaze to meet him g quickly he hastened to park his car opposite the store but was delayed by a passing truck. His first thought was I will phone the station although I know they are all in bed, which will cause a further delay. Then after running to the first fire signal post which was half a block away and putting in a rush call he ran back to Mandaly's to try, first of all, to get his necklace, thinking surely it will be in the safe and I know where the safe is. Mandaly always leaves it unlocked. Breaking the window he ran across the fioor to the safe and emptied its contents as quickly as he could, to try and recover the necklace but it was not there. Then remembering the rules he had always been taught in case of a fire with no help coming, he blew through his hands on to the flames. Then, glancing up, he noticed a square box which had not yet been reached by the flames. While taking it down the other men rushed in with the hose and released Gerald to go out and supervise. All during the rest of the battle with the fire Gerald kept thinking drearily, I've lost my neck- lace, I've lost my necklace. At the end of the fire, David, second in command, came over to Gerald and patting him on the back said What's the worry, friend o' mine ? in a kindly manner, and then pointing to the box What have you here P It