Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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11 Escape My name is Mark Sennett. I am a doctor. I work for the Gov- ernment and they usually send me to take care of the sick at mental asylums. But this was the first time I had ever been a doctor in a prison. There had been a good deal of sickness in Sing Sing and it was my job to attend to it. The day I entered the gates of Sing Sing it was raining and thunder clouds were visible on the horizon. I was taken to Mr. Jeffers, who was the Governor. He was a stern-looking man, but he greeted me pleasantly. Dr. Sennett? Come in, come in. He told me to sit down and then he gave me the details of the epidemic in the prison. Two men have died of this sickness. Dr. Sennett, and thirty five are in the prison hospital. I hope you can clear it up. ' ' I was shown to my office by a guard. Inside the room a man between forty and fifty was sweeping the floor. As I came in, he said very politely, You ' re the doc, eh? Hope you can fix Pat — Pat ' s my friend. My name is Simon Johnson. Glad to know you, Simon, I replied. Are you the caretaker? Yes, sir, Simon replied. Simon told be all about himself, how he had murdered his mother- in-law and had been sentenced to life imprisonment. He was twenty three when he came in — he was forty seven now. I was told later that he was a model prisoner and would be released soon. The next few weeks were very busy ones for me, with thirty five patients to attend to. I spoke to Mr. Jeffers about it a few days later. Sir, hospital staff are very short in every hospital in the country at this time. But I badly need some helpers. Would it be possible to have about six of your best-er-tenants, to work under me? The Governor agreed and the next day I had my six helpers; Simon was amongst them. These men helped me by washing my instruments and keeping a good watch on the patients. But the next day one of our patients died. It was Pat, ' Simon ' s best friend. I had the job of telling him and, when I had done so, he broke dov n and cried.

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10 case for the purpose. We had been told that wood swells when it is put in water, so we did not worry too much about the numerous cracks and splits. After it had been overboard for a week, we came to the conclusion that it would not float. So we went to my grand- mother ' s house and ' borrowed ' a piece of linoleum; it kept the water out for a while, until it began to rot. When the time came for school, I was anxious to start. I used to watch my sister go off in the morning and 1 wanted to go too. But I soon found that life at school was not as good as I had thought and I began to regret going. Apparently I was not the little angel I was thought to be. I was involved in several fights m the first few weeks and had my mouth washed out for saying — bother . At first I went to school in the mornings only and so I used to spend a considerable portion of my time at the beach. In those days fishermen often used to go fishing off the South Shore and we were able to have some trips with them. My first deep-sea fishing trip is still clear in my mind. A friend had a birthday and he decided to take us all fishing. Unfortunately, it was a rough day, half the boys were sick and only one fish was caught. I remember also, all too clearly, one of the good ' lickings ' I received. ' Someone at school had the bright idea of taking the ends of matches and putting them in the end ol a hollow key; we would then strike it with a hammer and nail. I placed a big charge in the key of my mother ' s cedar book-case and blew it apart. Afterwards I was made to regret it. At this time, we had a coloured gardener, named Israel, who used to cut bushes in the back land. One day my mother did not see him and found all the tools lying in the dirt. In the evening, coming across on the ferry, my father found him working for the Ferry Service, tying up boats; he had evidently tired of gardening. Those were the days, all play and no work worth mentioning. I don ' t think that a child now would have as much fun as we had in those days. For one thing, the children are too spoilt; also the number of motor vehicles makes it dangerous to travel on the roads, when the children are going to the beaches in the summer. A PAGETONIAN .

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12 Tn a few weeks, however, he was his old self again. Then one day one of my helpers was granted a day outside the walls. When I asked the reason, the fellow replied, Well, the prison safe with all the ammunition got stuck and they knew I was a great safe-cracker, so I opened it for them. For the next few weeks the prison was quiet — too quiet. I spoke to (Simon about it. He tried to change the subject and then I knew that something was wrong. Simon, some of the men are going to try to make a break. Is that why it ' s so quiet? Are the men planning something? Simon would not answer and I knew that my guess had been correct. Simon, you ' re not going with them? You know you ' re up for parole soon. Simon muttered that he had some work to do and left the room. That night at supper, Simon fell asleep; I had placed a sleeping pill in his coffee. Then I told the Governor about the break. He gave instructions for tripling the guard and told me to go to my office as there would be shooting. When it was over, four convicts were dead. I discovered later that one of them was my friend, the safe-breaker, who had planned the escape. Since that night there has been no violence at Sing Sing. I was sorry to leave the prison, but my work was finished — the epidemic had passed. To-day, if you come to my office on Blandings Street, you will meet my chief assistant — who is also my best friend — Simon Johnson. And he will tell you about the six men who worked under me at the prison — My Six Convicts. S. A. WILLIAMS. Aged 15. The Storm Last Sunday my father was going on a fishing trip with my uncle and Gordon, a friend of the family. He said that, if I wished to go with them, I might do so; naturally I was thrilled at the idea and on Sunday morning I was up bright and early. Sunday morning was sunny and there were few clouds in the sky. The water looked clear and cool, with little ripples blowing across its