Saltus Grammar School - Yearbook (Hamilton, Bermuda)

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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

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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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13 surface. My father got out his boat, which is called the Banco , and met my uncle and Gordon at our private dock. There were two sturdy rods on board, so that all my uncle and Gordon had to bring was their lunch. My mother had prepared a good sandwich lunch for my father and myself, and had given me some pills to take, in case I be- came sea-sick. By nine o ' clock we had started and were heading for Argus Banks , about twenty miles off Bermuda, a well-known place for trolling. As we drew away from the barrier reef, I noticed that we were be- ginning to come across the large ocean swells. I started to feel slightly sea-sick, but, after taking one of the special pills, I soon felt all right. At eleven o ' clock we reached Argus Banks and the two trolling lines were put out. About two hours later we got a strike and, after a big struggle, my father landed a twenty pound wahoo, which is a fish looking very much like a barracuda, except that it has a larger tail and in general grows much bigger than a barracuda. After this, we decided to eat our lunch. As the afternoon wore on, I noticed that the wind was springing up and that the ocean swells were getting larger. The Banco rode over these swells with ease. S he is a twin-engined motor boat, thirty feet long, and all the boat is cabined in, except for about six feet at the stern, which has canvas over it. She can sleep four people comfortably and has a galley and bathroom. About four o ' clock my uncle got a strike and landed a small fifteen pound tuna. The wind was now rising steadily and soon the spray was washing right over the boat. We decided to start for home and, as we did so, the storm broke, with thunder and lightning. As the boat was turning, a large wave washed right over the stern. I could see that my father was worried and, when I asked him what was the matter, he said that, with the storm raging, we might not be able to find the channel through the barrier reef. He also told me that we had not mucTi gas left, as a result of a leak in the tank. The wind kept getting stronger and every now and then €he boat would give a great lurch as it plunged over the waves. Water washed in through one of the ports, which would not shut properly, causing the water in the boat to rise. We each had to take turns at the built-in pump to keep the boat from capsizing. In the distance a faint flash of light could be seen, which we supposed to be the Lighthouse. We knew that we must be drawing near the barrier reef. My fatTier de- cided to try to cross at once, because, if we did not, we would run out of gas and consequently be washed against the reef.