Scituate High School - Chimes Yearbook (Scituate, MA)

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10 THE CHIMES ing- eg-g-s last summer. She went over to the sideboard and took down the cracked sugar l)owl, which hekl her hard earned money. Counting it, she found she had just exactly forty- four dollars. It wasn ' t much to be sure l)ut enough for her fare. But she ' d promised Hiram he could have it toward the fund for his new chicken house. She had never been away in all her married life except, once when she went to the country fair when the children were small and then it had been more work than pleasure. Hiram had been promising- her ever since they had been married that they ' d go on a trip someday, but that some- day had never come. She put the dinner on to cook and then she we nt into her little bedroom and began to pack her shabby clothes. By dniner time she had packed. During dinner she tried to evade Hiram because her con- science made her feel a bit uneasy. Almost all he talked about was what kind of hired man he wanted and about the chicken house. Just after the meal he asked Hannah for the money so he could order the lumber for the chicken house. Hannah didn ' t know what to do. She couldn ' t give it to him. She made some kind of mumbled excuse and he went out grum- bling. How could she tell him ! She kept putting it off all the afternoon. Finally at sup- per she told him — Er, Hiram, I ' m going to New York. I ' m going tomor- row morning early. You ' ll have to shift for yourself for the next two weeks, hired men or no hired men. I ' ve de- cided and nobody — not even you — can stop me. ' ' WHiy, Hannah you ' re only fooling; aintcha? Why, you can ' t go off and leave me with a new man coming and har- vesting to be done ! Besides where are you going to get the money? ' I ' m going to take my egg money, Hiram Jones. You aren ' t going to have it for the chicken house. I earned it myself and it ' s mine to do what I want with it. ' ' Why, Hannah, what ' s happened to yer? I have never seen you act like this before. What ' s got into you? You ain ' t ailing; l)e you? ' ' No, I ' m not ailing , Hiram Jones. I just woke up to the fact that I haven ' t had that trip we ' ve been going to take foT the last thirty years. I guess it ' s about time I did

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THE CHIMES 9 HANNAH ' S REVOLT Kathryn Dorr, ' 31 What, you ain ' t a-going? Why, Hannah Jones, do you mean to sit there and tell me you ain ' t a-going! It ' ll be the time of your life! Why, just think of it, going on a great big boat to New York to visit your daughter! Course you ' re going. No, Hettie, Hiram says there ain ' t no sense of a woman of my age to go gallivanting around. He says I ' ve always been a home-loving person and he doesn ' t see wdiy I have to start now. Anyhow he ' s planning to go to see about hiring another man for the harvesting and that wall make more work. He says he isn ' t going to waste money on me that he can use for hiring a man to help him. Lord sakes ! how many more men is he going to hire? He ' s got four now. There ' s more work for yer. But you ain ' t a-going to do it; I tell yer you ' re going to New York But Hiram says — You never mind Hiram. You ' ve listened to him for the last thirty years, and I guess it ' s about time you had your own way. Hannah, you get ready to go. You get yer things packed. You gotta revolt some day and you might as well start now. Well, goodbye. You be a-thinking it over and get ready. Goodbye. But, Hettie — She was gone leaving Hannah in a bewildered state of mind. Would she dare to do it? To go against Hiram, whose word had always been law in her house? But she hadn ' t any money, only what little she had saved from sell-

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THE CHIMES 11 tcike it. Doing all your work since we ' ve been married, without a vacation. Yessir, I ' m going! I ' m going tomor- rom. I ' ve got my bag all packed and everything — At this point she burst out crying. It was too much for her. It was the first time she had dared to speak like that to her husband. Hiram wasn ' t exactly one to be feared but he had a certain air about him that made one feel rather uneasy in his presence. Why, Hannah, don ' t cry. I didn ' t know you cared so much as all that about it. Why, I guess we can go. W e can get Susie Whittaker to come over and keep house for the men. I guess I won ' t hire another man yet, and the chicken house can go; — I don ' t exactly need it. Wdiat do you mean wc? You ' re not going; are you? Why, Hiram! ' ' ' Well, now I guess it w on ' t do any hurt; will it? X-no, but you haven ' t enough money. Oh, don ' t w orry aljout that. I guess I can dig up enough. You go ahead and pack my bag. And, Hannah, you might send her a telegram so she ' ll be expecting us. ' Y-yes Hiram. Hiram ' s word had ruled a ain. FRIEND CHICKADEE Charles Colman, ' 32 A sharp little chirp chirp comes from a tree On the clear cold winter ' s air, Miich tells me that friend chickadee Is out for his daily fare; And from a snow y l ranch he chirps, Friend chickadee is here. Fie flits about from branch to branch AWthout the slightest fear; And chirps to me the whole day long With all his merry cheer To tell the whole fantastic w orld, Friend chickadee is here. And when the blust ' ry winter gale Has left it cold and bleak, And all the life has left the trail To seek some warm retreat, I still can hear the chirp chirp chirp Friend chickadee is here.