Shields High School - Patriot Yearbook (Seymour, IN)

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Just Like a Gypsy William Miller, ' 25. ' 1Y TOM, I want to go to the park this afternoon and play, may I go? asked 1 little Donald Perrin, the four-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard Pei-rin, who had lived in this country only ten months and whose financial circumstances were rather low. Yes, you may go if you will come back at five o ' clock sharp, for I shall worry about you if you are not back at that time, ' ' said his kind mother. ' All right, I ' ll be back at half-past, answered Don in a joyful tone. As Mrs. Perrin stood in the door watching him trip merrily out of her sight, little did she think that it was the last time she would ever see him running to the play ground, barefooted and so free from care. As soon as he had turned the corner she went back into her kitchen, humming a tune, and began sewing his little blouse. The time flew so fast, that before she knew it, it was twenty-five minutes after four. Immediately she put aside her sewing and started to prepai-e supper as Mr. Perrin was expected home before five o ' clock. Where ' s Don? exclaimed Mr. Perrin, as he entered the kitchen door. ' ' Oh, he went to the park to play, but he will be back in just a few minutes. Why? said Mrs. Perrin. Well, said Mr. Perrin, ' he has asked me many times if he might have a ball and glove like the other boys, but I never have had the money to buy them. I had been saving fifty cents a week until I had enough, and this evenin g 1 stopped at Smith ' s Hardware Store and bought them. I am anxious to see his big blue eyes grow larger when he sees them. It was half-past five and supper was over, but Donald had not yet come home. His father and mother thought he was enjoying himself so much that he had forgotten that it was late. The sun had begun to sink in the west and both Mr. and Mrs. Perrin were terribly worried as Donald had never before stayed out that late, so they at once set out to find him. They went to the play ground, but all the children had gone. They inquired at every place where they thought he might be, but no one knew anything about him. The police were notified and all the community hunted for the lost boy. A week passed by and Mr. and Mrs. Perrin were frantic with fear and grief.

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ice cream just as fast as lie could ! 1 called Mr. William Cullen Bryant and he arrested him right away and said, ' ' So live that when thy summons comes to face the court or something like that. I was simply furious at that Poe boy. He is a nuisance. So we saved the ice cream. There wasn ' t enough to go around but Johnnie Keats didn ' t mind doing without, he had his rabbit, and ice cream isn ' t good for Mr. Shakespeare. Johnnie helped me serve the guests and so did Mr. Dickens. I asked Mr. Milton but he said, They also serve who only stand and wait. T didn ' t see how, but it was just as well for he is always dropping things. Pretty soon Mr. Longfellow looked out and said. The day is done and the darkness, falls from the wings of night. So they all began to look for their wraps. Mr. Shakespeare left saying, Good-night, parting is such sweet sorrow that 1 could say ' good-night ' until tomorrow. After they had gone I counted the silverware. There were only four spoons, a knife, and two forks missing and. needless to say, I considered myself very fortunate indeed. Altogether it is a great strain on one ' s nerves to be an author. (Also with apologies to anyone else who might be offended). The Moon Jeanette Clarke, ' 25. M CON that rises With the setting sun, Moon that appears When the day is done ; Ancient Moon ! That floats on high ; Over the vast And boundless sky ; Thou dost cast thy glance On the earth, at rest, And then, as silently Dost sink in the west. Q. lQi AiQ

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J u By this time little Donald was far from home. That afternoon while he was playing he noticed four large cars stop a short distance from him and the occupants were so strangely dressed that his curiosity brought him into their possession before he knew what he was doing. They immediately seized him and started away with great speed. He cried for his father and mother and refused to keep quiet, so they gaged him with dirty rags. He was with seven other poor, unfortunate children who had been kid- napped in the same way. When the cars finally stopped, Donald found out through the conversations he heard that they were somewhere in Mexico. The evening meal was prepared over a bonfire, and the food Mas nothing but mush and strong meat which had been stolen. The gypsies seemed to relish it, but Donald and his seven other poor companions could not stop crying long enough to eat, and they would not have eaten even if they could, because they were not used to such food. Their guard was very cruel and talked very harshly to them. The children were all dirty and dusty and they wished to wash in some fresh, cool water, but they were sent to bed without this privilege, only to be more miserable. Their bed was nothing but the bare ground under a tent. The first one I hear crying or catch trying to escape, I will flog and he shall do without the next three meals, said the cruel guard. Little Donald cried softly and wondered what his mother thought when he did not come home. He wondered what they were doing and why they didn ' t come after him. He lay awake all night and tried to think of some plan by which he was sure he could escape. Ten y ears had passed and Mr. and Mrs. Perrin were gray and broken in health from grief because, they were sure that Donald was dead, for if he were alive, they felt he would have come home by this time. Donald had grown accustomed to this kind of life, but he still intended to escape some day. Six of his companions were gone. Their parents had paid a large ransom to get them back, but he knew his parents could not have afforded his ransom even if they had known where he was. His only friend was Jean Hughes. She was in the same circumstances as he, except that she was two years younger. They were together most of the time, and since they had never tried to escape, the gypsies had put great confidence in them. It was the night before they were to make their long planned escape. That night they planned how to get everything in readiness and which way to run. $ ; $ ; $ .. $