Somerville High School - Radiator Yearbook (Somerville, MA)

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THE SOMERVILLE RADIATOR 75 H monopoly of 3fort£ HJears Ego 36 $ Ellen 1R. holmes, E.t '07 N an office on Albany street, Boston, bearing the name of “Mead Bond, Lumber,” over the door, a middle- aged gentleman was sitting at his desk, but he was not busying himself about the papers on his desk ; instead, he seemed to be expecting the arrival of some one. From the side window he could see great piles of lumber, all belonging to the firm of which he was the senior partner. Finally the door opened and a Younger man walked into the room, with a worried expression on his face. “Well. Bond,” said Mr. Mead, how did vou find McCarty ‘Things are in a pretty state with all of us,” an- swered Mr. Bond. McCarty has only a few more feet of hard pine, while he needs a cargo to finish the building. The worst of it all is that he agreed to forfeit $1.5.000 if the school was not ready for oc- cupancy bv September 1. That gives him only about two months. He could do it all right if lie had the hard pine. He threatened to buy of Curtis Pope if we could not supply him. 1 told him he had better buy what they had on hand, which can’t be much. But then McCarty said he simply must have the lumber, and that whichever firm received the first shipment from Jacksonville would get his patronage.” Which means the loss of a good bag of money to us if Curtis Sc Pope receive their shipment first,” said Mr. Mead. “You told Captain Rich to spare no efforts to get back here in record time?” asked the other. “Yes, but you know how we are hampered at Jacksonville by that black Spaniard, Leangle. It is a case of how many days will elapse from the time Captain Rich reaches the mouth of the St. Tohn river till he is outside it again with a cargo aboard.” Weil, Curtis «S; Pope have to put up with the same inconvenience at Jacksonville as we do, and we have as good a chance as they have,” said Mr. Bond. “Captain Rich ought to be in Jacksonville by to-morrow and I shall telegraph him to arrive in Boston before Curtis Pope’s vessel at all costs.” Meanwhile, Captain Rich of the “Mary Jane” was sailing southward as fast as a fair wind could carry him. Although he was not as yet aware of the necessity of his arriving in Boston before his rival, Captain Banks, of the “Mermaid,” he took pleasure in racing the other up the coast. The “Mermaid” had sailed two days before the “Mary Jane.” but the latte was a faster craft. Besides, the “Mermaid” might have to wait off the mouth of the river two or three days before a string of waiting vessels would collect and Leangle would put off in his tug. This Leangle was a tall. dark, cadaverous Spaniard, as mean, ignorant, and pro- fane as possible. He was the owner of the only tug in Jacksonville and consequently all the ves- sels (and there were a great many of them carrying hard pine lumber from Jacksonville) were at his mercy. 1 en years of the monopoly of the towing industry had brought out all the mean traits in his character, till he considered himself a sort of god, with all creation his humble servants. lacksonville is situated on the St. John river near its mouth. Consequently it was necessary that all sailing vessels be towed up the river to the wharf. As Leangle did not think it was worth while to bother with a single vessel, he would wail till there were as many as his tug could move, when he would tow all of them up the river at once. While the vessels were waiting, a storm frequently arose and the vessels would be compelled to lift anchor and go out to sea. and two or three days would be consumed before the ships could be worked back to the mouth of the river again. It was no wonder then that Captain Rich eagerly scanned the sea at the river’s mouth as his trim lit- tle craft came booming along with all sail set. If there were only one or two ships anchored out- side. there would be a long wait. But no, he could see three, tour. five, six white specks. He was in- deed fortunate. But if the tug should be on the way out now, and he should be too late! That was the worst possible fate. lie counted the minutes till he came within hail of the others. lie could see the “Mermaid” among them too, at which he rejoiced. Suddenly, a shout went up as some one cried: “The tug’s coming!” and immediately there was a bdstle of preparation among the fleet. The tug. a dirty, dingy boat, came alongside. Leangle stepped to the bow and said: “Pass over the money.” The charge for towing in a vessel was forty dollars. Leangle charged as much when a vessel was one of a string as when he was compelled to make a spe- cial trip for her, and the money had to be passed over the bow before he would threw the hawser aboard. The worst of it all was that there was no appeal from this. If anyone ventured to complain, Leangle would say: “Them’s my terms; take them or leave them as you please. It’s nothing to me.” When Captain Rich received his employer’s tele- gram he redoubled his efforts to break the record time for a round trip between Boston and Jackson- ville. His crew caught the spirit of their captain and all worked early and late, until the “Marv Jane was ready to sail on the afternoon of the third day. Wind and tide were favorable, but the question was. was Leangle in the same desirable mood. It T can only get out this afternoon,” thought Captain Rich. “1 can be well on the home trip by to-morrow morning.” He hurried to the lower end of the town and found Leangle playing with a dirty pack of cards and some boon companions in the back room of a shop. Captain Rich called him aside and asked

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74 THE SOMERVILLE RADIATOR Brounfc tbc Campfire -TSv m. S. flbaulsbg, ’os 'Oyi ES. I always did like that story,” said Edward Robinson; in fact, f might vl say, I was brought tip on it.” yJL 1 The first time I heard it.” inter- rl,ptC(i Fatty Gibbs, “I really enjoyed it ; but that was in 1801, and I have heard it seven times since then.” These remarks were made as the result of the storv about the man who invented a flv-trap, told by Maurice Thompson. The three boys were camping out in the Maine woods during their summer vacation, and now that their supper was finished they were lying around the fire and ‘‘swap- ping” stories. “You fellows think you’re smart, don’t you?” said Maurice, “but just the same that’s a better story than either of you could tell. Is that so?” queried Fatty. “I could tell one right now. better than that one.” All right, go ahead.” Thus enjoined. Fatty began: “About twenty years before the Civil War a family named Clark- son settled in the northern part of Michigan. The family consisted of the father and mother and four sons. One of the sons, James by name, was slightly lame; but all the others were in good health. “Mr. Clarkson and his sons built a fine house for the family with no tools but their axes. Their nearest neighbors, a family named Wilkins, lived a mile and a half away; but they did not mind that, for they were a jolly crowd. However, during their first year’s stay there, they were greatly sad- dened by the death of James, the lame one. who. al- though lie had never been robust, had not been con- sidered sickly. “After this their life passed along without any verv important occurrences, until the three boys had grown up to manhood. The father and the bovs were accustomed to rise early in the morning, and taking a lunch with them, go out into the woods and cut lumber. They did not return home again until sunset. “One August day Mrs. Clarkson sat sewing in one of the upstairs rooms, when she heard the front door open, and heard steps coming up the stairs. As she thought it was her neighbor, she said: ‘Come right in, Mrs. Wilkins.’ “But the steps passed by her door, which was shut, and continued to the end of the corridor. Then they stopped. Somewhat alarmed at this she crossed the room, opened the door, stepped out into the corridor and looked up and down. No one was in sight! “Then she remembered that the steps had been uneven, as though the person walking by was lame. The place where the footsteps halted was right in front of the door of the room occupied bv her son Tames before his death. Although she was greatly disturbed by this occurrence, she said nothing, as she did not wish to alarm the family unnecessarily. “On the next day, however, she contrived to have Frank, her youngest son, stay at home with her. About ten o’clock Mrs. Clarkson went out to feed the hens, and Frank was left alone in the house. His mother had been gone about five min- utes when the front door opened, and some one, after crossing the hall, began to ascend the stairs. Why. I wonder what makes mother walk so lame.” thought Frank: but as he was just in the midst of a story, he did not go to the door until the steps had gone by and had entered the room for- merly occupied by James. When he heard the door of his brother’s room shut, he got up. and walking to the door, entered the corridor. “ ‘What arc you doing in there, mother?’ he asked, for none of the family were in the habit of using the room, and in fact it had not been open at all except once a year when the spring cleaning was going on. “Getting no response to his inquiry, he stepped to the door of his brother’s room, and cautiously opened it. He was almost afraid to put his head inside the door, but, mustering up his courage, he boldly entered the room, and quickly glanced around. The room was empty! It was only the thought of his mother that kept him from crying out. “He soon regained his courage and began to think that it was all his imagination, so he closed the door and returned to his book. Here his mother found him when she returned, but she did not notice that anything was the matter with him. “Several days more passed without Mrs. Clark- son’s hearing the footsteps, and so she began to wonder if she really had heard them at all. or if it had been only the foolish fancy of her mind. “On the very day. however, when she had come to this conclusion, she heard the footsteps again. It came about in this way: It was the custom with the Clarksons to retire early, and this particular evening they were all in bed by half-past seven. The family slept in two adjoining rooms on the sec- ond floor, which were situated across the hall from the room which had belonged to James. “Thev had not been in bed more than half an hour when the front door opened and the shuffling steps ascended the stairs and walking by the two sleeping rooms entered the room opposite. “ ‘Did you hear that noise?’ Mr. Clarkson asked his wife in a hoarse whisper. “ ‘Yes, what was it? ’ “The boys had also heard the noise, and finding that their parents were awake, they came trooping in frightened out of their wits. Well, it appeared that they had all heard the steps before, but had not spoken for fear of alarming the others, and be- cause each one had thought it was due to his im- [ Continued on page si.]

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76 THE SOMERVILLE RADIATOR if he would tow his vessel outside this afternoon. ‘‘This afternoon.” repeated Leangle, amazed at such audacity. Then he broke into a loud guffaw at the preposterous request. “But ' said the cap- tain, very much annoyed, but resolved to keep his suavity, I will make it worth your while.” The greedy eyes of the Spaniard glistened. “Mow much will you give me?” he said. Fifty dollars,” said the captain. “Xot by a long shot,” said the Spaniard. Fifty-five.” “Xo.” Sixtv.” Still the Spaniard shook his head. Captain Rich turned on his heel as if to go out. But the Spaniard said surlily, I’ll do it.” Then the captain added: “Re- member. you must tow me across the bar.” It was as bad for the outward bound vessels as for those going in the opposite direction. Leangle would take them as far as the harbor bar. and there leave them in the rough water, where the heavilv- laden vessels would roll and toss and strain for hours, till finally they would scrape over the bar somehow and get into smooth water. Even the most hardened sailors would become seasick after hours of such violent motion. Captain Rich had this fact in mind when he made the last provision. Before sundown he was standing off the mouth of the river and soon his ship was but a speck on the horizon. The night was a beautiful moonlight one, and the captain lingered on deck, enjoying the scene, and feeling its softening effect on his thoughts, lie had never had a better trip. Al- though he was nearly thirty-five, he was going to be married in a month, and consequently it meant a great deal to his prosperity that he should be able to serve his employers in their hour of need. Just before he turned in. he passed an auxiliary yacht, that is. one with both sails and a motor attachment. He thought nothing about it. little knowing that the whole course of affairs at Jacksonville was to be changed by that same yacht. 'I'he next morning Leangle was somewhat sur- prised to see a yacht sailing along in a manner showing that some accident had happened to the motor. Soon a launch came ashore, and the mate in charge said that one of the blades of the propel- ler had been broken, and the owner, who was aboard cruising in southern waters, wished to put into Jacksonville for repairs. Leangle refused to tow her in unless the yacht was considered as sal- vage. which meant that the owner must pay what she was worth, just as if she were a helpless wreck and he were rescuing her from certain destruction. Leangle was deaf to all remonstrances, as was his habit, and finally the owner, Mr. Drexell, a wealthy Philadelphian, was compelled to accede to his mon- strous demand. One morning a week later, Leangle was as- tounded to sec a fine, large, first-class New York tug lying inside the harbor. But that was nothing compared to his speechless amazement when a sis- ter tug came towing a vessel up the river, a ship which had been waiting at anchor ever since the previous morning. He was of course much dis- turbed. but he was more so when, as the day pro- gressed, the tugs towed the vessels in as fast as they arrived. Finally, when the Spaniard could stand it no longer, he put his dignity and self-impor- tance. which had been accumulating for ten years, in his pocket and went out to interview the captain of one of them. The captain had been carefully instructed what to sav. “Do you remember a certain Mr. Drexell, and the unheard-of demand you made of him just because you had a dead open-and-shut on him?” he asked Leangle. Yes,” said the Spaniard, a light breaking on his mental horizon. “Well, Mr. Drexell is a man with plenty of money who, as he goes about in his travels, incidentally looks for peo- ple like you. who think they are monarch of all they survey, and he always teaches them a lesson they never forget. He has chartered these tugs, and told Captain Gray, of the other, and myself to tow all vessels up the river. We are to charge the reg- ular price, forty dollars, if we can get it, but we are to take anything, or even do it for nothing rather than let you get the work.” Ruin stared Leangle in the face. More than that, instead of getting sympathy for his misfortune, everyone rejoiced that the tables were turned, and did not hesitate to show it. The vessels went to the new tugs from choice. The Spaniard often found himself going forty miles and more up the coast to catch the vessels coining down. Finally, after struggling for a couple of weeks, Leangie took time and money to go to I'hiladclphia to en- treat Mr. Drexell to withdraw the tugs. Mr. Drexell received him with a smile. Leangle stated what he wished in a manner so different from that which he had used to the same man a month before that it was impossible to recognize it as proceeding from the same source. Well,” said Mr. Drexell, “as a righter of wrongs, I cer- tainly am a great success. Xow. Mr. Leangle, the terms on which I withdraw the tugs are as follows: You must pay back to me what I gave to you when you unjustly demanded salvage, pay what 1 have paid for the service of the tugs, and promise to act decently in the future, for I shall keep my eyes on you.” And how much will that be?” said Leangle with a sinking heart. 'I'he millionaire named a sum which was so large that it took the other’s breath away. But every cent I have in the world docs not amount to half of that,” said he. “Well, you can pay what you have, and I will take a mortgage on your tug and the rest of your property for the balance.” Leangle reflected for a moment. There was plainly no way out of the difficulty except to accept Mr. Drexell’s terms. There was no chance for a lawsuit, for anyone might compete with him for the towing. I will do it.” he said quietly, although the beads of perspiration were standing out on his face. Meantime. Captain Rich was sailing northward as fast as possible. About five o’clock one morn- [ Continued on pjige 87.)