St Lukes School - Oak Yearbook (Wayne, PA)

Page 54 text:

It was short but strenuous. Liz put up a brave defense, but the Giant-Runt's imported skill was too much. He soon lay in the middle of the ring, beating the air with his wings, with the victorious foot of the Giant- Runt upon his neck. W hose father has the higher perch, yours or mine? demanded the Giant-Runt. Yours, gasped the Tumbler. Be it so. Go bathe your eye. And Liz went. Thus again did the Giant-Runt successfully defend his title of uncrowned king of the dove cote. - The squab with the biggest head is Bill. Now, there are two Bills in the dove cote, and there is danger of confusing their identities. One has the same colored plumage from head to foot, the coloring of the other is put on in patches. One is always Billing, the other always cooing. The latter flies slowly and sedately, the former darts from perch to perch, trying to reach the topmost one in the dove cote. The speed at which they fly varies. One Bill can cover the distance between the dove cote and Miss Shipley's School in much less time than the other. But this is nothing to the speed with which he flies when he faces a tete-a-tete with the Head Master. They are curiously unlike in disposition. One Bill leaves a Mourning Dove in every dove cote he visits, the other a Pouter. Their appetites vary. lt makes a great difference whom they sit near at feeding time. Their tastes differ. One is quite prosy, the other poetical. The latter wrote some verse for The Blue and White. Copy ran out, so it was printed. Pretty good verse for a squab, don't you think? asked one Bill. Won't scan, said the critic. Why not? demanded the squab-poet haughtily. Because all the feet are pigeon-toed. Billie went to roost early that evening. All squabs look alike on toast. The difference is detected when they are eaten. THE OAK serves them to its readers roasted and hopes they are not overdone. Now, good digestion waits on appetite, And health on both Y 48

Page 53 text:

any one else to step into the ring, but the ring doves have all turned into homers and sought their perches, leaving the Giant-Runt, Forney, real king, although uncrowned. The most magnificent bird is a Queen's Pigeon having upon its head a beautiful tuft of red feathers. This bird is scientifically known as Kelly, locally as Fox. It displays at times, the instincts of the homers and carriers but never of the tumblers. It is the tallest bird in the lot. It leaves its perch late in the morning and seeks it late at night. It sleeps often between meals, but always manages to wake up when the birds are fed. It flies gracefully and makes very little noise about it. Its brilliant topknot makes it con- spicuous even while flying. It has powerful wings and is said to be the swiftest bird in the bunch. A fine specimen of the jumbo-Homer is known as Potts While not supposed to be as swift as the Queen's Pigeon for sustained flight, his powers are unsurpassed. He was captured on the shores of the Chesa- peake Bay and appears to thrive in captivity. His plumage is duller than Kelly's, but his beak is larger. His favorite roosting place is the porch roof of The Armitage School. He often goes there expressly to roost, but has learned to dread the Faculty shotgun. As harmless as a dove, was never better exemplified than in the case of eight little demure squabs, hardly feathered, distinguishable only by their names '-- Baker, Fillebrown, Gilpin, Griflith, Hazzard, Symons, Saxman and Skyring Smith. They lead a happy, innocent existence, using their wings awkwardly, and believing the Turtle Dove is king of the roost by divine right. They are easily alarmed, if any girl comes to inspect the dove cote they fuss all the time she is there. They enjoy, however, being fed by young hands and cluster, like the doves of St. Mark's, about them. The distance from their perch to the ground is a long one in their eyes. When the Wild Pigeon with the Green Feathers, called J. Budd Peale, tells them of his wild life in Englewood, they gaze at him in the same way the Turtle Dove Coane gazes at the stock doves and the Fantails inside the Bellevue-Stratford. The tamest bird is the big Tumbler called Liz, He is not at all shy and is easily caught. Let a hand appear and down he comes, ilutterin g his wings in his haste to light upon it. Liz is the largest squab in the bunch and ought to bring at least sixty cents a pair, He has a gentle disposition, but once in a while puts up a fight. He rashly asserted one day that his father occupied a higher perch in the world's dove cote than the Giant Runt's. Blood alone should decide. The Ring doves gathered round. The Tumbler and the Giant Runt sharpened their bills, and the jumbo-Homer, Potts, acted as referee. One round was fought. 47

Page 55 text:

umm Lov5S YQRUNQ ME BURD cnesu nm we summzmr - y .,.! , -il-1 -f 'lf 7 -4' -fi six ' ,, x -L-:'?j lT -W M , MQ Q, ff ' x - f ' I QUQ11 . MJ F H Y, X F if 5.N,Wzs1co1f '05 I