Strong High School - Mussul Unsquit Yearbook (Strong, ME)

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THE MUSSUL UNSQUIT ll of the New York Tribune, were: Mr. and Mrs. Henry Chalmers announce the engagement of their daughter, Alice, to Mr. john Harrison, son of Mr. William Harrison, the copper merchant. Gfflltflflllf Foster, '27, THE THIRD WR ECK NE day an old miner, known in the west end of the mountain division as Peter the Hermit, because he lived alone, tramped into headquarters and an- nounced that he had been warned by God that the bridge at the west end of Gold- miner's Canyon would go down under the east bound fiyer at eleven o'clock the next night. The station agent. to whom he told the matter, listened calmly until the old man was through and thanking him gave him a pass back to the mine, considering the in- cident closed. lt would have been all right had not the old miner told the same story to some of the section hands who were more super- stitious than the station agent. By night the news had been well spread around and was on the wires. Of course nothing hap- pened to the heavy Hyer, but the very next night the fast number 16 racing down a steep grade, left the steel and piled itself up in a horrible mass at the bottom of a hundred-foot embankment. It is a notion on the railroads that when there is one wreck there will be two more. Soon after the first wreck there was a rear- end collision of a freight and passenger train in which several people were injured. Then everyone held their breath for the third and final smash. Nels johnson, a big Swede, was to fire number 516, his father's engine, on the hundred mile run through the night. When he went into the roundhouse, just before they left, to bring the big engine out, he overheard two men talking on the other side I tell you it's bound to come, one of them was sayingg never knew it to fail. When there 's two smashes there 's bound to be a third. What makes it happen is because everyone is on edge and thinking of it, said the other man. If I were the boss I 'd lay off every man that has the scare fever and would start with the big fellow that's taking this engine out tonight. He's about the most rattled, said the first speaker. Nels, working quietly around the engine, gasped with astonishment. It was his father that they were talking about, he was called one of the best engineers on the division. In due time he brought the engine onto the span. and, while waiting for his father. went to work cleaning the cab which was plentifully begrimed with the black coal dust. VVhile he was shining things up his father climbed aboard. Never a man to talk much. he merely nodded to Nels and took the oil can out to oil up. ln about fifteen minutes a mellow whistle rang out announcing the arrival of the be- lated special, and 516 was ready to start out on its run up the canyon and across the Red Desert. Five minutes more saw the west end engine cut off and 516 backing fo a coupling with the train. Then came the hiss of the air brakes undergoing the test and with a shuddering blast of the exhaust as the drive wheels of the big pacific type bit the rails and the long train moved slowly away. It was not until the Hrst stop at the edge of the desert that Nels had his first good look at his father. He had just re- ceived a telegram from the train despatcher and as he read the copy to his fireman he stumbled nervously over the words as if he could not see plainly. As Nels sat at his seat during the next half of the run watching the two narrow ribbons of steel whirl by under the gleam of the headlight he suddenly saw what seemed to be a hud- dled confusion down the track and a red light dancing up and down a short distance away. As be saw that his father was mak- ing no move to stop he leaned over and shouted as loud as he could, Red! Dad! Red! and at the frenzied shout of his

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10 THE MUSSUL UNSQUIT that evening, but for some unaccountable reason, Alice had wanted to remain at home. As she stood admiring some beautiful flowers in the garden, Alice heard a light step behind her. She turned around and saw a man holding a hat in his hand. I beg your pardon, Miss, he said, for disturb- ing you, but I am a salesman, representing a publishing company. Here he held out a book to her. She looked at it and kept thinking it strange that he should call in the evening. Alice said that she didn't care for the book. The man, or rather youth, had hesitated, but, different from most agents, had not offered to continue the sales-talk. Instead he conversed with her a few minutes then departed. Alice was not usually nervous but this evening-probably it was because she was alone. As she had been talking to the stranger Alice thought that she had de- tected a shadow in the further part of the grounds. It wasn't anything, she kept telling herself, but somehow, sh-e could not convince her conscience and so she went into the house. As she went by her father's office she glanced in. The safe was open and their compartment of money and jewels gone! Alice suddenly felt weak, but finally reached the telephone. Police Headquarters, she said to the operator. When the Chief of Police an- swered she requested him to come to her house at once. He and several officers arrived in about fifteen minutes. Alice briefly stated the facts of the case. Did you see anyone on the grounds or prowling around? he inquired. N-no, she answered. Somehow she could not tell about the young salesman. Why, he probably wasn't only twenty, or maybe a little older, and anyhow he would- n't have done anything like stealing. Sure? the Chief asked. Yes. It was Hrmer this time. For several weeks the police searched but were not able to find any trace of the robber or robbers. One day Alice was going down-street and she met the salesman. Er-hullo, he greeted her. How-do-you-do, she answered. But suddenly a thought seized her. Did you see anyone prowling around the grounds that night you called? asked Alice. No, he said. She passed on. Alice was getting dis- the jewels and found. As her couraged now. Maybe money never would be family were by no means rich, they would have to move to less pretentious quarters until her father might have a higher salary. The jewels had been handed down from ancestors. One morning a few days later her father remarked at breakfast, If that money and those jewels aren't found soon we will have to leave this place. The day before packing, Eloise, the maid, 'brought a card in bearing the name, john Harrison. Who was that? She knew no one by that name. Bring him in, Eloise, she directed. Whom should she see but the salesman! I have come to return these thing, Miss Chalmers. Here he handed to Alice, to her utmost astonishment, the stolen money and jewels. I know you will think me nothing but a common thief, but, honestly, I did not want to act the part in the job I -did. The man that really did it knew that I owed some money. He offered to pay it if I'd talk to you until he could perform the robbery. I could see no harm in that then, but I do now. Afterwards I paid my debt and got the things away from that man. I couldn't ask you to forgive me after the way I've acted. But I do, she said, holding out her hand. Six months later the gleaming headlines

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l2 THE MUSSUL UNSQUIT father jammed the throttle home and snap- ped in the air brakes. It was a close call. A heavily loaded freight train had jumped the tracks and the flyer had narrowly missed plowing through it. From then on Nels kept watch of the signals and if his father did not slow down at the proper time he warned him. At their last stop the engineer climbed down from his seat ,and told his son to take the throttle because he could not see to drive any farther. Nels did as he was told and brought the train through safely. The next day he took his father to a doctor who told him that he would have to take a long vacation to rest his eyes. Nels work- ing as fireman received enough pay to support the family. Arthur McClc'ary, '25, ESSAY ON FEAR EAR is defined to be a painful emotion excited by an apprehension of impending danger. In this definition there are four things to be noticed. First, fear is an emotion of the mind. This dis- tinguishes it from bodily acts and affec- tions. Secondly, it is painful. This dis- tinguishes it from many other mental emo- tions, such as joy. and the like. Thirdly, it is excited in view of something impend- ing or yet to come. This distinguishes it from remorse and other such feelings which refer to what is past. Fourthly, it is ex- cited in view of coming danger. This dis- tinguishes it from hope and feelings of that kind which look forward to coming happi- ness. The definition, therefore, includes a great deal, although it is short. The scope of the utility of fear is broad. It makes people careful. There would be a great many more crimes than there are now if wicked men were not afraid of the consequences of wrong-doing. Fear of being drowned makes boys more careful about going into the water. Fear of bad marks or of other kinds of punishment sometimes keeps students from misbehaving or from neglecting their lessons. Though fear is a mental, not a bodily affection it shows itself in bodily signs. When a horse is frightened he often trembles all over, but generally runs away, looking wildly out of his eyes. When a dog is afraid he hangs his head and sneaks away with his tail drooping between his legs. In men, fear shows itself chiefly in their loss of color. A man who is very much terrified generally becomes ghastly white. I have seen it stated that the reason of this is that the blood leaves the face and rushes back to the heart. Fear is unreasonable when it is without good cause or when the danger apprehended is imaginary. This is what leads people to be afraid of the dark, or of witches and ghosts. Horses often get frightened at imaginary dangers. They see a leaf stir at the side of the street and they seem to think it is a monster about to spring upon them. Horses seem more easily frightened than any other animals by unreal dangers. When a person looks down from the top of a house or a high tower, he is apt to be afraid, even though there is a strong rail- ing so that he could not fall over if he tried. This seems to be an unreasonable fear, and yet almost everybody feels it. We have the same feeling when standing on the platform of a railroad station, as the engine comes thundering up. We know we are beyond its reach and yet we involun- tarily shrink back from the monster. Fear is reasonable when the evil appre- hended is real, and is of such magnitude that it is likely to cause us great distress. If a man had fallen upon the railroad track, and his feet had caught fast in the timbers, so that he could not get off and he should see the train coming very fast he would be horribly afraid and his fear would be per- fectly reasonable. If a man had murdered another or had committed any great crime, he would have reason to be afraid, because the hand of justice may at any time over-