Sumner High School - Spindrift Yearbook (East Sullivan, ME)

Page 10 text:

4 THE HARBOR BEACON He had seen two years of service under the flag of his country They had been years of hardship suffermg and prlvatlon and had left in his mind an unspeakable disgust of war and all its attendant destruction and cruelty There was still a picture ln his mind of the scene of h1s own departure for the war zone The town had been filled with excitement at the sudden declaration of war and the mar shallmg of the troops When he came to say good bye to hls young Wlfe and httle daughter a terrible loathing of war swept over him much ln the same manner as It had thls hot night in August He had stood ln the l1brary of thelr cozy home with his unlform on His httle daughter had rushed up to him and flung her arms around hls neck and buried her golden head on the soft grey collar of hlS army Jacket He put hlS arm around her and a brlght curl fell softly over his blg strong hand the hand that had slnce been scarred and torn by lump rose m hls throat and he could say nothing but only pressed the young little body to h1s breast perhaps for the last time But when he looked lnto the brave blue eyes of hlS wlfe his courage came back He hastily said good bye and rushlng down the steps had lost hxm self ln the marchmg thousands Ah how many times that picture had come back to him Sometlmes it was m the roar and crash of the battle sometimes ln the howhng bltterness of a winter s night and wlth it always came that feeling of repulsion for war A bugle in the distance sounded taps and he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion heat and the exertlon whlch the day had brought The next day dawned bright and very hot The a1r was still and hardly a breeze relieved the sultry heaviness of the atmosphere All had been astlr in the different sections of the great army smce an early hour and at fixc 0 clock the first division advanced to meet the enemy It was to be the decisive conflict of the terrible war that had shaken all Europe for two years However lt was not until four o clock IH the afternoon that the first sounds of battle com menced m a ratthng crash of Russlan field artillery Followlng this a tremendous roar rose from the whole valley in whlch the oppos mg armies were located and the an' was Instant ly filled with the scream of shells the roar of machine guns and the rattle of small arms mlngled with the shouts and calls of the officers The young French officer was m the left wing of the tremendous army of the Allies at the head of a troop of men whose duty It was to reconnolter ln a rather thlckly wooded sectlon Upon arrlvmg at this point It was found that the position was already occupied by a detachment of German Ulhans who were ln possesslon of several machine guns Instantly the order to fire was glven and the place became a perfect mealestrom of whlrlmg smoke and strugghng men At the front of thls bold de tachment with hlS han' dlshevelled his hand some face smeared by powder and blood was the gallant French lleutenant leadmg the charge through a verltable storm of bullets and burstmg shells Men fell on elther side of him and bullets barely grazed hls head but he kept on untll almost under the guns where the fight became most furlous Then came a deafening roar and a bllndlng flash a httle to one side of him and he fell to the ground stunned After a few moments of oblivion he came back to consclousness and was on hls feet mstantly The fightlng was not so furious as before but a dense cloud of smoke and dust rose hke a fog from the field Suddenly an officer of the opposing army leaped over one of the guns and the two men drew automatic pistols almost at the same Instant As the French officer leveled at the handsome officer before hum a picture of that scene of saying farewell flashed through his mind He could still feel those httle arms a . . . . . . . . , . , . Q . , . A , . . . , i i . . . , . - Y ! - . dragging cannon or flying shrapnel. A great , ' , , , , ' . . . y , - .- ' I 2 . ' 7 1 3 . . . . . , . . . , I u 1 , . . , , . , . , . . . r r. ' . ' a

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Tl-IE HARBOR BEACO SULLIVAN MAINE VOL V JUNE. l9l5 NO I Glass Ghz Tune of J uamta The sun now IS smkmg Yet It gllmmers ln the west Whlle we are partmg From fnends we love the best While lts beams are fading O er the hills and shady dell We glve each one a greetmg Before we say farewell Where er our paths lead us May honor be our gllldlllg star To help those who need us Guldmg us from afar May the mem rys lmger Of our school days now gone by For Fortune pomts her finger So we must say good bye CHORUS School mates beloved school mates And may you all remember The Dark Blue and the Whlte LEON M ORCUTT 15 1-o AN EPISODE OF THE WAR It had been a hard day for the Allles The glgantlc army lay ln the hot stlllness of an August nlght llke a great beast of prey that was thoroughly exhausted from some great struggle wlth an opponent The smoke of many camp fires curled languldly above the clty of tents and hung lxke a broad blue curtam over the valley upon Whlch the moon shone but dlmly Off to the south the sharp Cl ack of the sklrmlshers rlfles was heard famtly dlsclosmg the presence of some reconnolterxng Party On the southern slde of thls vast camp a dlm llght was burnlng ln one of the tents Inslde stretched on an army blanket was a young officer of the French army He was a. handsome type of man Wlth strong features and a muscular body whlch showed the effect of hard tralnmg and rough 11fe of the army Hls hands were clasped behlnd hlS head and h1S face Wore an expresslon of deep medltatlon It had been a terrible day on the battlefield and the next promlsed to be even worst The great 3l'II1l9S were now lymg ln camp not ten mlles apart and the fate of each seemed to he Wlth the result of the next day s encounter The soldler was thlllklllg of the two armles ln whlch were mustered the very flower of the natlon s manhood How vastly dlfferent are the methods of warfare ln these modern tlmes than they used to be thought he Now men use all thelr mtellect and lngenulty coupled Wlth sclence to k1ll each other mstead of trustmg to brute strength as they dld ln olden days But the result IS the same the purpose IS the same and always has been to klll murder and destroy It has been so smce the days of the cave man But why? Why wlll men tear themselves from thelr loved ones and rush out into the dm and smoke of battle to klll others who have Just left slmllar scenes? Is It patrlotlsm that stxrs men to such awful deeds? Is It because of devotion to duty or rlght? No' Shame to knowledge progress advancement lf that elemental desxre to klll and conquer IS stlll the rullnv motne of the peoples of great and ClVlllZed natlons Such ran the turbulent and rebellxous thoughts of the young officer 9 A I ' I , . I ' 9 , , ' . . . D I Y , . I U ' I . . , - , i , . ll ' 1 Y ' . Strive and struuggle for the right! ll ll - , . H ' H . . . . . I s ' ' ' . . .-ti I ... , . ' r 1 . . . Y D . i . . . . ,, , .

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THE HARBOR BEACON round his neck and the warm pulsatlng form cllngmg to hlm for protectlon Perhaps the man before hlm had left Just such a llttle one behlnd hlm He could not harden hls heart to k1ll one who llke hlmself had left his loved ones waltlng and watchmg for h1s return perhaps All these thoughts passed through hls mlnd ID the space of a second He lowered the murderous plstol and calmly walted for the other to shoot But instead of shootlng the other also lowered h1S weapon and the two stood lookmg at each other wlth a look that was far from that of a murderer The fine eyes of the German officer llghted up and the hardened look of battle Went out of them Then steppmg over a broken gun carnage he placed hlS hand ln the out stretched hand of the French ofhcer That hand clasp meant more than the glory of war more than the attamment of power In lt was the reconclhatxon of all men and the vlctory of peace My brother sald the German My brother replled the Frenchman The sun was nearmg the horlzon and the roar of guns was growmg less The two officers went mto the shade of some trees and threw themselves on the ground as the shrlll notes of a bugle came echolng up the valley glvmg the order to cease firlng Surprlse shone ln thelr faces but they spoke no word until the rolllng smoke had drlfted past and the dm was growlng famter and farther away wlth the recedlng notes of the bugle call Then the German turned to the French officer and asked ln a low volce Why dxd you not shoot when we met there at the guns? Ah my frlend lt was because I had torn myself from those I love It was the thoughts of them that kept me from lt I could not thmkmg that perhaps you had left those behlnd you who mlght be even at that lnstant lookmg forward to the return of a husband and father The eyes of the other grew moist as he answered You have not dlsappomted them thank Heaven Just at that pomt a messenger dashed up and shouted Peace was declared at Berlln at noon Europe IS at last reconclled B Ot- A CHANGE OF HEART Frances Hardmg had Just replaced the letter ln IIZS envelop when there was a rap on the door followed by the entrance of Marguerxte Brett A home letter? she asked wlth a glance at the envelop m Frances hand Yes from mother and such a surpnse and dlsappomtment The doctor has ordered father on a long voyage-there s nothmg serlous the matter wlth hlm but he has been worklng too hard ln the oflice Mother lS golng w1th hlm and my brother IS to go on a camplng trlp w1th my uncle and cousms I am to stay here I m so bewxldered I don t know what to I suppose you are When were you expectlng to go home? Next week? Yes and I was lookmg forward to such a good tlme Mother and I were to have gone to Palm Beach for slx weeks I am sorry murmured Marguente I wonder how ln the world I shall pass my t1me'7 Of course I can go on wlth my work Oh I have known several glrls who spent thelr vacatlons here One of the Miss Browns always stay durlng the summer and IS very klnd to the glrls who stay takes them on drives and to the clty occasxonally Frances slghed I must Just make the best of lt I suppose But oh how I envy you to be gomg home' Marguerlte smlled happlly Yes I am countlng the days now though I do not know what mother s plans are for the summer Then wlth a glance at the Dresden clock on Frances mantle she exclaxmed Dear me . . ,, . . 7 . . . . ,, . . . . . ,, . ' 1 . . . . . . ,, . . ' ' H S '15 2 . . ., o u n 'T' . . . , l . . . . . ' a ll 77 ' ' 7 . , , ' a KK ' 0 7 7 . . , . ' 0 o e 7 . . 4 . ' a Q u n . ' 7 ' 9 . ll 77 ' KK 7, f ' say. 77 ' , , u . - ' ' 77 . . . ,, . ' 7 . . . . . ,, . . . . ,, ,, . 7 7 ' . . . ,, . . . . . ,, . . . . . ,, . u a u c , Q n . . . 7 . . ,, . . . ,, , . I7 ll ' ' ll ' . , , . ' I ' 77 . . . . . . . . ,, ' 7 ' 7 7 ' ' ' 7 77 . 77 ' . ' 7 ' KI 7 ' 7