Thomaston High School - Sea Breeze Yearbook (Thomaston, ME)

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SEA BREEZE 17 when he next regained consciousness, Jerry found himself in a boat with the girl forcing a burning liquid down his throat. when she saw that he was conscious, she smiled and spoke to him. You are feeling better now, M'sieur, Rawlins, No? Jerry grinned. nSure, I feel 0.K. Outside of a very funny feeling in my head.W I The girl laughed a delightful rich laugh. nNaturally you feel funny in the heed, as you say, M'sieur. You have lost a lot of blood. Oh, but you Britlshers are a hard lot to k1ll.n Jerry grinned back at her. A guy couldn't help grinning when she smiled. She had such darned pretty teeth and cute dimples. Then Jerry came too with a start. nHey, where are we? who are you? The information I--N nPlcase, H's1eur, everything is all right, new. We are in a boat on our way to England, in fact, we are almost there. My name is Lucette Lenoir. Pierre was my brother. The information is in that letter in your pocket.n nHm,hmhJ nYou want to know how you get here, M'sieur?H 'Yes, and the papers, where did you get them?N nP1orre gave me the papers before he came to you M'sieur. Ho was afraid that tho Gestapo would catch him with the papers, before he reached you and he thought that should you and he be caught, I could meet the bo-t and tgke the information to England. I was waiting at tho hidden door that opened into thc alley from our gar- den where Pierre said that he would send or bring you, when I heard you run into the alley. Before I could open the door, you faintod, but fortunately I managed to drag you in and shut the door before the Nazis arrived. Then with the help of my servant, I bandaged your wounds, smuggled you to the beach, and met the boat. That is all. The rest you know.' Jerry gazed at Luoette in admiration and muttered: Nwhat a gall What a galiu nwhat did you say M'sieur Rawlins?H nEr--nothing, Lucette.H NOui, M'sieur?n NI--well that is--well you-- oh, darn! Lucette, has anyone ever told you Low beautiful you are?n WJerreetlI Lucette flushed n beautiful pink, but her eyes hold a sparkling challenge and a glowing promise. 'Jerry grinned and closed his eyes. He was very tired and very, very happy. His Hperilous missicnu had been successfully completed. Eugene Jellison '44 That'ihgrovin5,It. Mr. Banks, the principal, paused outside the third-grade door to wipe his glasses. Two boys from Longfellow School had been in the Philippines with MacArthur, and all mcrning Mr. Banks had seen them in every room he visited. ' It took Mr. Banks a while to clear his glasses: then he opened the door and went in. The class settled tc attention. Miss Lee, the young teacher, looked troubled.

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SEA BREEZE 16 The next day Jerry followed Pierre's instructions and stayed in his room. He tried to read and rest but couldn't. As night approached, he walked the floor, pacing back and forth-- forth and back. Every moment was one of doubt and anxiety.. what if Pierre should be caught? what if the Gestapo should come there? Nhat if Pierre should fail? At this last thought, Jerry sweatedg for in his mind, he could see the peaceful countryside of England, a desolate battlefield, her cities flaming pyresg and her people slaughtered by the Nazi beasts. Suddenly at around eight, Jerry heard queer stumbling dragging steps on the stairs. A moment later and a knock sounded on his door. Jerry pressed his ear against the door panel. A hoarse rattle and labored breathing were plainly audible. He started to slowly open the door and then stopped, to stare at the floor. A thin stream of blood was scoping in on the carpet from the hall.' Jerry yanked open the door. Pierre stumbled in and then collapsed on the floor. Locking the door, Jerry quick- ly bent over him. Pierre opened his eyes and began to speak. NGestapo caught mc. --escaped--Lucotto has infor--information- address on envelope in pocket--go to alloy in back of house--knock on left wall--hurry-- Gestapo como-- I--N Jerry Pierre was Jerry staring at spoke to Pierre and lifted him up but it was no use for dead. lot P1crre's body slip from his arms and then stood up it. Loss than five hours left in which to roach this Lucette and meet the boat. Mentally cursing everything in general, and the Nazis in particular, he bent over and drew the blood-soaked envelope from Pierre's pocket. Reading the address, he found that it was only about two blocks away. He reached for his coat but his hands froze in uid-air. There were heavy running steps on the stair A moment and there was violent pounding on his door. The Gostapot He looked wildly around the rcom. Trapped! Nc, there was still a chance through the window. Jerry slipped on his coat and ran to the windcw...Momentnrily he poised on the window-sill---Twenty feet above the ground. Remembering that a drain pipe ran past the win- dow, he reached out and grasped it then he swung out into space. The p1po.swayed and crooked violently but luckily it hold. Ls he slid down the pipe, Jerry was unable to suppress a groan as the f skin on his hands and the side of his knees was turned into beds of rod hot fire. Just as his feet touched the ground there was a rc- sounding crash. Shouts rose in the night. Gunfire flashed from the window that Jerry had just loft. He felt a sharp burning pain in his shoulder and a marm stream of blood running down his arm. Doggedly he ran on dotorminod to roach Lucette. Behind him rose the tumult of pursuit. Closer they camo with each passing minute. At last rounding a corner Jerry found himself in the alley--a blind alley. Again he was trapped! He crouched against the left wall of the alloy, and tried in vain to stop the stream of pouring blood. He heard plainly the shouts of the Nazis as they followed his blood trail. His head began to swim and Jerry knew that he was about to faint from loss cf blood. As he plunged into the deep dark pool of unconsciousness, a thought flashed and reflashed through his mind. Failed! He and then m Jerry an anxious had failed! a triumphant shout--a ray of light--vcices- rciful darkness. came too, to find a beautiful girl bending over him with expression on her face which changed to a smile, as she saw him open his eyes. Ho realized that they were in some kind of cart, before he passed out aaain. 1 Y

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SEA BREEZE 18 Nlt is the wer news,N she told him, low. Then emphatically, UHow can we keep their ninds off it, when it is all they hear at heme?' Mr. Binks sighed, looked over the children thoughtfully. He knew them ell pretty well. He'd had them four years, had watched the stretching outbof their young minds, from kindergarten on. He knew their backgrounds, as well, for it was easy to learn in a shell town such as this was. Most.of them came from,good.hmerican homes. Only a few, as happens lnbeverp grade, stood out from the rest--three boys. A , There wus Tommy Cooke, whose father road everything radical, and talked of it cleverly. Tommy had thetlsame ability to absorb knowledge, but Mr. Banks was determined that he was going to make better use of it. p q , , 1 Y Just as Babe Riley would use his futher's fighting spirit to attain more than d broken ncse. The older Riley had been a prize fighter, and from him, Mr. Banks had learned several things. One wus--if you cdn't dodge d blow, you must take it. - Ho smiled faintly ut Miss Lee. UNell, if you cdn't keep them eff the wdr news, we'll have to nuke it serve our purpese,n and he faced the cless again. - 4 Mr. Binks had never been an eloquent nan, but today he spoke of the.gredt siege of the Philippines. He mace the telling simple. It was the story of MacArthur and his men. o As'Mr. Banks talked, his eyes searched the face of the third boy who stood out: Hens Jeffers, with his thin features and strange gray eyes, his'quaint manner that wus o curtd1n,between him and the rest of the world. Ulf only,N thought Mr. Banks, NI could find some faint glimmer ef interest in Hens, semethlng thdtfl could curry to his sick futher in the Veteran's Hospitdl.N Mr. Banks recalled his nany talks with Harry Jeffers, Han's father, who had seen a promising artist before the World war. The first talk last year. had been when Harry had brought Hans to enter school F . NI've nude an awful mistake about my son,N Harry had sdid, his thin dnrk face somewhat drawn. HI married his mother when I went back to Germans ten years ego to paint along the Rhine. May- 5 be that was d mistake too--my marrying so late, with my broken health--but she, Anna, is Harrj's hand clutched the Nazi. Believe me, I have 1 cldred his very lovoly.- Very sincere. Only,-- buck of a chair--she's all Gorman. Even tried to keep Hans American. I have de- citizensnip, but whut is'1nside him, I dcn't know! It's what I've,got to find outlu , . . . Harry had brought his family back to the United States when Hans was two, but Hurry had been in and out of veteren's hospitals so much that Anna hed sought her own people. She had seen that Hans played wlth other German speaking children and had even sur- rounded him.w1th German ways. All this had happened before Harry had reulized it.