Trivoli Community High School - Memoir Yearbook (Trivoli, IL)

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l The Memoirl 'ami Lad, A Faithful Companion Mr. McMarllen, a wealthy merchant of New York, came to the mountains for his health. His wife had died early last fall and he had been very lonesome during the winter. His only son was in South America at the head of a nation-al banking' concern. He had gone to the family doctor who told him to go to a higher altitude. It was not easy for him to give up his work, for he was now a 'man of seventy years of age and had worked with the same concern for fifty years. The docgor told him he would not live long if he stayed in the city, but if he would spend the summer in the mountainsfand the winter in California, he might be able to take the trip to South America he had planned for so long. He left New York one mforning early in May. He dreaded the summer for he had always lived in New York. He thought the mountains would be such a lonely place, having never been west of Chicago and not knowing a man in the west. He entered Denver one evening a week later. When he left the hotel, after getting a room and having supper, he was going to see the town. He became acquainted with several men from the east. The west was far' different from the east. It was so easy to get acquainted with people here. Several dayslater he learned from a friend that he could secure a cottage in the mountains thirty 'miles by train to a small station with a store where he could secure suppliesg and then eight miles south of the station the little cabin stood on the south side of -the cliff overlooking the valley. It was all furnished complete with a radio. His friend told him to take a dog with him and he would never get lone- some. The first of June he set out from the station in the mountains with his dog, Lad, a German police dog, and a pack of supplies on his back. He was a diH erent man. He had become acquainted with men who had promised to come and see him and show him the mountains. These men were really friends, so different from those he knew in New York. One evening two months later, he sat in his cabin with a halfbreed, Strongheart, Whom he had met two weeks before. Strongheart had disobeyed the laws of his tribe and had run away io escape punishment. He had spent the last eight months roam- ing in the wilderness. During the next few weeks the man saw much of the half-breed. The man having taken up the work of a gold-seeker for a hobby, the two often went together, but Lad never liked Strongheart. He would growl and show his teeth every .time the halfbreed appeared, although his master always scolded him for it. Mr. McMarllen went out one day by himself and by chance discovered a rich vein of gold. The next day he went to the station to secure a claim. As he was returning home he made up his mind no: to let the halfbreed know of it. He would leave the mountains now in a week for Denver where he would meet his son, now in the United States on a vacation, who would accompany him to California, where he would spend the winter. One night as he was returning home after a walk over the clifils near the cottage, Stronghean: came running around the cliff. The old man looked astonished and was going to 'speak when the dog jumped at the halfbreed's throat. The old man stood back amazed. He -did not even make an attempt to stop the dog. After a hard struggle -:he half-breed fell over the cliff. The dog looked up in Mr. McMarllen's face with a satisfied look in his eyes. But he had not seen the half-breed's actions when he had come near them as the dog had, and sent the dog from him. When Mr. McMarllen came to the foot of the precipice, the half-breed was gone. He did not Page Sixty-eight I 1. c. H. s. - - :ns 1 l6TN?

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eagle--i1 f The Memoir l ---l-Mig undersiand this until he reached the cabin. The door stood open and nothing was in its place. Strongheart had been there before him and robbed him of all his pos- sessions including the claim. The half-breed had watched him put it away the night befo1'e. The next afternoon when he left for the station, the sky was overcast and the wind was blowing. It would snow before night. The old man had lost his dog and Strongheart whom he thought to be a true friend had betrayed him. When he was ye-t three miles from the station, the blizzard overtook him. In a short time he had lost his way. It was snowing hard and the path was no longer visible. He could go no further. When he was giving up his last hope, he heard Lad bark. That night as he sat in the hotel with his son telling him of the adventure, he patted his dog on the head and thought of the trip through the blizzard, which the dog had lead him safely through. He said, A dog is a fine companion and some- times proves to be even more true than a man. M. M. A., '28. Deceiving Riches Little ragged Bobbie was playing in the street. It was more of an alley, show- ing parts of the underworld. He hated to go home, home, ig could hardly be called that, with only two small, dark rooms, which were already overcrowded. One day as she was playing in the street, a large car swung around the corner with an elderly looking gentleman sitting in the car. The boy's bright sunny face appealed to him, he turned around and said to the boy, 'tHello, Sonny, where do you live? Oh, I live up there, and he pointed to a dingy building. It's so dark and Crowded that they make me szay out here. They say I am a nuisance and they wish they were rid of me . Well, Sonny, how would you like to go home and live with me? You could have everything you wanted, Sonny. I am an old man and I need your sunny smile to brighten my few remaining years. The boy was speechless. To have riches and a.ll the playthings he wanted, oh, he was ready to go. He climbed into the auto and :he two started forth. Several years have passed and Bobby has grown into a fine young man. He has received the best education, has had only the best society and was dressed neat but plain. Mr. Davis had become very attached to the boy, always telling him to aim high and he would reach the goal. Bobby had just gone into his father's study, as he calls him father now, with a puzzled expression on his face' Father, could I speak to you a minute, I have something I want to ask you? 'tCertainly. my son, my time is yours and you are always free to ask me ques- tions. Father, I want to go to work. I have been through college and am now ready to pay you back, but tell me where did all this money come from' to put me through high school and college? Mr. Davis answered him with a Curt, From me, my son, from me . That night as Bobby tossed on his pillow, he heard foo:steps on the walk. Who could it be? He quietly slipped down stairs. A pebble was thrown up to his fath- er's room, hitting the window. His father immediately came down stairs and open- ed the window in the dining room. The man was around there, and his father was saying, Well Tom, is everything just aS we had planned for the Olson party? You know those jewels are guarded because they are the most valuable stones in the world . ii - Page Sixty-nine ifidwfelf -1 il lf T. C. H. S. - - 1926 l iox