University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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THE REDWOOD need and wrested from my possession, your brother Philip. Whither they went, I know not. He was a diplomatic agent in the service of the German Government. And, Jack, he loved his Kaiser more than me. I pray to God that Philip will retain the brave, free spirit that has characterized your an- cestors for generations ; but it cannot possibly be, in the midst of such en- vironment. Now my boy, I feel the end is near. Good-bye. And may you always re- main the proud possession of your, Sorrowful Mother. Jack was dumbfounded. He turned his face toward the hearth as a flower seeks the sun, but his deep eyes looked beyond it, into the fires of life itself. A haunting sense of unfulfillment stirred him to strong resentment and he sighed as he moved carelessly about the room. Like a deranged unfortu- nate, faltering over hot sands in a fruitless search for water to quench his burning thirst, Jack wandered aim- lessly to and fro for something to alle- viate his oppressed brain. Then by the side of the deceased, his foot touched a piece of cardboard. It was a picture — a picture of a woman with kindly eyes, and beneath the portrait was written: To Jack from Mother. He kissed it tenderly; it afforded him so much sol- ace and contentment. Dear Mother, he whispered in tones of deepest grief, help me — help me to bear it all. The kindly eyes seemed to glow as if in answer to this earnest supplication. II Millions of men march to their death, knowing little or nothing of the reasons why — knowing that they fol- low their country ' s flag; it is enough. An appeal to honor, — and armies rush to the guns : a catchword of patriotism, — and stately legislative bodies toss away formulae and arrive, white-hot at certainty. One must indeed look to it that the rudder is made of the oak of the brain; yet the breeze that fills the sails and drives the ship is forever the rushing mighty wind of the spirit. Beneath a sky heavily canopied, the night was stark black and loud with clashing waters. A fitful wind played in gusts, now grim, now groping like a lost thing blundering blindly about in that deep blackness. The liner was gaining speed. Ashore a few wan lights, widely-spaced, winked uncer- tainly in the distance; those near at hand, of the anchored shipping, skipped and swayed and flickered in mad mazes of a goblin dance. Jack paced those dimly lighted decks in the midst of other peripatetic individuals ; some carefree, others determinedly strug- ling under luggage and weighty grips. At pause beneath the bridge, Jack rested elbows upon the teak-wood rail and with importunate eyes searched the masked face of his destiny. It was a cloud too thick to pierce. He gave it up and resigned himself to peaceful reminiscence. The night of his guardian ' s death came back to him, mirrored darkly up-

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THE REDWOOD had better retire to your room; you ' ll need the rest. They were soothing, earnest words ; but her grief was too profound to ad- rait of any muting. She leaned heavily on Jack ' s supporting arm and stag- gered away to her room, in a daze, casting backward glances as she de- parted. Presently Jack sauntered wearily back into the death chamber. It was the first time in his young life that be- reavement had touched his kin. Death always adds years to an existence; even in a period of a few days or hours, when intimacy with this stern leveler of all men is first experienced; years of character development, those mould- ings and outgrowths that differentiate a mere youth from a grown-up man. Such sudden changes, now passed through Jack ' s being. He was enter- ing the eve of his twenty-first birth- day. How differently he had thought and felt just a few minutes previous. Life had meant so much to him then. But now the future opened to his mind like a book and he saw, ever so clearly the responsibility, the pressing require- ments brought on by this sad experi- ence, — his first intimate acquaintance with death With heavy heart he switched on the lights. The body looked so natural, so very much alive, albeit the king of terrors unmistakably inhabited that shattered house of clay. It was enshrouded in such peaceful composure, Jack could not but feel the end had come with no suffering, nor confronting apprehen- sion of death. An ominous silence filled the room, enhanced to awesoraeness by the presence of a dead body. On the verge of derangement, he sank into a chair, to think. Thinking was well nigh impossible for, ever was his gaze and with it his mind drawn to that inert form. But what was that, which the limp right hand clutched in its encircling fingers? It brought Jack back to composure. The grasp released a paper, yellowed with age. On the floor beneath lay the envelope. The one, written in a feeble feminine hand, stared at him with the words: For Jack Miller. To be read on his twenty-first birthday. Eagerly he sought out the contents of the other. It read: July 1897. My Darling Boy : To-day you are twenty-one, a man, and I know you are all that I had ever hoped you to be. I will die content, knowing full well, that every care, attention and blessing will be given you by your guardian, Mr. Selby, as if you were his own son. He befriended me when all had turned me down, gave me shelter that I might bring you into existence. But in doing so I must die. Gladly do I sacrifice my life. My dear boy love that venerable old man as you have never loved him be- fore. Make his declining years bright and happy as best you can. Your Father was a villain. He de- serted me in the hour of our greatest

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THE REDWOOD on those swirling inky waters beneath. He felt guilty of a huge wrong, a crime for not having shared his secret with Elaine. His doubt swayed him in a hopeless whirl, yet out of it there seemed but one way, the noble and righteous way. Elaine needed protec- tion, not from an open enemy but from an unseen lurking foe, a tyrannical despotism, bent on destroying just her kind. His aid in overthrowing this brute was needed. That was why he determined to join the Allies, determ- ined to fulfill his mother ' s dying wish. It was his only means of compensation. True, Elaine was not his sister, but from their long, fond years together, he could not but consider her as such. Oh! I beg your pardon, quickly apologized a young woman, overladen with baggage, who in the uncertain light had bumped into Jack and awak- ened him from his thoughts. Jack turned in surprise. Perfectly alright, he said, polite- ly tipping his hat. Permit me to help you with your baggage ! ' ' My state room, number twenty- nine, is only a short distance up deck, but if you will — Only too glad, interrupted Jack. In the flood of light emitted from twenty-nine, which revealed the two on arriving there, Jack looked into a pale intellectual-looking face, with deep set brown eyes and clustering brown hair. The nose was a little long, but the mouth, chin and jaw were all very fa- vorable. The following day was bright and clear and warm. A perfect anthithesis to the previous night. Cool sea breezes and invigorating sunshine suffused Jack with a tingling elation he found hard to suppress. Stateroom twenty- nine seemed to have a peculiar call for him, a sort of magnetism attracting him to closer acquaintanceship with its occupant. He tripped lightly around to port side, sat in one of the many deck chairs to permit his truant fancies to wander at random. It was wonderful; the limitless expanse of water, the pure salt atmosphere and the thrill of be- ing on a veritable floating palace, pur- ringly cutting through the foaming swells and speeding him on to, Over There that he might pay his debt to Elaine — and humanity! Most of the passengers were prom- enading the decks with a possible view to forming acquaintances. The first day out is usually monotonous and lonely, but when democracy begins to assert itself in the passengers by the intimacy and congeniality of compani- onship, the whole is transformed into one large family, so to speak. Jack rather favored the port side, not how- ever through its superiority in views or the like — for from all points it is the same boundless deep — but somehow the environment there was more intimate and touching. State-room twenty-nine presently sent forth its occupant in all her dazz- ling feminity. A propitious wind was at play, for from the hands of the girl it blew a tiny handkerchief and rolled