Wakefield High School - Oracle Yearbook (Wakefield, MA)

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when suddenly were heard the creaking of coach-wheels, the labored breathing of horses, and the voices of coachmen. One coach, then another, a third, a fourth; who were these people coming at so late an hour? The country, at that time, was not densely populated. Very often houses were many miles apart. Wealthy people owned great es- tates, which they used in the summer, these, to- ward spring ' , were opened for the usual prep- aration for the occupants, and the keys en- trusted to trustworthy servants. The travellers continued on their journey. The wearied horses pulled and stumbled along the rough road. Upon turning a slight bend in the road, a large house loomed up in front of them. It was the Vestan-O, one of the largest ami finest estates, for many miles around. The horses turned up the driveway, swung around towards the back of the house, and stopped before a large iron door. A coachman jumped from his seat, and opened the door of the coach. One man stepped out, followed by others. Each wore a dark suit, a long black cape, and a cap. They quickly moved over towards the iron door, and waited in a group. Not a word had been spoken. The second coach came up. More men joined the group. In a few minutes came the third and fourth coaches, all carrying men of the same description. At last the party at the door was complete. A tall man, evident ly the leader, stepped up to the door, and gave three taps in quick succession. The door swung slowly open. One after another the men passed through, and the door closed, in the same fashion, behind them. Within, all was absolute darkness. The air was damp and cold, as in a cell, and an involuntary shiver passed through each man. A small light flickered, and came nearer and nearer. A servant brought a small tallow candle, and with this light, they proceeded on their way. It was indeed like a cell, this passage through which they were going. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all of stone. At the end of the passage, which was about fifty yards long, was a small trap door. This, also, as the gate, was of iron. It opened from the bottom and was not more than four feet in height. As the men reached it, they stopped. The. door was lifted and each man, crouching down, stepped into a long narrow tunnell, which extended from it. The last man extinguished the candle, and, followed his companions into the tunnel. Half an hour later, the same party of. men suddenly appeared in a park, one mile and a half distant from Vestan-O. They hurried stealthily for about fifteen minutes, keeping in the shadows of trees as much as possible. Each man was silent, busy with his own thoughts. Their course led to another large estate. This time a small light shot out a welcoming beam. This light shone from a window on the ground story. The men quickly entered, and presently on the drawn shade were seen their silhouettes. They drew up chairs around a small table; the leader arose and addressed them; then others spoke; arguments seemed to arise; — the meeting of the Caps was on! Two weeks later, the king was assassinated at a masquerade. BERTHA VIK, ' 24. AT REID ' S TAVERN The short winter afternoon was drawing swiftly to a close; an icy wind drove through the trees with an eerie shriek, chilling to the bone a weary pedler who was trudging along, bent down under the weight of an enormous pack. The road, 0110 of the few in that part of Ohio, in the year of 1843, followed the wind- ing shore of Lake Erie. Ahead of the trav- eler, glimmering in the fast gathering dusk, were the lights of Reid ' s Tavern. To a stranger the house might have radiated warmth and comfort, but the belated pedler approached it with a feeling of distrust. How- ever, his immediate need of food and shelter overcame his misgivings. Upon entering the tavern, the traveler was attracted at once by a cheerful blaze, snap- ping and crackling in the huge fireplace. After laying down his pack and removing his outer garments, he warmed himself at the fire, and then sat down to a steaming supper. Feeling refreshed after his hot meal, his at- tention was drawn to a group of men, at the other side of the room, who were intently re- garding his pack. Immediately he recollected all of the unsavoury tales he had heard con- cerning this inn. Exhausted and not caring for the companionship of these men, he re quested a, candle from the landlord and retired to his room. Setting his candle down upon a small table, he gazed about the room. It seemed to be a storage- room for vegetables for winter use. From the rafters hung strings of dried apples

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trick clothes? Gee, they get on my nerves. Lorna ' s quick temper flamed at the conde- scending, critical air of the other girl. If you mean that I am annoying you, young lady, I can only advise you to go where I may not be in your sight, for I have not the slightest intention of moving myself, yet awhile. In lieu of the fact that you have been criticiz- ing my garments, I think I may justly remark on yours. What can he the matter with your hair? Are your brains so scanty that your hair refuses to grow? Look at your lower limbs. Are they so beautiful that you feel you must brazenly expose them to the public? Your face resembles my little nephew Ensie ' s when he plays at bandits. Your But Cherie also, had a temper, and a very hot, one, too. At this point she interrupted Lorna. Her words were perhaps we had better omit that part. Suffice to say the bat- tle raged for several minutes. Then both girls, realizing the pettiness, the childishness of such proceedings, began to laugh. Cherie in her loud alto tone, Lorna with tinkling soprano note. After Cherie had recovered from her hy- sterics, both girls sat, side by side, on the table, and talked — oh, how they talked ! Lorna, with many blushes, told Cherie of John, her lover; of the stolen meetings they had had, far away from the anxious, ever- watchful eyes of the Doones. She described her life in the valley — that valley so full of sin and crime, whose very name made her shudder. With characteristic impulsiveness, she related the events of the night when John, wonderful, strong — 1 fear Lorna wan- dered a trifle from the theme of her tale, put- ting a wee bit too much stress on the already lauded merits of the trusty John. However, she soon got herself in hand sufficiently to pass on to the events of that fateful night when John stole her from the hateful valley, taking her to his own home, to be cared for, and loved by his mother — she had never known one of her own — and his sisters. From that time her life had been most happy. She was learning to cook, and to do other little housewifely duties, so that in the near future, when she should become of age, she might make a home for her lover— her John. She ended her tale with a brief outline of the fu- ture, of the happy days to come. Then Lorna demurely requested Cherie to tell the story of her life. Cherie responded with accounts of house parties, dances, motor rides, and many other diversions, all of which so interested and as- tonished the quiet Lorna, that she was struck dumb with wonder. She recovered herself fi- nally and said, But why are we so different? Do we live in different countries? But even if we do, it must be everywhere the year 1684. Sixteen eighty-four. Sweet papa, and I ' m not born yet! The shock sent Cherie to her feet. In the distance a clock struck twelve. Lorna grace fully rose to her feet. And what is your time? she inquired. Nineteen twenty-two! Imagine! Listen, there goes eight bells! If T don ' t hump myself, I won ' t be able to get back. And believe me, dearest, no matter how much I like you, I prefer my twentieth century varieties to your seventeenth century routine. So I won ' t linger, Fair One. And I, too, said Lorna, prefer my time to yours. Your speech is so difficult to com- prehend, your customs so peculiar. Your cen- tury is so — so — Lorna struggled for a word. Do you wonder? How could she of 1(584 de- scribe the customs of 1922? With affectionate kisses the girls parted. Cherie opened her cover, and with a bound, a loud laugh, disappeared. Lorna, opening her own dark brown cover, with a dainty little step, a merry tinkle of laughter, faded from view. ELLEN CONNER, ' 24. HATS AND CAPS Between the years 1790 and 1800, there were two great political parties in Sweden. One of these parties was for the king, the other, against him. At that time only the aristo- crats were allowed to wear hats; all the com moners wore caps: — hence the name, Hats and Caps. The Bats were on the king ' s side, and used all their power to uphold his rule. On the other hand, the Caps heartily hated the king, and the Hats, his supporters. There were constant feuds between them, and it is with one of these fends which my story deals. It was a dark and rainy night in early spring, anil especially dreary in that part of the country which was some miles north of Stockholm. Now and then came a coach drawn by wearied horses, sinking deep in the mud; but almost everyone preferred to remain safely at home, where warmth and comfort were offered. For almost two hours all had been quiet.

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and corn, while on the floor wore piles of pumpkins and squash. As he put his pack down, he noticed, through a crack in the floor- ing, a gleam of light from the room beneath. With natural curiosity, he stooped down and placed his eye to the chink in the rough boards, and saw the group of men below, with their heads together in whispered conversa- tion. Catching a phrase here and there, his suspicions were soon thoroughly aroused, and he instantly changed li is plan of retiring. First, stripping a blanket from the bed, lie emptied the contents of his pack into it, and after tieing the bundle loosely, pushed it un- der the bed. Then he refilled the empty pack from a pile of vegetables, and deposited it carefully at the foot of the bed. Next, he tied his nightcap onto a pumpkin and placed it on his pillow, and built up the bed clothing to resemble a human figure, with the pump- kin as a head. Having completed his prepara- tions, he concealed himself under the bed. In a few minutes the pedler was snoring loudly, feeling assured that there were listen- ers downstairs. lie had not long to wait, for presently he heard stealthy footsteps and then his door was softly opened. Suddenly, a club descended on the pumpkin head with a sicken- ing thud. Someone stumbled over the pack, at the foot of the bed, snatched it up, and in an instant the would-be murderers and thieve? were gone. A few minutes later the weary pedler crawled carefully from beneath the bed and silently put on his coat and cap. With a few deft motions he tied securely the comers of the blanket holding his valuables, and after softly open- ing the window, he passed the bulky bundle over the sill, then dropped it to the ground. An instant later he, himself, was standing on the ground near his pack. Shouldering the unwieldy burden, he again plodded on his wea ry way, deprived of his night ' s rest, but safe, and a wiser man for his experience. LAWEENCE MART7N, ' 24. MODERN DAYS AND MODERN WAYS Peg came home from High School in high spirits. Opening the door and calling, Mumsy, I ' m home! she flung down her books, and without removing her sport coat, sank into the best velvet chair. Her mother, placing the stockings which she was darning for her daughter on the table, came downstairs. Upon seeing Peg sprawled in the best chair, she gently said, How many limes, dear, must mother tell you not to loll in that chair with your street -clothes on? Tin re are other chairs in the house. 1 know, responded Peg, but 1 like this one best, so I want to sit in this one, see? There was silence. Oh, 1 forgot to tell you, I ' m going to the dance tomorrow night. Can I have a new dress? I ' ve worn that green one twice, and 1 don ' t like my blue one. But, my dear, you got your blue one only last week. You can ' t have another, yet. Well, 1 will have another; all the girls are having new ones ; I-I never g-get any-any- thing I want, cried this impetuous child. We ' ll see later, was the mother ' s reply, as she returned to her darning with a troubled mind. What a problem Peggy is getting to be. Why! wu children never dreamed of an- swering back our mothers as the boys and girls do, now-a-days. Well, I suppose it can ' t be helped! The next night found Peg at the dance, .Mid with a new dress, flirting, and attracting attention on all sides. The matrons, for there were matrons, sighed and shook their heads, as Peg jazzed by. What will that girl come to? Why, she isn ' t dancing, just running wildly about this hall with her partner! What can they be doing now; they ' re standing perfectly still. I ' m sure I don ' t understand this new danc- ing, either. When I was a girl, we were content to dance slowly, arm in arm, but now they are not happy unless they are cheek-to- cheek, racing like mad dogs. I think it ' s dis- graceful ! Thus the comments went on, but Peg, all unconscious, danced merrily on. At one o ' clock she arrived home in her partner ' s automobile. Mumsy, trying hard in keep awake, asked her daughter what had de- tained her. ' Oh, we just went for a little ride, that ' s all! And thus the younger generation goes on, while the older stands by and wisely shakes its head. GLADYS DAGNINO, ' 24. CROSSROADS The train pulled into the station. 1 Looked at my directions. Yes, t his was the town. I climbed down the stops and stooil on the plat form in front of the little station. The loose jointed train slowly got itself in mo tion and disappeared down the track. I was left .-ill alone on the platform.