Waltham High School - Mirror Yearbook (Waltham, MA)

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PROPHECY That night I dreamed of school days. Q such pleasant visions of past junior Ger- man, astronomy, sleigh rides, and leap year socials! Such nightmares of Latin, type- writing, tests, punctuation, spelling, and Mirror notes! And towards morning such crazy prophetic glimpses of a IXliss Sher- man, who made-herself so conspicuous that she was the talk of the town. Of an Edith Fourtin, who failed in German: of a Blil- dred Neil, who knew what ,she wanted to be, and about my friend, Lewie Franklin, who flirted with every girl he met. This last dream was so absurd that it woke me up. Day had arrived and so had New York. I dressed very quickly and so much was my airship that when I upside down, all my hurry to leave the picked up my coat. pencils, pens, diary and one letter fell out. In spite of my hurry it was worth reading again and it was right there that the feeling I first mentioned came over me. I must go back home and I told my face that. as I inspected it in the mirror after shaving. The twenty-third of -Iune found me hurrying home in my auto. I came all the way from New York over the road and I came in good time-such good time that it nearly cost me twenty dollars. As I came sailing down through Roberts a great big fat policeman who had been scolding his stout wife on the front porch of a certain house saw me and I saw him. Leaving his astonished spouse, he came running out into the road, yelling Stop I Hanging from a trolley pole above this man's head was a sign, Stop, Look, Listen. This cop had said, Stop! I gave him one look and I decided that it was best to listen. Now I hope I am not con- sidered tight, but I did hate to pay a twenty dollar line, or even a tive dollar bribe. I had to do neither, fortunately, for that blue- coat's wife, formerly Ilelen Donahue, rec- ognized me. VX7liy it is Charlie Olney, she shouted. beginning to jump np and down as is her manner when excited. And now, she was so glad to see me that the porch seemed to jump up and down with her. I suppose it is mean to make fun of a benefactor, for that is what she was. She wouldn't let that big brute with the brass buttons even look at my license. joe, she said to him. don't you dare touch that man. joe evidently knew the saying, He is a fool who thinks by force or skill, to turn the current of a woman's will Ii' Isle never said another word but disappeared into the house. Iolelen had so loudly proclaimed my name that Edna Wilson must have heard her. At any rate she came, announced by her bugle- like laugh, familiar to the physics IC. Right here I made a bad break. I asked Edna if she had voted at the last election: then I got it for hfteen minutes. They talked the theme of suffrage into me. Such arguments as those two got into among themselves. I never had a chance to say a word until they had run out of breath. Then I told them that I must be going. lint there was nothing doing until I had gone over to Edua's cute little biingalow and tried some fudge she had just made. I was invited to stay to supper, but I took warning from the fudge. I told her that I intended to cat at home and I left as soon as I could. ' CITY IIALI, NUT CIIANGIQIIJ KIUCII IValtham hadn't changed much in the years I had been away. The Library looked just as it had when I left school. Elizabeth Swift had written me a long letter two years before, apparently to tell me that Phil Graham had made a fortune in investments and had given the city the long wanted Iligh School Annex, but in reality to se- cure a contribution to the cause of the local XX'oman's Knot Suffrage. because she had been sort of excommnnicated from their ranks for trying to run everything?-it was a 'xYoman's Yoluntecr Militia, I think, that

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PROPHECY ing across the Hoor you cut your head on the chandelier F-do you want a doctor ?- yes-yes-all right Miss Sewall, l'll attend to it at once. - If she wants first aid. I can help her, I whispered to Yilma. Vilma shook her head. Yes-shall I send a maid P-all right-yes-yes-Good- bye. A.Xntl she's got the biggest room in the place, said Vilma, turning to me, what do you know about that XYhen the doctor came I left. lint to get hack to the letter. XYhen she gave me my mail the envelope had been among the rest. It was necessary that I read my business mail before I left Adanac. so I had stuffed my personal matter into this pocket, and just like me I had entirely forgotten it. The handwriting was a bit familiar. but I knew by the punctuation that it was from Marion Chapin. It was the first letter I had re- ceived from her since I left High School in IQIG. You can imagine I quickly opened and read it. Marion had made a good big sum making and selling candy and wanted my advice about investing it in the llaltham Chemical Company, now run, owned and financed by Hon. Charles Ilurnham of Rob- erts, who. like his predecessor, Mr. Martin. was strong on politics. chemicals and cock- roaches. The letter closed, as most letters do, and to it was added in postscript form. I'odgy French linally graduates next week. XYhy don't you come to ll'altham? This occasion is certainly worth it. At that moment a door somewhere closed with a bang and an oliicer in pnre white came up to me and asked me if it were I that had just thrown a package overboard. Sure, Xliesleyf' I said, putting the letter into the envelope and the envelope into my pocket. Sure I did. Wihat is the harm F Gilbert was some surprised to be ad- dressed by his front name, but he recognized me after one long look. Hello, Doc, he exclaimed, nearly shak- ing my hand and arm off as he did so. He always called me 'Doc.' It was my nick- name in the Jr ll. MET XYIFE .NTI CORRESPONDENCE AGENCY So it was you, was it? XVell, I hope there is no harm done, but whenever there is, tht-,courts hold the company responsible. just last year Lincoln McCullough met his corresptindence-agency wife on board here for the first time. She affected him so strongly that he threw a stool at her and, as in his guesses in English, he missed. A week later we got summoned to court. Ma- bflle Spencer was suing us for SIODOO. It seems that the stool unfortunately fell in the tub in which Mabel was washing some lace. And she claimed that she caught cold from the water that was splashed on her, and that the cold ruined her voice. She sang before .fudge I'ickett and her tones were lierce all right. But I think that it was a put up job. Associate judge Stone didn't see it that way, and Pickett is deaf in one ear anyway. so she got the money. Since then we have been niighty careful. XYhile we had been talking, we had been unconsciously walking and we found our- selves in front of his room. ' Come in, Charlie, he said. 'fThere is someone else in'here who will be glad to see yon. Olive, I thought, but I was mistaken. There were two small bunks in the rooms and on one of them his friend lay sleeping. lYesley woke him and he got up, reached for his cap, grinned at Gilbert and opened the door. Don't be hasty, Gilbert said to him. Here is a friend of ours from XVal- thamf' jackson recognized me at once, but he only shook hands and hurried off, for, as Xyesley explained, Jacksons watch began in one minute and it would not do for him't0 be late. Gilbert himself had to turn in, so I left him, giving him my card and asking him to write me, once a year or so.

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PROPHECY 0 she wished me to help. and I had hoped that Wlarren Rice, who I knew had made over a million on a scientihc farm in Lincoln, had given us a new City llall. ln this l was disappointed, for Rice, although married to a XYaltham girl, had presented his own town with a Library in memory ol a history test he had failed in once, or some such touching object. So as I turned down Moody street l saw the same old wart that I knew as a school boy. liven it we didn't have a new City llall, we had a good grade crossing. the work of Ralph and Nathan Sanderson, civil engineers. I later learned that an electric car had stalled on the old crossing and that twelve had been hurt. and that llenry Colloton, who l remembered as being fond of civics and government at school and who up to that time was a poli- tician such as Goldsmith describes as onc- VX'ho born for the universe narrows his smind. And to party gave up what was meant tor mankind. Though fraught with all learning, yet straining his throat To persuade Tommy Townsend to lend him his vote. had been elected Mayor the year before on the issue and had seen the job really put through. The old block between the railroad and the river was gone and in its place stood a modern hotel. l had told Edna that I in- tended dining at home. but the neat appear- ance of the hotel made me hesitate. He who hesitates is lost. -lust at that moment who should I see enter but Leonard Tracy. I drew up at the curb and followed him in. lle had just hnished signing up and when he straightened up l saw that he was as well dressed and as good looking as ever. Hello, Tracy. l said, as l tapped him on the shoulder. llow's the boy U hello, Charlie. he replied. with a start, l'm hue. NYhat are you doing so lar l'last?'l Merely taking a vacation and combining it with a High School Graduation, I an- swered. --Xre you going Not so you would notice it, he said, I havent got half enough time as it is. I've got to leave now at six-thirty. XVill you eat with me ? l'pon my mentioning graduation, the manager looked up quickly at me and passed me the register and, as soon as I had Iinished my writing, read the name. Tracy and l passed into the dining room. A small orchestra played in one corner and many waiters, Xliarren Dearborn among them, passed back and forth across the room. jones was the head waiter and he made a very dignihed one: tall, straight, painfully sober, and dressed in a shiny black dress suit. L'nfortunately, Leon's duty re- quired him to look straight aheadg so, al- thought he could see Tracy, I was below his line of vision and I doubt if he knows that I was there at all. He beckoned to Helen Murphy. who could see me all right, and she led us to a table by the window. --Xs soon as we had given our orders, we began to question each other. I learned that he was running a political paper, Demo- cratic. of course. That he had no matri- monial partner, but that XVinnie Vinal helped him in his business. She was neces- sary, he said, to correct the punctuation and to do all the spelling. s .lust as we got to the dessert, a liddle in the orchestra. which up until now had been so regular that I had forgotten it, gave oh. what a squeak, one that sent the biggest shiver the whole length of my spine. I looked to see who was the originator of this chill. There was a violin, a piano, cornet, and a 'eello. I don't know whether it was Ruth Masters on the big liddle, or Carl liristenson on his little one. Seeing Carl there. l looked to see if Elin played the piano. but instead Ruth Spencer did, and she did it well. The girl with the horn I had never seen before. Neither did I recog-