Warren High School - Hilltop Yearbook (Warren, MA)

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14 THE HILLTOP THE CAVE Ellen Brown was sitting in her garden gazing at a sparkling jewel which she had in her hand. It was at the time when the sun is setting in the west casting beauti- ful colors on earth and sky. The jewel which Ellen held seemed to gain in bright- ness as the setting sun's rays shone upon it. How beautiful it is! sighed Ellen. Tomorrow I shall open it. The jewel which Ellen held was a pretty, quaint locket. In the center of the locket there was a large ruby and surrounding this were many costly diamonds. Five years ago Ellen's father, her only living parent, had died. But before the end came he had drawn Ellen to him and in a shaking voice had said: Ellen, before I die, I want to give you this locket. It was once your mother's. The large red stone in the center will open-but my dear, I beg you not to open it until you are seventeen. There is some- thing in that which- And Ellen, entranced by the brightness of the locket, turned to kiss her daddy, but he had died. Oh, Daddy, Daddy! she had cried, how can you keep me from opening this most beautiful thing? Oh, Daddy, please! For five years Ellen had battled against temptation and now, on the eve of her sev- enteenth birthday, as she sat in the garden she thought of her father. I have done as he wished, Ellen said aloud, and now, tomorrow! Suddenly she heard weird noises coming from the nearby mountain. She immedi- ately jumped to her feet and ran in the house, crying. Oh, Aunt! The haunted cave again. I never realized how late it was getting. Upon Blue Mountain, which was near Ellen's home, there was a cave which was said to be haunted. People dared not ven- ture near the mountain after dark for it was said that once a man had come from the cave and frightened some people passing by. Since then strange noises had been heard emerging from the cave. Oh my dear girl! I'm so glad you got home safe, gasped Ellen's aunt. The next day dawned bright and clear. Ellen arose early and went to the garden. There with only the flowers and birds for companions, she opened the long sealed locket. Beneath the shining ruby Ellen found a yellow slip of paper, folded neatly. With trembling hands Ellen unfolded the paper and read: To my dear Ellen-on her seventeenth birthday. Before midnight tonight you must go to the cave on Blue Mountain. There you will find a white stone, which you will lift up, and find a leather packet. Please do as I bid you.-Daddy. For a few minutes Ellen sat staring at the slip of paper, then coming to her senses, she cried, I cannot! I cannot! Ellen spent the day in a very nervous state. At sunset she crept from the house, through the garden, to the foot of the mountain. Some hidden force seemed to urge her up the mountain to the cave. The sun shone over the top of the moun- tain casting a golden light. Everything about Ellen was a world of beauty. The higher she climbed the more gorgeous was the scenery. At last she reached the cave. It was surrounded by moss and trees, whose branches were laden with the many col- ored leaves of autumn. As she started to enter, there was a rustle inside the cave. Ellen drew back in fear. Suddenly from the cave flew a flock of white doves, which perched on the branches of the trees, mak- ing the most beautiful picture Ellen had ever seen in her life. Oh the darling things! cried Ellen.

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THE HILLTOP 13 And I had to admit that I didn't know that. Well, my bubble of enthusiasm burst just like that, but I didn't have the heart to tell the others what Dad had said. Winter came and I'd finally forgotten our affair with the nuts, although I never wanted to see another butternut in my life. Spring came and the others began to ask when would our flat boat man come? One May morning I was churning but- ter out on the back porch when the very same boatman came up. You're the head of those kids that sold me the nuts last fall, aren't you ? Well, I didn't know as I was the head, but I was one of them. Did you sell the nuts, mister? I asked. I sure did, Miss, they sold something great and here's your share, twenty-five dollars, see! I couldn't hardly believe it. That seemed to me enough money to buy a school entire, school teacher thrown in. I just took the money and rushed to show the others. I actually left the man standing there, and when I came back he was gone. I couldn't even thank him. Well, when Dad saw the money he was some surprised, too, but he said that he had another surprise, and that he would tell me right then. You see, he'd been talking with some other men in the vicinity and in Rockport. and he'd told how much we children wanted a school, so they had arranged to build a school in Rockport, hire a teacher and everything. They had needed a school for some time. Well, I was fool enough to be disap- pointed at first. I had dreamed of a school at Jackson's Landing, and I. was afraid they wouldn't need our money now. But father said they would need all the money they could get, and then some, to buy books, etc., and he explained that when there were so many more children at Rock- port we couldn't very well have the school up here for only nine pupils fBill and Ed are too old to go to school they sayl and we could easily walk the mile to school. It was a great day when the school was opened. After the exercises, as Jane and I were walking home, she looked up at me and said, I knew you'd get us a school, Nancy. KING TUT IN 1926 King Tut sat in his easy chair smoking Camel cigarettes and listening to his radio. He soon tired of this and wondered what he would do next. At last he called his wife, whose French maid had just given her a facial massage, a manicure, and a marcel. She entered the room in a tight fitting sport dress about seventeen inches from the floor with a cigarette in her hand. Where shall we go ? said King Tut. Let's go to the country club. Soon they were on the way to the coun- try club in their Rolls Royce. There they met their old friends, President Coolidge and Henry Ford. They enjoyed a lively game of golf and soon they sauntered into the club house where they chatted with Gloria Swanson and Rudolph Valentino. Dinner hour came, and they drove to the Ritz where they dined on oysters on the half shell and turkey. That evening they went to the Copley Theater, where they saw the comedy, The Sport of Kings. They were particularly amused to hear the orchestra play, Thanks for the Buggy Ride, Roll 'Em Girlies, Roll 'Em, and That Certain Party. After the theater, they went to a dance and danced the Charleston until two- thirty in the morning. When they reached home they had a light lunch of steak, and retired at three o'clock in the morning to sleep three thou- sand years longer. MARION HODGSON, '27.

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THE HILLTOP 15 Then she entered the cave. Immediately she lifted the stone, and there she found a leather packet. She opened it and found a paper written in her father's hand- writing. Ellen-A long time ago I had a hobby for collecting beautiful and priceless jew- els. I praised myself on attaining a great number. Then came the fear of having them stolen. One night I took the chest. containing the jewels, to this cave, and hid them. I was just linishing my task when I heard voices outside. In fear that these people would find my jewels I threw a coat over my head and came out screaming. The people terrified, turned and ran down the mountain. Since then the cave has been branded with the word, 'hauntedf The strange noises which are heard every night, are the cooing of the doves which inhabit this cave. Now, my dear, the chest is hidden in about the center of the cave. buried about a foot underground. My dear-there are enough jewels there to make you a very rich woman. My bless- ing on you.-Daddy? As it was getting dark Ellen descended the mountain, determined to come up the next day for her treasure. To think, she sighed, that the cave which I have feared so long contains some- thing which will make me rich and happy, and that the mystery of those noises which so many people fear are but the cooing of beautiful doves. M. R. '26. DISASTER AHEAD! Business for stenographers was dull. Lillie Dubois was looking for work. She had inserted notices in several papers, and before nightfall received an answer. It was at 525 Landis Street, a god- forsaken place, she thought, as she read the reply. The next morning at seven, found her on her way to work. On reaching the house she glanced about disapprovingly. She ascended the steps and rang the door- bell. Silence reigned within. Presently she heard footsteps-steps of a man- coming down the long hall. The door was opened by the butler. Once inside, she began to look for what might be a boss. The butler directed her to a room con- verted into an office, where she espied a desk, a chair, and a table with a type- writer on it. The butler, before he left, told her this was her opportunity to make good. She sat down and looked over the papers which were strewn about on the desk. What he needed was a girl, she thought. She began to frame answers to the letters. Among the things on the desk was a check-book, which she used to make out the checks for the bills she found. These she left unsigned on the desk while went out to lunch. She returned at and as the butler had given her a she one, key, she entered without ringing the bell. checks she found had been signed. The She read and re-read the name-Warren Raymer-what a manly name! She thought about it even more, as she uncov- ered the typewriter. As she found noth- ing to do, she cleaned the typewriter, dusted the desk, and arranged the books and other articles necessary to a stenog- rapher. About two o'clock, the door back of her opened and in walked a dark com- plexioned young man of moderate build. He wore a long brown ofiice-coat over a brown suit. He told her his name and what he ex- pected of her. He dictated a few letters, and she was to compose replies to the rest. From the dictation she gathered that he was a scientist. She went home that night, moved considerably by her young boss. A week passed. One day, in the middle of the forenoon, following a deathly si- lence, a terrific crash was heard. Lillie