Warsaw High School - Tiger Yearbook (Warsaw, IN)

Page 24 text:

THE TIOEE stor-ics of far ' -off Scoliand. One cNciiiiiLr as ho sat thus, his employer ' s sixteen- year-old (laii iht( ' i ' canic tionic Ifoin a walk with a f ' cifiul, a few minutes after dark; Tom opened his eyes wide in astonishment. Aye, aye, lassie, he said Ri-avely, Tis na weel far youn folks to he out sa late. In bonny Scotland we could na do so. Ane time whin I wis young, eoui ' tin ' my sweetheai ' t, i look her hame sa late as fifteen minutes pa.st eight, we found hei ' niither greeting:; as a punishment far eausing her sa muekle t rief, 1 wis for ' hidden to see my sweetheart agen fai- a whole week. Tis na weel far lassies to be out sa late. So all who knew him, learned to like the friendly Seotehman, hecause he seemed to take such personal intei ' est in all with whom he was associated. Many a good counsel he gave to the little boys, who loved to follow him ahout while he was at work, — listening to him sing sf)ngs of Scotland in his rich baritone voice and broad Scottish accent, or telling stories of his boyhood, so different from their own. Don ' t ye ever be onything but gentlemen, laddies, he would .say, Keep yer hearts an ' yer lives an ' yer lips clean. This world has too nnickle need o ' clean men fer bonnie lads like you to grow up to be onything else. This worl ' s garden is too full o ' weeds now. Do ye be u.seful plants. In his own land Tom had been a landscape gardener, and much of his conversation was tinged with imagry learned in the garden. As the weeks passed, Tom ' s interest in his new home seemed to increa.se, until suddenly one Sunday in August he saw an item in a Chicago paper, that the country was full of spies, looking out for men who might belong to the armies of Eui ' ope. Then Tom ' s peace of mind was gone. I ' ve talked too much, he said to his employer, I ' ve told too many peo- ple my story. I fear some one will tell those spies about me. He became nervous and fearful of every stranger who came to the place. Then one day in October he suddenly looked up from his work to see a stranger intently watching him. That mon is a British spy! was the first thought which flashed into his mind ; he at once found duties to carry him into another part of the building. A short time later he again saw the same man enter the door and stop to look at him. Tom was tei-ror stricken! He did not stop to i-eason or inqiiire : his employer was absent, and there was no one in whom he wished to confide. Slipping away to his little room, he changed his clothes, came hack and told one of the men that a spy was after him and that if caught, he would have to die. And without stopping to even draw the wages that were due him, Tom disappeared as if the earth had swallowed him up. An hour after his disappearance, the stranger whom he had seen walked boldly into the garage and addressed the first workman he came to. Where is that bran Scolchniau 1 saw here this morning? he asked. 1 don ' t know. replied the man. Why. Because. the stranger said. Unless 1 am mistaken he is Tom Gray, my brither whom 1 have not seen far fifteen years. The workman looked at the man keenly. Your brother! he said, What makes von thiidv he is your In-other. ' rmfflXz Can yoii imagfine a H. S. without a faculty? [134 more

Page 23 text:

THE TIOEI5. room, Gray removed all his clothing by which he might be identified, and put on the suit he had bought at the second-hand store. The clothes he took off, he placed in the suit case, which he shoved through a port-hole into the Atlan- tic. The other Scotchmen did likewise, with the exception that they retained their army under-clothing. When the vessel landed at New York, Gray passed the inspection of the customs officials, but the other five were identified by their under-clothing and returned to Europe, where they were doubtless shot for desertion. And now Tom Gray stood for the first time, a free man in a free country, but he was in the grip of fear lest he be recognized as a deserter, and taken back to the ship. To him, every blue-coated policeman was a menace ; he felt that safety lay alone in making his escape far inland, away from the city of New York. So he sought a railway station, and boarded the first out-going train. He soon found this was bearing him southward along the coast, so he changed to a westbound train on the Pennsylvania road. He remembered that his brother ' s address was in Springfield, 111., so he continued in that direction, paying his way as long as his money lasted. When finally his money was all gone, he got off the train, and found him- self in the city of Fort Wayne, Ind. Here he tried to find work, but failing, started on foot toward the city of Chicago where, he was given to understand, he might secure work. But at the freight yards he was invited to ride on a flat ear, by a kind-hearted brakeman, who happened to be of his own na- tionality. Ye ' 11 not be walking all that way, he said, Jest make yersel to hame, and ye ' 11 no be disturbed. But Gray was unaccustomed to such riding, and as the train gained speed, he held on with both hands, fearing every moment that he would be hurled to the ground. At the first stop Tom hastened to make his escape from this — to him — perilous position. This stop happened to be at the freight-yards of Warsaw. Tom jumped to the ground and started north. Just a few steps brought him to the open door of a garage. Here he entered into a conversation with one of the workmen, wondering what chance there might be for Avork in Warsaw. The proprietor, upon hearing his story, gave him a temporary job. Tom at once showed himself so diligent, intelligent, cheerful and trustworthy, that he was hired with the understanding that his job would last as long as his service was satisfactory. A little room Avas furnished for him, where he might live and board himself. Here he seemed as proud and happy as a king in his palace. Every day he talked of his plans for the future. Tom was so happy in his new-found freedom that he forgot his resolutions to be cautious, and talked quite freely of his escape from his hated military servitude in Europe. He even wrote a letter to his brother Roderick in Spring- field, telling him of his escape and his present employment. But much as he desired to communicate with his wife, his knowledge that every letter crossing the ocean would be strictly censured, prevented his writing to her. ' ' She ' 11 no be Avorrying, ' ' he thought, ' ' for she knows Avhat ship I took and Avill see by the papers that it arrived safe in America. Many times, at twilight, he would sit with his proprietor ' s children, telling 1 9) 1 7 135 more] A half loaf is ' better than not heing allowed to loaf at all

Page 25 text:

TIHII ' T1I©EIK. This, replied the brother, pulling out the letter Tom had written him soon after his arrival in Warsaw. I hae come to take him hame wi ' me, he said, so that I can help pro- tect him frae ony foreign spies. The workman stared at the stranger, con- vinced of the truth of his statement. I ' m afraid you are too late, he said, Tom saw you this morning and took you for a British spy. He ' s gone — I don ' t know where. Roderick Gray immediately began a search for his brother. He remained in Warsaw and the vicinity several days, in hopes that Tom would return. But he did not. When at the end of a week not the slightest clew had been dis- covered as to the direction the refugee had taken, Roderick sadly returned to his home. Weeks passed, and his Warsaw friends heard no word from Tom Gray. Was he somewhere apprehended b} ' spies from the old country and arrested by them? Did he go into hiding uiider some other name, waiting till such time as he might feel safe to seek his brother? Did he drift to Chicago or some other large city, there to be swallo ' ' ed up in its maelstrom of poverty-stricken hu- manity? We do not know, for as far as we are concerned, he is enveloped by a silence as of the tomb. VIOLA C. NEHER. lExrpHS laggag Nn. 13 OLLY was just an ordinary girl, full of fun, and ready for any ad- venture which might turn up. Tho ' not unusually pretty, she pos- sessed an attractive face with a saucy little nose and merry black eyes. On this particular morning, the girl, standing at the window looking out over the back campus where AVillow pond lay spark- ling in the morning sun, was thinking of the past four years spent in the southern college from which she had graduated last night. Now she must return to the great city with all its bustle to make her bow in society, with nothing to do but attend a ceaseless round of gaity. Suddenly she Avas recalled from her thoughts on hearing her room-mate re- mark with her slow drawl, Molly, you ' d better be gettin ' yo ' trunk packed if you intend to leave on the next train. ' ' Indeed, when looking at the clock just two hours remained in which to finish packing, reach the station, procure a ticket and check her baggage. Putting aside all her aireastles, Molly fairly threw things in her trunk but on looking for the key, it was nowhere to be found. She hurriedly unpacked things ' till the missing key came to light; then replacing them tried to turn the key in the lock only to find it broken. At this critical moment in came the baggage man whereupon Molly found some rope for him to tie around the trunk and after tying the lid down he took it aAvay. By this time fifteen minutes remained to reach the station. Leaving the biulding, Molly paused a minute to take a farewell glance at the old buildings, and the long avenue of locust trees, now in full bloom, making the air frag- 1 1 T 133 more] Only two thing ' s keep some g ' irls from ' beingr good dancers — their feet