Watsonville High School - Manzanita Yearbook (Watsonville, CA)

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THE MANZANITA 19 As she dressed for the party, her mind turned repeatedly to those two old people down stairs. lt seemed impossible that she had lived with them and loved them just a little over two years before. Her mind was so confused and scattered. If she could only be away from it all-- to think, in some quiet, shady spot, where green grass and wild flowers were plentiful. But no, she must hurry to the party and atte11d to a hundred and one other things be- sides. That night the little broken heart- ed grandmother tossed restlessly a- mong her pillows. What was that soft click, click that sounded so far yet so real? She away and was waited for it to stop, but it kept up the same click, click, click. Sliding from the bed, she walked noiseless- ly to the staircase and peered down. Her heart almost stopped beating at what she saw, for there, at the foot of the stairway, between two great pillars, two forms crouched, and one carried a small flashlight. The clicking had ceased, and papers and rolls were being drawn from the safe: for yes, it was a safe, she had taken particular notice of it as she came up the stairs. But they were making away with the money! And she could not utter a sound! ln a moment those two masked forms had glided out into the darkness with their booty. i Sinking limply on the top stair, the little old lady gathered her scat- tered wits. Yes! there was only one thing to be done. Tip-toeing back into the bedroom, she took out all their hard earned savings, savings that they had been accumulating ever since she could remember, but -it was a thousand dollars, thank God it was that. Hastily writing a little note, she stole down the stairs, and placed it, with the roll of bills, inside the safe. Then the iron door elieked shut, and the little lady, sob- bing, went back up the stairs. Waking the old man, she told him all, and thirty minutes later they, too, stole out of the same door that the masked men had just left, away from that unwelcome mansion for- ever, and back to the little farm where they would be welcomed by the mooing of the cows, by the neighing of the horses, by the cackl- ing of the chickens, and by the bleating of the sheep. The next morning Frank Thorne discovered that his safe had been robbed, and also discovered the thousand dollars and the note. Reading the latter, light dawned upon him, and for the first time since Betty had know him, be be- came really angry, angry, not for the loss of his money, but because of that untrue Wife. Seizing the note and money in his hands, he went with set teeth and blazing eyes to seek her, his wife. Soon he found her. Her face was ehalkly white and her teeth ehattered. 'fOh! Frank, they 've goneli' and Betty sank to her knees, sobbing like a child. Frank gazed at her pityingly. His youthful face relaxed its hardness. After all, there was more than one way. Handing her the pitiful and heart-wringing little note, he gently told her to read it. and left her there, with it and the money. He could hear her moaning from a distant room, and after a long while, she appeared before him in traveling clothes, with a refreshed

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1 8 THE MANZANITA. a moment. Her conscience never pricked her anymore, for her life in the country was a thing of the past. The little grandmother never fail- ed to write her letters to Betty, tell- ing of her love, and the old grand- mother watched the New York pa- pers eagerly for news of her, for the name of Miss Elizabeth Fremont appeared often in the city papers. One day, two years after Betty had left home, the old man's eyes discovered these headlines, En- gagement of Miss Elizabeth Fre- mont and Frank Thorne, a Young Stockbroker, Announced. Tears blurred his eyes, and he cut the par- agraph from the paper and placed it next his heart. Two months later he discovered a long article about Miss Elizabeth Fremont 's marriage to Frank Thorne. This also went next his heart, and the little grandmother never knew. As he sat reading them over a few weeks later, she slipped noiselessly behind his chair, and from over' his shoulder she read the articles through. White and trembling she made her way from the room. Oh! it just eouldn't be true, or her own little Betty would have written! Even if she had never written at any other time, she certainly would have written now. But no letter had come. In a few minutes the little grand- mother came out on the porch, dress- ed in a black traveling suit. Her face was pinched and drawn, and she clenched her hands tightly to- gether. l'm going to her, Jim, was all she said. She did go, but she did not go a- lone. Leaving the cows and chick- ens in the care of a farmhand, the unloved and forgotten old couple started for that city which had caused them so much unhappiness: The next day, with the number of the street and house clipped from the paper to guide them, they ar- rived at the home of Mrs. Thorne. Please, inquired the little grandmother of the white-capped maid who answered the doorbell, Please, is my-is Mrs. Thorne at home? She is away at present. but you may leave your card or wait for her was the reply. So the excited old couple made their way through the immense parlors to a little reception room, where they waited to clasp their own little Betty in their arms once more. As they sat breathlessly waiting in the velvet cushioned chairs, a shrill voice sounded through the corridors, and then- there appeared in the doorway-Betty? that tall, haughty, overdressed creature? No, it couldn't be! And yet- Obi Betty, is it you? came faintly from the depths of the armchair. The creature in the doorway stared with startled eyes at her un- invited guests. Her hands clasped the heavy curtains in the doorway, and her heart beat quickly but no sound was uttered. At last regain- ing her composure, she said briskly, t'l'm in a very great hurry, now, so please forgive me and make your- selves at home! VVith that the new Betty turned, and with a burn- ing face left the room. Of course she would not dwell on the subject, they had no right to come unless she asked them to, and she just could not give up the party that after- noon for their pleasure.

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20 THE MANZANITA mind and a certain determination around her mouth. She told him simply that she was going hack, for she had not forgotten, and she want- cd him to go with her. He kissed her with gladness in his heart, and in a few hours they were flying over the fields on their way to that brok- en-hearted couple. Oh! how good it was to fly over green fields and smell the sweet fragrance of wild flowers once more! Betty, indeed, was changed. The train was slower than she had ever known one to be, and she felt that she could never wait until she was there with those two ill-treated people who loved her more than any- one else in the world. Hurrying from the train, they got into the only hack to be seen, and Betty urged the yawning driver to hasten with all speed. Her heart gave little bounds of mingled grief and joy as she saw her grandfather leaning back in his chair on the veranda. Jumping from the hack, she raced up the walk, and was soon sobbing in that old gentleman's arms. Her grand- mother appeared in the doorway, tired and sad, but oh! the wonder- ful gladness that leaped into the wrinkled face as she held her own little Betty in her arms again. The old grandfather squeezed the young '.nan's hand with a grip that told more than words, for sometimes the gift of speech is not possible, and silence is best. PF fr Night Night in her sable robe softly is gliding Over the meadows with dew-drops impearledg Peaceful and tranquil the night quee11 is smiling Down on the silent and sleeping world. Fresh rustling breezes creep through my dark window, Murmuring softly from land and from sea, Now o'er the waters come myriads of voices, Whispering, calling, from grass, bush, and tree. Night, with her moon angel, lulls me to slumber, Kissing and cooling my feverish brow, Candles of heaven flood light on my pathway As off I go tripping to Dreamland 11oW. -MARJORIE MOORE, '16,