West Paris High School - Nautilus Yearbook (West Paris, ME)

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Vbcmiv It was nearly supper time in a small bungalow in Oaksville on an early summer day. Mrs. Niles and her daughter, Janey, were busily preparing supper for Bill, Janey's brother, who would soon be home.from work. Bill had been in the army for a -short while but was new at home working at the office of the Oaksville power plant. As Janey was arranging the dishes on the stable. sho ,hound Blll's quick step as he came up the walk onto the porch, entered through the screen door and hung his jacket on the hook in the hall. He was a tall boy, in his early twenties, of medium build, and black wavey hair. He had a very manly look about him and his face did not possess that gay, carefree expression of most boys of twenty. While eating they talked about the happenings of the day and of the very warm weather they were having for the first of June. They had finished eating and had been sitting around the table for some minutes when Mrs. Niles spoke: HI saw Mickey this afternoon, Bill, we had quite a long talk togethcr.n She looked at Bill. He had lowered his eyes at the mention of Miekey's name and said nothing. 'B1ll,H she wont on, nYou haven't even seen Mickey since you returned home from Camp- What4s cone between you two! You and Mickey were practically brought up together, always played to- gether, wont to school with each other: you were the best of friends when you went away. What have you get against Mickey, Bill? I wish you'd straighten it out. You'd both be a lot hap- pier than you are now.n Without speaking or looking up, Bill rose from his chair, pushed it under the table and left the room. NI know it oan't be Hickoy's fault,n said Janey, when Bill had gone. UNe, Mickey always loved and worshiped Bill too much to cause trOub1e,V :aid Mrs. Niles. Bill cane iomn the steps from the porch and 'turned into a little path leadlng through his Mother's flower garden, by the rose bushes down into the pine grove. He kept on down the path, through the grove and into the thicker woods. He energed suddenly onto the bank of a small body of water. At first it seemed to be a very small, round pond, Completely surrounded by thick woods, but upon a second look one could see a very narrow opening at one end, leading out to a large lake. On the small sandy beach at the end of the path rested a boat and a small, green canoe.

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E3UA54.D!,f-W OF 'I FLOCFC From out of the shadows beneath e ledge strode uUhgOTn3 he was e massive spectacle, outlined in the moonlight. There was a soft breeze blowing from the south. This was what had warned uUngorW about the danger. The breeze was soft and warn, bringing a scent to his, which meant danger and fear for his charges. He held his heed high and predicted thc approach of his greatest enemy, UGreybuckH the timber wolf. HUngorU noved back to his hen and warned them of the approaching danger. The small herd then rose and followed nUngorn to the trail which lcd onto a ledge on top of the cliff. The pnth to the hiding plsce was just wide o- nough for one animal to trnverse at a timeg on the left was a sheer drop off of many hundred feet. As soon as his herd wns safely on the smooth surface of the lodge nUngorU lay down near the entrance and waitedg he could hem the hunting howl of nGroybsckU and know that he was on the trail of the herd. But if nUngorW had anything to do about it HGrey- bncxn wouldn't have mutton to set that night. The scent grew stronger as the wolf neared the narrow trail to the shelf of ledge where the herd of sheep crowded to watch the coming struggle to the doeth between their powerful leader and their dost hated enemy, UGreyback,n the timber wolf. uUngorn watched, watched the trail with his sharp eyes: his nostrils inhnled the hated wolf-scent, and his ears listened for any sound that would betray the approach of the enemy. y At long last, ndngorn spotted the small yellow eyes of the greet wolf, and then made out his form enongst the rock strewn trail. The woonlijht outlined the two battlers clearly to the sharp-eyed audience, who knew that their future depended on the outcome of the coming bgttlc. uGreybaekH stood stark still and then without warning chargai onto the I'1'L.l'l OTI th ' .'.l here Unger 'I :'. gg .sgiting with bowed heed ami massive horns. uGrcyLncl'eU sh rp fangs closed on the mighty rsmb shoulder. The pnin wus terrific but HUngorn had not given up. His sherp horns gored the wolf into retreat. For a few seconds nUngorn stood there and then he leaped. He didn't dive straight for the wolf but nt the narrow splce between the animal and the cliff. The massive weight of the ram carried him between the two and for s ninute nGreybsckn hung to the sheer cliff and then fell to the ledges below. nUngorN had won. He stood a minute looking out over the vast expanse of his domain knowing that he had pro- tected his flock from their greatest enemy. Richard Baker '47

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Bill sat down on the back of the cove under the overhanging branches of the trees, The bank's thick, green blanket of cool moss was studded here and there with little woods flowers. As the huge sun was hiding itself behind the purple hills, the water reflected the red and orange of a beautifully colored sky. Bill heard a noise behind him and turned to see what it was. There, eyes downcast with a rather shameful expression on her face, stood a slim, dark-haired girl of about Bil1's age. Her light colored playsuit seemed to set off her hair and the rich tan of her face, arms, and legs. She raised her face and tears could be seen in her soft blue eyes. Her lips quivered as she tried to speak, UI--I thought maybe you'd take me canoeing--,N she said slowly, apologizingly, HYour mother said that I might find you here.n mHe had risen.to.his.feet upon seeing henrman angry,.sumprisai ,... expression on his face, which softened a little as she spoke, 0Maybe we can take a short ride,n he said slowly, placing the canoe in the water, They got in and he paddled it out througm the opening into the lake. When they returned, the moon had risen high in the sky and a little breeze was blowing, making silver ripples on the water. BilI'and the girl were not silent on the return to the shore as they had been when they left. Instead they were talking and laughing gayly. After pulling the canoe up onto the bank they walked slowly, hand in hand, up the path toward the house, When they reached the garden, he picked a rose from a bush near the path and after he arranged it in her hair, he kissed her warmly and they went on their way, . It was quite a while later that night when Bill went into the house-. His mother.and Jamey were already in bedsas heustartad up the stairs to his room. After two or three steps he turned,- went back to the door of his mother's room. He hesitated a moment then rapped lightly on the door. NIS that you, Bill?W came his motherfs voice. nYes,W he answered nMay I ask you something?U N0f course, come in,U she replied, He went in, took both her hands in his. He hesitated again and then said, UMickey's been with me tonight and we talked about a lot of things and I wondered if--if you and Janey would mind td: much if I brought her home with me sometime soon. If I brought her home with me--to stay?n Erwin Hayes '47-