Westbrook High School - Blue and White Yearbook (Westbrook, ME)

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20 leaf of an unimportant diary belonging to someone he didn't even know, and which could easily be retranscribed? There must be a reason, but what? Was the man simply crazy? Of course. That was it. He sighed with relief. Who wouldn't go crazy living alone in an isolated cave, miles from any habi- tation since the good Lord knows when? But where did he get the pick, new it was, he could see it now in his mind's eye, shiny and bright and clean, contrasting sharply with the cir- cumstances of the man who carried it. VVhere, but out of Anson's pack. He hadn't noticed it gone, but it must be his, or Lawson's. The man was crazy, of course. He turned to speak to Lawson but the man had backed farther into the crevice out of sight, and he dare not raise his voice, even to a conversational whisper, to call him. He waited, the hermit was leavi.ng the cave. For five minutes he waited thus, and then, Law- son! in a hoarse whisper. Ssh! He'll hear you! from only a dozen feet beyond, but strangely above him. No. He's gone. Where are you? Come here, quick! I've found something. Coming Notice how this crack gets wider? It leads up, too. I wonder where,- God! The voice was a scream. Lawson! VVhat's the trouble, Man? No answer. The bottom suddenly seemed to fall out of the pit of Ansonls stomach, and a hot wave surged through it. He yanked the flashlight out of his pocket and turned it on. Lawson was right. The crevice grew wider and turned sharply upward. He Hashed the ray of lig-ht on its walls. They were almost as smooth as if cut with a knife. He advanced ten or twelve paces, his light alternately in front and to each side of him, calling Lawson the while. Suddenly the light seemed to go out. It was pointed straight before him, he pointed it up at his face. Its brilliant light almost blinded him, temporarily, yet when he turned it forward its rays did not show. The horrible truth flashed upon him. It was focused on nothingness. A great fear assailed - X The Blue and White him. Lawson 'had fallen into a bottomless pit. Why-Why was he so foolish as to throw 'away his life by' being so reckless? ' Sick with apprehension he advanced slowly, light di- rected to the floor. He -halted suddenly, on the brink of a twenty-foot vertical drop. An arched roof, sloping sides, level bottom, but ahead the light struck nothing, a continuation then of the first cave. But where was Lawson? Ah! Straight down here! What was that! God! A mass of white bones, a skeleton-its long hand waving from side to side. No. That hand was human. It was alive. Lawson ! A low moan, sounding strangely distant. Answer, man! Are you hurt? Foolish question. Phill A voice commanding even in its weakness, answered, Get a rope. Get help. I'm hurt. Bad! But, man- You can't do anything here- irritatingly, do as I say. VVithout a word Anson retraced his steps to the camp, running a good part of the way. He came back in an hour, bringing two horses, ropes, first-aid kit, and food. In his excite- ment he forgot all about the old hermit, but there was no need to worry. The old man did not return until dark. Anson hurried to the rescue, picketing the horses in a clump of alders outside. The rope he fastened to a stake in the floor of the first cave and passed it through the crevice in the rock which led to the second, and down into that, using two ropes for the purpose. He climbed down the rope to the level of the second cave and turned to Lawson. He lay under the skeleton of some human being, and rested on the bones of another. He was pale, and had lapsed into unconsciousness. Anson pressed a flask of brandy to his lips and forced him to swallow. A few seconds later his eyes llickered, opened, and he essayed a smile. It was a weak attempt, but it showed his grit. In a few moments he felt strong enough to speak. My leg, my right leg. Guess-its- gone. This through gritted teeth. Anson nodded faintly and strove to ease the injured

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Westbrook High School so plain that at times they ran. They had gone about a mile when they found themselves entering a heavy wood. It was only a narrow strip, however, and as they came to the other side, a bent form disappeared among the shrubbery circling the base of a steep hill. It was plainly the form of an old man and from the lips of the pursuers there burst simulta- neously: The Hermit. They waited in con- cealment for him to appear above the fringe of bushes, but in vain. In a roundabout way they approached the spot where he had disap- peared. Deep in the bushes, under a ledge of overhanging rock, so situated as to be visible only from a spot directly beneath it, they dis- covered the mouth of a cave. So far they had been lucky enough to escape detection, and had only discovered the cave by accident, as it were. They proceeded to go no further, how- ever, but took notice of its location and quietly retraced their steps. Early the next morning the old hermit crawled out from under the rock and looked around fearfully. Two pairs of eyes not far away exchanged glances, and as one, fastened themselves upon him. After a careful re- connoissance, the old man, a bright new pick- axe over his shoulder, hurriedly left the clearing and set out towards the northwest. For live minutes the two watchers waited,- ten,-Fifteen,-and as the twentieth minute ticked off with no return of the old man, they rose from their cramped positions and stealth- ily approached the cave. A cursory examina- tion satisfied them that the hermit was its only inhabitant. They entered. The cave grew larger in all its dimensions and the atmos- phere was actually one of comfort. They were struck with the uniformity of its dimen- sions, and considering its length it was re- markably straight. They had progressed about a hundred yards when the cave abruptly ended. The flashlight they carried showed the termination to be a wall of shale and loose stone, though one-half was blocked by a huge triangular boulder which had been split its entire height Cabout 20 feetj to a width of from twelve to sixteen inches. They -had just commenced an exploration of the contents of I9 this part of the cave, consisting of a few old horse blankets, battered kettles, etc., belong- ing evidently to the owner of the cave, when they were startled by a noise as of a falling body, which came from the mouth of the cave. Suspecting a return of the hermit they looked about for some means of co.nceal- ment. The only possibility seemed to be the aperture in the boulder before them. Ex- tinguishing the light, they managed, by dint of much squeezing and wriggling, to jam into the crevice, Lawson first. They found they were in a fine position to watch the move- ments of the hermit without themselves being seen, for it was, as they suspected, the old man who had returned. As he entered the stone chamber, which was his home, he paused, then half turned and came directly towards the two watchers. He, long accustomed to the darkness of the cave, needed no light to direct him to the location he- desired, other- wise t-he two men would certainly have been discovered. As it was, it was necessary to back into the recess to escape detection. The hermit thrust in his arm and drew out some round object. Anson could have stepped o.n his fingers. Gf a sudden there came to him the humor of time s'tuation and he had har-d work to restrain himself. NVhat harm could there be in an old man, a hermit, supple though he was for his apparent age? He was almost tempted to reach out and grasp his hand. What a look would come over his face! Would he think that the ghosts of -his progenitors had come to seek revenge for some supposed infraction of their constitutional standards? Would he swoon with fright or would he run wild out of the cave, screaming with fright and clutching his long whiskers, calling on the gods to defend him and to revoke his enemies? Anson smiled and stuck out his foot to trod on the hairy fingers still fumbling for some object hidden in the crevice, the whole thought taking the space of only a few seconds. Suddenly, however, he thought of the epi- sode of the diary and quickly withdrew his foot. VV.hat business had such a man to fum- ble in the packs of another, taking only the

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Westbrook High School electric lantern' he had of the cave. ' It was ra happened to know 'the rudinients of surgery well enough to set and could not move. This hoist the injured man, member, setting the brought on the fioor delicate job, but he splint the leg so it done, he prepared to who had fallen into another faint, up to the floor of the crevice, at this end five feet wide. He reached down to fasten the rope around Lawson's body, just below the armpits. As he did so he .noticed the man had grasped one of the bones of a skeleton and in his effort to allay the pain of setting the leg had hung on with a grip of iron. The bone happened to be the wrist of the skeleton and in that hand was a paper! Shaking as with ague, Anson forgot his patient and unclasped the bony fingers, taking the paper therefrom. It was old, yel- low, and the mfssive written in pencil was only faintly discernible. Eagerly he read: I am Gilbert Lawson, my partner here is Philip Byrne. Jim Hartnett has gone around with the horses and equipment. To the finder of my body-On April 17th, 1906, we set out to recover some cached gold which I will tell you later where to find. Notify my son Robert M. Lawson, R. F. D. 4, Saccarappa, Maine, and give the money to him, or give him this letter. We came into this cave to sleep on the night of the 17th, while Hartnett kept on around the hill with the horses. This cave is a short cut. Early in the morning we were awakened by a roar of tumbling rock, and the ground shaking beneath us. We rushed to the door of the cave, but a fall of rock super- seded us and shut us ing we ran towards the farther end but the whole roof caved in before us- The manuscript went on to tell how they had lived for days, presumably five, off one day's rations, striving to find a way out. How, baffled at every turn, they at last gave them- selves up and prepared this manuscript. It gave references to men of their acquaintances who would be interested in their plight. CThey believed they would be found within a few days.j Then came the most important message of all, Follow creek in front of cave Qnorth endj up about 200 yards. Note line of 21 boulders 'L' shaped on side of Rusty moun- tain' fnot really a mountain but a du.n-colored hillj. 'Proceed from vertex of 'L' fifty yards into creek, find heart-shaped fiat rock in bed of stream. Lift, and dig about a foot. Gold belongs to my son, as heir-fin case Hartnett does not livel, if he does, share and share alike, between him, my son, and Anson. God's curse on the fiend who disobeys these orders! Gilbert R. Lawson. Young Anson read it twice to make sure, then smiling grimly to himself he put the note into a safe pocket and turning to all that re- mained of his grandfather's cronies, he bared his head reverently, and said slowly :- Well, old pals, you've donegyour bit. No one can accuse you of being slackersf, Once more to his task. Out of the cave, which he now hated with a vehemence born of superstition, out from the darkness,-into light. The journey back to the camp was un- eventful, though slow, because of Lawson's condition. For a week he nursed him, not daring as yet to move him from the vicinity. Of the hermit he had seen no move, and had actually forgotten him. Then, one day, two weeks later, Lawson, having heard the circumstances, commanded that they go on an immediate hunt for the gold. Anson knew he was in no condition to do anything of the sort, but Lawson was per- sistent. Together then they started on the hunt for the lost treasure. They came once more opposite the cave, and of a sudden rea- lized that there was no creek in front of the cave, but only a dry sandy stretch bordered by alders on one side, and,--that was it, those alders marked the bed of the stream men- tioned. That's what it was,', said Anson, the California earthquake of 1906. It buckled the cave and shut them in, the creek must have dried up. See that arroyo there? I've noticed that the bed of it is rocky, as though some torrent of water ran through it. The California earthquake? Did it come as far as here? I thought- Sure, not very strong, though, but that's