Westport High School - Herald Yearbook (Kansas City, MO)

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aid in an hair f. She igham carry at the of the er see ou in Jliday, J have lse to- ielpin' s, Eli- nny ? 3k out 2 gave 9235, d very Lk her fred if extra vuldn't rcome white icking stood zo her Ig' and J play would fe and purned S6 and hole. 21' pail THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. 23 It had been many years since that event- ful spring day and in the meantime Elijah had become one of Rockbury's wealthiest citizens. Do you wonder why the increase in his fortune? Well, if you will promise to tell no one, I will truthfully give you the key to his success. Since you first became ac- quainted with Elijah, the egg market had risen from fourteen cents to ten dollars a dozen. With such mighty jumps had it risen that now, the commoner class of Rockbury people held up their hands in horror at the first word concerning an egg. They never had the luxury of eggs for breakfast and in fact, hardly any more parties were given. For as you know, par- ties require cake and cake demands eggs. One lady timidly ventured to serve some cake minus the eggs. However I will not make you sad by telling of that poor woman's fate. But now, much to the loss of the Rock- bury community, Elijah was dead and Elizabeth had lengthened her skirts al- most to her shoe tops. She was growing more and more like a lady every day. But one day, memorable to the towns- folk of Rockbury even now, discarding her dignified air, she went down to her old play-ground. And fired with a sudden en- thusiasm to build a little bon-fire and have a good time. She began to hunt for sticks. She noticed, especially, one peg which seemed to mark some resting place. She pulled to dislodge it from the ground but in doing so, pushed some of the earth away and disclosed-some thing white-What could it be? Was she blind or did her eyes betray her? No! no! that certainly must be an egg. Yes, she knew it must be an egg, al- though she had not seen one for so long that she hardly recognized it. Then with a flash it all came back to her. Why, this is the egg Elijah gave me and I buried here so long ago. What will mother say when she sees it? I must take it home to the children, won't they be de- lighted though '? With the egg held care- fully between her fingers she walked through the streets to her home. All the common people ran to the win- dows and stared at her in open-mouthed amazement. An egg! Who'd ever a thought it! Thick and fast ran gossip as to how Elizabeth, daughter of the poor widow that lived on Huckleberry avenue had ever gotten that precious egg. Oh well, said all turning up their noses, if poor widows can have eggs, its none of our business. One old man hobbled up to her on her homeward way and asked just to feel of it. Elizabeth was envied of all. She pos- sessed an egg. Unheard of! Unthought of! But the greatest delight reigned when Elizabeth came walking into her home with the treasure. An egg! But such a sad egg! Yet an egg is an egg. Wasn't it a shame she didn't find it sooner? Laura Chandler, '16. Ebrougb the mercy of the 6065 -6' OR ALMOST his whole life of thir- teen years Titus had lived in the little home with his grandfather, Tiberius, now almost eighty years of age, but not yet giving up an ac- tive life. Tiberius' wife, through her il- legal second marriage, had had a daughter, and this daughter was the mother of Titus. The boy's mother had died a year after her baby's birth and Tiberius, not wishing to

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22 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. This building was furnished with one show case, in which, arranged in a very peculiar design, were chicken feathers for hat-trimming-black, white, yellow, brown -with certain prices attached to each. Around the white-washed walls were stuck advertisements some of which dated back as far as ten years. One distinctly pre- sented iitself to the eye of the customer: SALE ON SHIRTS June 31, 1903. ROSSEN'S DRY GOODS STORE Biggest and Best Line of Goods in the West. And also a soiled piece of card-board on which was painted in red letters: EGGS 14 CENTS A DOZEN hung in a conspicuous place. Well, on this bright morning, Elijah's first customer was an old woman. She was dressed in a red cotton dress and had a white wool shawl over her head. Good mornin', Ellijah, I been workin' this morning. I dug all my pertaters al- ready. Crop's bad this year. I don't know what this world's coming to. There hain't a drop of water in the ground. But, Eli- jah, what I come here this morning for, was to git some eggs. My daughter, J une, is going to give a party and I got to git a cake made for her. Oh! these young ones! Why, Elijah your daughter's growed so fast 'at I hard- ly know her and my Junie sheis jist bound she's going to put her hair on her head this fall but I ain,t going to let her. No Siree! But Elijah you fix me them eggs and I'll pay you with those pertaters I dug this morning. .After this garrulous customer had left, many others came and made more or less queer bargains. One man loaned him the use of his horse and wagon, in payment for two dozen of Elijah's best. However some paid in ready money. About noon, a little girl with golden hair and blue eyes skipped into the store. She had on a white dress with a blue gingham apron. On her arm hung a pail to carry her eggs. The old man's eyes brightened at the sight of her for she was the pet of the town. Wal, Elizabeth, did you come ter see old Elijah, honey? Why ain't you in school? Why, Uncle Elijah, to day's a holiday, don't you remember? We're going to have an entertainment at the school-house to- night and all the big children are helpin' decorate. I want nine of your biggest eggs, Eli- jah, and can I go out and see Fanny? CFanny was her pet hen.J Run along, Goldlocks, and I'll pick out yer eggs. When she was ready to leave, he gave her the little bucket with the nine eggs, and one extra for good measure. On the way home, Elizabeth walked very carefully so that she wouldn't break her eggs. And all the while she wondered if her mother could possibly need that extra egg. No! oh, Elizabeth knew she wouldn't so finally after trying vainly to overcome her desire for that pretty little white thing, she set down her pail and picking out the biggest one she could find stood fingering it, wondering. Suddenly a funny idea came into her little head. She would bury that egg and then sometime when she wanted to play house she would know where she would find it. Then she could make a fire and have a good time. So finding a little stick she overturned some of the earth near her play house and Dut her precious egg down in the hole. Then covering it again, she took her pail and went home. 3 DEC rl: X :Zz It h ful sp' had b citizei in his Wei I will succes quain' risen dozen risen Rockl horro They break partie ties r Onr cake make womz Bu' bury Eliza most more Bu folk c digni play-. thusi a goo She seemi pulle4 in dof and i 3792111 . . . . .. .. , .. . . . . -,......,,.....,.,.....ua.- ..t,.a.,,..., e MMig:-L.-I+,,,,1Q,,,g,,,,...1.a.-.,.,A,.-:,,,,-,J:,,:,,7,,1,g,.3g ,g,,:,,,,,,,,,,...,........, v.,,,,,f.,g.r...:-zen... xx.. ,.-F -- V . -

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q..r..-... -----'1 n'.:-a--ra'2 l:.'-v..'wcvL-:4:af.m,1..:qf... -:I-fgfqefz-rx-urw.n,.,y.1..m--W-'f- ' - f - 1 24 THE WESTPORT HIGH SCHOOL HERALD. see the child homeless, had taken the boy up to his hermit home on Mount Vesuvius. What a home that .had seemed to the little fellow! The kindly care of his grand- father, never too busy to amuse him, the wonderful cave home, all this he had taken for granted throughout all his early years. And then how he loved to study and be taught by his loving and painstaking teacher the rudiments of the greatest arts of the world. For grandfather had not al- ways led this hermit life. Even at that day, fifty years afterward, the name of Titus Tiberius was spoken of with venera- tion in Rome. Many people still remem- bered with pity the young noble who had risen to the highest place in art and lit- erature in the Roman world and then, on the eve of his greatest triumph, heart- broken over his wife's crime, had fled Rome and tried to forget all under the blue Cam- panian sky. But now the young lad, thirteen years of age, was beginning to experience the changes toward manhood. Often he sat out under the great oak tree and, gazing into space, his artistic inheritance was aroused and he saw the wondrous beauty of that Campanian scene. How Wonder- fully blue was the Neopolitan Bay, seem- ingly at his very feet, and the beautiful green, Nature's favorite color, extending up and up to the very summit of Vesuvius, and then the mighty mountain itself, stretching out to the north farther and farther away toward Rome, the glorious capital of the mightiest and most powerful nation that ever ruled the world, toward Rome, the goal of his ambitions- .how wonderful it allwas! And then he would dream of how he might make a great name for himself over all the Roman empire, and that included all the world. For this was the wonderfully prosperous time of the reign of Titus, son of Vespasian, when the empire reached almost its greatest extent and all the world paid tribute to the crown of the Caesars. But of late grandfather seemed worried. He complained of visions at night and sud- denly he would wake up saying that he had heard strange sounds. But the boy, in his oblivious, youthful sleep, had heard none such. Well under the mountain in the back of the cave-home was a small re- cess and in the floor was a cleft, half a foot wide and about three feet long. 'Down and down stretched the cleft, seemingly bottomless, for one day Tiberius and Titus had dropped a burning torch down and had watched it fall, growing smaller and smaller into a mere speck and finally fad- ing from view. But time after time the old man was troubled by those visions and evil presentiments. Yet there seemed to be no cause. Then one day, as they were working hard together, suddenly came a deep rumbling as of thunder and they ran to the door, surprised that it should threaten a storm when they had had no knowledge of its approach. To their sur- prise, however, there was not a cloud in sight and the sun was shining brightly. Several times this occurred during the fol- lowing days, with apparently no reason, until one day the boy, noticing slight vi- brations around the cleft in the cave, knelt and, holding his ear close, heard faint, dis- tant mutterings. After that the cleft was closely watched and it was discovered that the rumblings had come from there. What could cause it? Surely no trouble could come to those vast stretches of southern Italy, lying peacefully under the golden, Italian sun! Day after day the rumblings gradually increased and both were occasionally disturbed by the vibra- tions. And then, one day, far, far down was discovered a little point of red.fire. Week after week the little speck grew, al- most imperceptibly. At first all this was the cause of much anxiety to Tiberius, but as the novelty wore off, it was taken more and more as a matter of course. The boy was almost fourteen now, when suddenly came an announcement from Pompe in the phithe boy dc had su When and to it seen see it greate his ve pleadei had to years. promis joy fr day gf days a Fin: great 1 set th their j the bc fully 4 so as Naturi sistiblf a loud beratii and hi terror thougl crevici and hi forgot tionsi The the w they 14 over people gone I road N eral fe foot W Withi in pul . . ,.- . -.,....a.2:.4L.L+..f,.14 :.:.4....- . W.,-..l.-M.:..-gg.:,gg,5,:,,.-,L-tgsolh , was .mv . Q it v N - V