Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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OUT- l 3 I R lf 49 was Bobbie and that he was 'tgoing-on-seven years old. He had been a cripple ever since his infancy when he had been dropped by a careless nurse and had twisted his legs. He said that his sister and he were the only people left in his family and that she went every morning to teach in a kindergarten for a living. XVhile she was away, he entertained himself by watching the people go by. XYhen she came home from work. they had many enjoyable times together, reading and playing quiet games. Although the pain was much greater some days than others. I never saw him cross or heard him say a disagreeable word. Then one morning as l passed, I saw no cheery face at the window, and all the rest of the day I thought of all the misfortunes that might have happened to him. Un my way home I went in to inquire the cause of his absence. His sister rec- ognized me as the man of whom llobbie had often spoken, She said that the little cripple had not been well that morning and had remained in bed all day. She had had one of the neighbors come in to keep him company while she was away. Later she had called in a physician and he had seemed very worried over the child's condition. From then on Bobbie never sat in the window, for he kept growing worse and his poor little face became thinner and paler. Une day when I went in to inquire for him, I was told that he had died the night before, holding his sister's hand and smiling until the last. I shall never forget this child whose loving heart and sweet disposition ruled him even in the most extreme pain. A. H. ,I7. SAMMY'S PEKINESE. Sammy was a little boy about nine years old. He had dark curly hair and large blue eyes which looked up at one with a wistful air as though he always longed for something. Sammy's mother took in washing but she could not make enough money to give Sammy the one thing he wanted most in all the world. Sammy wanted a dog, not the kind that runs around the poorer streets half fed, and very hungry, but a very different kind. Ile had seen a picture once in a magazine of a little low-set dog with a pug nose and long hair, with the name Pekinesel' under it. This was the kind of dog Sammy wished for, but as I have said before, they were too expensive for Sammv's to buy. - morning Sammy rose before his mother, and with a little money he had been hoarding for many years, set out to a newspaper plant, Where he bought as many papers as his money mother One allowed and started out to sell them. Ile was such a sturdy, lovable little lad that many peo- ple bought his papers just to see his face light up when they gave him his pennies. They did not know that every penny Sammy took, brought him nearer to his dog! As soon as his papers were sold, he rushed home and proudly showed his money to his astonished mother. .Nt first she did not like the idea of her son selling papers, but when she saw how happv he was in doing it and that the wistful look was leaving his eyes, she consented. Y As the mornings went by, the bowl in which Sammy's money was kept, grew fuller and fuller. Still the dog was a long way off because the crock would have to overflow many times before thc dog could be bought, Sammy was growing he kept patients as he was leav- whimpering as and Sammy saw fence. .Xt once came from this, disheartened because of this, but ly on. Une cold winter morning ing his home, he heard a dog though it suffered with the cold a dark spot on the snow by the he went to see if the whimpering and with a wild shout of joy he picked the object up. lt was a dog with a pug nose, and bow legs, and long hair. His joy passed as swiftly as it came, for he saw the dog wore a collar. lhe thought came to him that if he would take the collar otf, nobody would know whose dog it was, lflowever, he put this thought aside, and a very sad little boy started out to lind the home of the runaway dog. Ile found the address without much trouble and saw that trunks were being carried out and that people were bustling around inside as though they were closing the house. It was a very large place and Sammy was a little afraid to ring the back door bell. .-Xs soon as he did, he found himself in a large kitchen confronted by a large cook who was smiling down at him. lle gave her the dog without a word and started to leave the room, but she stopped him and gave him something to eat. This kindness and the thought of leaving the dog was too much for Sammv and he burst into tears, sobbing out to the cook his whole longing for the dog. Silent- lv the woman left the room, soon reappearing with her mistress, who asked Sammy to repeat all he had said. At the end of his story she told him that she was just leaving the city and that she would be only too glad to give one of her ljeeks to Sammy because she had two dogs and one was all she wished to take with her. Sammy, after thanking her again and again, permitted her to kiss him ta privilege which he seldom gaveb and, with the dog tightly held in his arms, ran home. M. D. YI7.

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nights Crawl only tight dollars! l , 48 oUi-DIRE the night. 'Iihat night quite an uproar arose because a mouse ran aeross the iloor ot the bedf Vtvrvlll adyonnng ours jtlrl as we were about to get lllltb lied, so of CtJlll4SC ll. lmudi US tltllltl 21 timetogrrt1vslet'1l, Taking earriaees early in the morning, we went through some lovely Swiss eountry. Une village. called Clages, was having an auction of ealxes, and it was great lun watching the gestieulating of the people. The ehureh here is very old with a tower whieh is even older. .Xll the morning we went through many quaint straggling towns eaeh eonsisting of one street. liinally, at Saxton, we walked out into the Qoune try to eat our luncheon pienie fashion. tioing back to town we went through a preserving fae- tory, whieh seemed almost primitive to me in eontrast with the ones we have in the Linited States. XXX' 111011 took a train for lieneva, ar- riving with many regrets at not being able to start right over again. Ilns trip was not like anything l had 0101 experienced because 110 spoke l'reneh all the time. and so:ne of 1110 seenes were very unusual. lhe NXXHS girls 11010 jllml as laughter-loving as those I had been used to, and we had manv good times. lint the greatest surprise was tail tinding that the trip for 111100 days and two Q. Klef., Io, A STRANGE STEED. During the eivil war Mr. XYilliamson and his eldest son were away lighting, leaving only Mrs. XX ilhamson, 1101 daughter ul' lifteen, llCl' bov of seven, and llel' babv. The union soldiers had attacked the farm and 1111111011 it uf everything eatable, drinkable or ride- able on 11111011 they could lay their hands. Mrs. Xkilliamson and the lllly, who was very dglit-Ute, were made so siek from fright, fatigue and ex- eitement that Miss XX'illiamson thought she had better eonsult a doetor about her mother and brother and get 1110111 some medicine. llut how was she to get to town? The soldiers had taken every horse, mule, and eow on the plaee except one pet eow whieh Xliss Williamson had managed to hide in the bushes by the stream, Now it were to prove it-elf useful in a dillierent way from giv- ing milkg it was to earry her lu town, She rode it there, ereating quite a sensation in the eountrv villages through 11111011 she rode. She consulted lllCll' doetor, got the medicine, and returned llfllllk' lll lllii S2l1llLT XVUV. ' ii, '11 ny. IN MEMORY OF A BRAVE GIRL. Small groups of villagers huddled on the door- steps or 'stood in the streets discussing, in sub- dued whispers, the progress of the war. The sen- try had reported that the enemy's scouts were nearing the town and there was an undereurrent uf inteiise excitement. Already families were be- ginning to gather sueh food and clothing as they Crvllltl earry and were hurrying along the roads in search of a plaee of safety. At dusk the enemy entered the town, and after capturing the few re- maining eitizens, they fired the houses, eut the telephone and telegraph wires, and left destruc- tion and desolation in their wake. The pillagers saw an unpretentirwus-looking house on the hill- side but, thinking it had been deserted, they passed on and pitehed their eamp on the out- skirts of the village. Fate aided the slim light haired girl of the un- pretentious house, and she watehed the enemy's movements from an attie window every day and reported what she saw over a private telephone wire whieh had been overlooked by the enemy. ller supply of food was low and the loneliness and terror uf it all was maddening, but her father had given his life for his eountry and with that in mind she continued. Une day the general uf the enemy's army or- dered a thorough seareh of the town for spies. for it was eertain that they were being spied upon. ln the little house on the hill they found the girl at her post. reporting their last move. She was taken prisoner, guarded that night and after a eonrt martial. it was deeided that she should be put to death. At sunrise she was led out and stood. a slim figure against the blue sky, waiting for her death. .Xt a signal there was a flash of tire from half a dozen rifles and she slipped to the ground lifeless. M. T. '17. THE LITTLE LAME BOY. Ile was a beautiful ehild, this little lame boy, who sat every morning in the same window as I went by to work. l'le had soft eurly hair and deep blue eyes that eompelled one to look twice at their owner. He sat in the same big ehair covered with a downy eom fort whieh almost hid him from view in its soft folds. He always waited for me with a eheery smile and a wave of his thin little hand as Iipassed by: and in summer. when the window was raised to let in the warm sun- shine, he and I would talk together. ln one of these talks he told me that his name 'B

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50 our- DIRE A DESCRIPTION OF SLEEPY HOLLOW. Sleepy Hollow, a valley lying near the shores of the Hudson and made famous by XVashington lrving in his Sketch Book, pictures itself thus in my imagination. It is surrounded by tall walnut trees. There are many little gray and brown squirrels scrambling up the trunks of the trees or running about on the ground looking for nuts. It is very still in this small valley, Any hunter would be startled by the roar of his own gun as it would break the stillness and be prolonged by echoes. .-X small brook tiows noiselessly through it. The occasional whistle of a quail or tapping of a woodpecker is about the only sound that breaks the uniform tranquillity. In autumn this valley is particularly beautiful. with all the leaves of the trees turning brown, red, yellow and orange against the blue of the clear sky. The small birds beginning to depart to warmer regions, are having their farewell revelry. They chirp and hop from tree to tree enjoying the festivities. Surrounding the grove are orchards of luscious-looking red apples and fields of sheaves of wheat with yellow pumpkins scattered among them. The chestnuts are be- ginning to ripen and the ground is covered with the burrs. Sometimes a flock of wild ducks can be seen flying over the tree tops. :Xt times at night the screech of the owl can be heard. The mystery of the place is increased by the legends which are told about it. They are about a soldier who had been in the Revolutionary XYar and had his head shot off. lle could be seen riding through Sleepy Hollow on his horse on dark and stormy nights. This makes people afraid to ride through the hollow at night. How- ever, taken all together, Sleepy Hollow is a verv beautiful and interesting place. I li. XV. ,I7. CYCLONE. Cyclone, the watchman for the Stuart and firaham mine, was one of the most interesting and well-known characters of Rosemont. lle was generally followed by a crowd of children, not jeering at this eccentric old ligure, as one might suppose, but thoroughly interested in the tales he always had to tell. AX stranger looking at him would have wondered that the children were allowed to be with him, for he was cer- tainly in the last state of dilapidation, and one could not imagine a more ill-kept human being. It was evident that his only shaving instrument was a pair of old shears, the neck of his shirt was always open, buttons were strangers to his overcoat, a rope generally taking their place, and, summer and winter, an old straw hat, several sizes too large, was pulled down over his ears. Cyclones hobby was collecting all kinds of rub- bish. It was no unusual sight to see him stag- gering up the hill with a huge barrel or half a tree over his shoulder. At times he would be seen without his crowd of children, but he was never deserted by the most faithful companion he could have, his dog Julius Caesar. If one could see through Caesar's many years' accumu- lation of dirt, they would find a thorough-bred English bull. Although harmless, Cyclone was undoubtedly crazy. According to him, he was in turn President of the United States, the Kaiser's most intimate friend, and lerome's legal adviser: in fact, at one time or another, he had been practically every prominent man one hears or reads about. K Une day early in May, Mr. Stuart very un- willingly allowed his daughter to go through the mine with only a miner in attendance. He him- self was not able to go that day. Cyclone from the door of the old abandoned street car, where Caesar and he kept bachelor apartments, watched her disappear into the great black hole with no small forebodings, for Miss Shirley had been a favorite of his from the time she wore short dresses. Presently Caesar, who had been nosing around the entrance to the mine, began to sniff the air suspiciously, giving short barks. until he linally attracted his master's attention by a low growl. Realizing something was wrong, Cyclone went to the entrance. For a moment terror struck his heart when the deadlv odor of mine damp reached him. Not hesitating an in- stant, he dashed into the black tunnel. On and on he rushed, with never a thought but that his beloved Miss Shirley was somewhere in that dreadful blackness. All the time faithful Caesar bounded at his heels. Then a deafening explo- sion was heard, Turning into a still narrower passage Caesar rushed ahead, then stopped and gave short staccato barks. In an instant Cyclone was bending over a motionless white form. Miss Shirley had been deserted by her guide. Stoop- ing he lifted her in his arms, and began to re- trace his steps. Blinded and almost exhausted. he stumbled along with his limp burden. Final- ly a small ray of light appeared. Gathering all his strength together in one last supreme effort. he lunged forward through the opening into sun- light and life. Une afternoon late in August the golfers on the Rosemont course were very much interested in watching the maneuvers of an airship that N