Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

Page 56 text:

54 OUT- DIRE anv of their rooms. liitty had managed before dinner to get her chafing dish and all the necessary utensils up in the attic. so that all thev had to carry was the candle. It was enough. because it was all they could do to get themselves up safely. I7ortunately they had only one tiight of stairs or they might never have reached their destination without being heard by a wakeful teacher. They all wore tennis shoes so as not to make the least sound. but before going up the stairs they took even those off and went up in their stocking feet. The stairway had a wall on each side which made it very dark. and with only one candle to light the way, they had to go up very slowly. When they were about half way up. the stairs gave a loud creak, which frightened them so that they all stopped. Iielle whisper- ed, Sit down quietly, girls, and listen for a few minutes. Mercy! That squeak was loud enough to wake anyone. Apparently it had H01 done so, because all they heard was their own breathing. Then Belle whispered, 'Tome on, girls, I guess it's safe to go on! I don't hear anything. So they silently crept up the stairway and opened a small door into a square hall. They tip-toed across the hall and enter- ed the store room, which they were very glad to have reached without any more frights such as they had had on the stairs. julia made a welsh-rarebit, and after eating every morsel of food in sight. they decided to write their letter to Iilsie and tell her what they were doing. liitty had brought the pen- eil and paper with the chafing dish. Iflaving cleaned up as well as possible and having written their letter, they prepared for the de- scent. Uh! the excitement of getting back! It was nearly one o'cloek when they started down the stairs. At the bottom they all stopped to lis- ten and Iielle. who was nearest to the door, was going to peel: out first to see if the coast were clear, but when she tried to open the door it would not yield. Girls! she exclaimed in a whisper, the door is locked. Who do you suppose did it? XYhat shall we do? For a moment no one spoke. They were all too much frightened to thinlc except Eleanor, who, all of a sudden, broke into uncontrollable laughter. lit-lle had to put her hand over Elea- nor's mouth to keep her rlttiet, and then whis- pered erossly, Stop your laughing, giving her a shake, and tell us what is so funny about it. At this tone of voice Eleanor tried to con- trol herself, and when she could speak, she did so. The reason we can't get out, she ex- plained, is because there is a Yale lock on the door. I happened to pass by when the cham- bermaid was coming up here and I saw it, but I never thought of it again. It serves us right to get locked in here though. XYe'll have to sit here until morning and then we can rap on the door. and someone will let us out. Yes, someone will let us out, repeated Delia in disgust, Hand who will it be? Miss Brown herself, I suppose, or a teacher! That would be pleasant. Oh. dear! I'll never be in another of these silly parties E Sh! warned Julia, not so loud or you'll wake someone. The only thing we can do is to sit here until, morning and then rap on the door when someone comes along: if it happens to be Miss Brown or a teacher, we will have to take the consequences, that's all. At this Delia began to whine, but Julia interrupted her. t'Xow, do be sensible, Delia, and don't whimper about it. I confess I'm just as much frightened as you but we've got to stay here and that's all there is to it. Lets try to go to sleep, These stairs aren't very comfortable, but we certainly can't stay awake all night, be- cause we would be too sleepy to go to classes in the morning. I'm glad I've finished my les- sons. Good-night. She curled herself up and prepared to go to sleep against the hard wall. All the girls lcnew that this was the only thing to do, so they all followed her advice and were asleep as soon as their uncomfortable sitting positions would allow. The next morning they awakened very early and sat listening for someone to come along the hall. They finally heard footsteps from the direction of their rooms. Of course they all wondered if anyone had found out that they were not in their rooms. As the sound came nearer, they could tell that the person had bed- room slippers on, so it must be one of the girls. Ilelle rapped lightly on the door, and in a low but distinct voice said, Please open the door. The person in the hall stopped as if she were not sure she had heard the command, but when Belle repeated the words, the door was soon opened. Oh, Mary, whispered Belle, who was first to come out. you have saved our lives. Don't tell any of the girls or Miss Brown or anyone else about it. Hurry to your rooms, girls. They needed no urging for that. They vanished, leaving Mary standing in the hall looking as if she had seen a ghost. Maybe 'Q

Page 55 text:

OUT -I IRE 53 mountains and again she had arranged their home. That was one spring, and the next fall a stranger had come one evening to the cabin and talked to ,lim until far into the night. The next day when the stranger rode away -lim went with him, and, just before they started, he told her that it might be a long time before he returned home but she should wait there for him. He had not yet returned. She had waited there for twenty- five years and was still waiting for him to come llO11lG. Despite the years that had passed, she still believed that he would one day come up the trail from the world he had gone to. Mlhen the story was hnished we sat in silence. XVhat was there to say? Next day we rode on and followed the trail that leads to the summit and then descends to the valley again. Xyith us went the memory of the little cabin half way up the mountain and the woman waiting so hopefully for her husbands return. Mfould she be disappointed? XYho could tell? E. G. IE. '17. A SNOWSTORM. Everywhere was silence. heavy brooding si- lence. The earth was frozen and bare, highways lay hardened into ridges and the creek bottom be- spoke the relentless hand of lack Frost. The trees stood erect and motionless like sentinels, their little twigs, wont to dance so merrily in the breeze. poised now as if on tiptoe. All was ex- pectation. Even the air held its breath. A great hawk came circling down and alighted silently on a giant spruce. In the west, dark ominous piles of clouds slowly assumed fantastic shapes as they drew nearer and nearer. Complete silence, then a tiny snowflake floated lazily through the air, then another and another. heralds of the approaching storm, Faster and faster they came, whirling, skipping, dancing, tripping, blotting out the landscape by their very numbers. Descending, they covered the bare arms of the trees and mantled the earth in a robe of ermine and sifted themselves daintily into every available nook and cranny. On and on they came, penetrating, fairylike and noiseless. Slowly and more slowly they fell until they Ceased altogether. The landscape was trans- formed as if by a magic wand. The earth had exchanged her drab coat of early winter for one of ermine. Sharp contrasts were softened by bil- lows of glistening snow. Trees and small shrubs were laden to the ground with their burden of sparkling gernsg even the giant spruce was D crowned with a diadem of jewels. The hawk, huddled close to the trunk of the old spruce dur- ing the recent flurry, shook himself and, spread- ing his great wings, soared away. The scene he left behind him was one of beauty, tranquillity, and silence. R. lfl. '17, MARIA. hlaria dances into l'welfth Night, and in fact all through the play, like the mischief-loving little imp that she is. Her black eyes snap and utterly fail to conceal the coquetry and pranks which are the delight of her small person and for which even her sedate manner and prim speeches are insuflicient disguise. Clever and adroit in the management of her associates, she displays the diplomacy of a statesman and with all a loving heart, in spite of the amusement she is afforded by her little affair with Malvolio when through her cunning he makes such a fool of himself by displaying his conceit and gullibility. Many times her bright face peeps out with a sauciness which adds charm to this attractive comedy. In the end Maria marries Sir Toby llelch, another character in Twelfth Night. How with a sportful malice it was follow'dg May rather pluck on laughter than revengeg lf that the inquiries be justly weigh'd, That have on both sides pass'd. G .xr 'l7. THE MIDNIGHT FEAST. Two years before the time of this story a club had been organized in Miss l1rown's lioarding School. It was called the -lolly Six Club and consisted of Kitty Gordon, Eleanor King, llelle Smith, julia Kelly, Delia Hope and Elsie Martin who were the best of friends. Elsie Martin had moved out west because of her mother's health, but still remained a mem- ber. The girls kept her informed from time to time of what was going on at school. They were all sorry that she was not here now be- cause they had decided to have a midnight feast. The party was to be in a vacant store- room on the fourth floor. The girls had planned to go to bed at nine o'clock, the usual hour, and then to get up at eleven o'clock for the party. flow they man- aged to awaken at eleven o'clock nobody knows, but they did, and after much stumbling in the dark they were hnally ready to meet at the end of the hall, which was not far from

Page 57 text:

OUT Dirac 55 she thought she had, because nobody else ever heard of her extraordinary experience. R I .lf . . , . ,l,l,Li THE OLD WOMAN WHO LIVED IN A SHOE. il- There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She did not live in this shoe through choice, but because every time she tried to rent a house, the first question the landlord asked was. How many children have you? The poor old woman could not conceal the fact that she had so many children that she did not know what to do, so she decided to live in a shoe, Now arose the question, what kind of shoe should she choose? She desired a beauti- ful home and looked longingly at a dainty high-heeled and pointed-toed shoe, but her practical nature came to the rescue and she decided on a hob-nailed shoe. The question of housing the children being settled, she now turned to the question of feed- ing them. As is common in every family, each youngster had a hearty appetite. She spent many a weary hour trying to think of some- thing nourishing. She came to the conclusion at last, that broth would be the best. Bread was out of the question, so she gave them some broth without any bread, and spanked them all soundly and put them to bed. She did not spank them because she did not love them, but because she did not know what else to do. E. McC., 'I7. MISS LU CRETIA'S BURGLAR. All was abustle in the old house, the two Miss Logans Hitted from room to room, giving each chair a final pat and straightening each already straight tidy. Miss Lucretia, the elder of the two, a tall, gaunt spinster of the old New Eng- land type, sat down to catch her breath as she expressed it. There, Deborah, she exclaimed, I guess everything's all right. Miss Deborah, the exact opposite of her energetic sister, calmly surveyed her surroundings. Yes, she answered in her placid voice, I don't think there's a mite Of dust anywhere. Dust certainly would have been out of place in that spick and span room, and the Miss Logans, feeling that their labor had accomplished much, relaxed in their chairs to enjoy the fruits of their handiwork. The reason for all this bustle of cleaning in a spot- less house, was the coming of Robert lYinthrop Logan, their grandnephew, who was to make his home with them, his parents having been killed in a railway accident. Upon receiving the news of his coming, they had commenced to clean house with a vim, feeling that when the last of the lVinthrop Logans should see his ancestral scat for the hrst time, it should be in perfect order, even if he was but six years old and his appreciation doubtful. About six o'clock the old rickety stage coach drew up at the gate and a very sleepy little boy literally tumbled out of the door, followed by sundry boxes and packages. As he stumbled tip the steps to meet his great-aunts, a large straw hat pushed to the back of his curly head, his blue eyes filled with sleep, he bore little resemblance to the Robert Winthrop Logans whose portraits hung in the gloomy parlor. Aunt Lucretia shook hands with Hobby as formally as she would have with an elder per- son. Miss Deborah kissed him and removed the troublesome hat, to l3obby's infinite relief. lle decided that Miss Lucretia was a very, very, queer person and he stood greatly in awe of her, addressing all his remarks to Miss Deborah. 'fl think, Deborah, said Miss Lucretia, that our grandnephew might be hungry. Are you. Robert? Yes, Aunt Lucretia, he stammered, I am very,-that is, I feel alittle bit hungry. In fact he was very hungry but he was so afraid of his aunt that he would not admit it. He did not think it necessary to add that he had lost his lunch-box when he changed cars at the junction and that he had eaten nothing since breakfast. Miss Deborah led the way to the dining-room and soon Bobby with the help of a dictionary and two pillows was sitting close to the table anxiously eyeing a glass of milk. After the blessing had been said, Bobby prepared to eat a hearty meal, but he could not accomplish much because Miss Lucretia asked him so many ques- tions. Miss Deborah, noticing this, whispered that in view of the fact that Bobby might be president or a great minister, it would never -do for him to say that his great-aunts did not give him enough to eat. - Humphl responded Miss Lucretia with a sarcastic sniff, It'll he a mercy if we keep him out of the poorhouse or from doing some other awful thing to disgrace the lYinthrops andthe Logansf' tMiss Lucretia had never eiatirely forgiven Bobby's father for marrying a.South- erner because she considered them soft and neither the XVinthrops nor the Logans had possessed this trait of characterl. But a careful