Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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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

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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

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-o OUT- F DIRE observer would have noticed that she ceased to question him and gave him an extra piece ot bread. The Miss Logans had never been in the habit of eating much for tea so they soon linished their meal. Hobby had not had nearly enough but his dear mother had told him never to ask for more when the others had linished, so he timidly an- nounced that he was through. lluring the meal his eyelids had drooped lower and lower. but not too low to notice the delicious uncut cocoa- nut cake on the side board. lrlowever his aunts forgot to oller him any and he would not have asked for it for worlds. Hobby perched himself on a high uncomfort- able chair while his aunts cleared off the table. lle tried to keep awake hut he was very tired and in a few seconds was fast asleep. Miss lleborah wanted to carry him to bed, but Miss Lucretia interposed with a lirm, No, Deborah, that child is a XYinthrop and a Logan and he shall not he pampered if l have a say in the matter. lfvidently she had, for Hobby was gently awakened by Miss Deborah and led away to hed. ,Xs soon as his head touched the hard, un- comfortable pillow, he fell asleep. Miss Deborah tiptoed down stairs and announced that llobhy was in dreamland. l suspect. Lucretia, she added, that our grandnephew will be a credit to us. He's a right brave young one. Not many youngsters his age could come clear to l'lymouthlmury from New Orleans without an older person. No, responded Miss Lucretia, UI don't sup- pose so. All children aren't lYinthrops and Logans. lle is. tMiss Luerctia's faith in her ancestors could have removed mountains, had she cared to tryl. Late that night alter the two old ladies had retired, Miss Lucretia was awakened hy a loud crash! llurglarsl she exclaimed, Clinic to get the family silver! Then a terrible thought came to her mind. Perhaps it was not a burglar but some one to kidnap liobbyl Like as not, she whispered to herself. .Xny one 'round here knows he's the only child of real lluritan descent! Armed with a poker and a warming pan she crept down the hall, the door of lJobby's room was open and as Miss Lucretia thrust her head in, she all but fainted. The room was empty! There was no doubt left in her mind now: she knew positively that some one had stolen her precious grandnephew. lIolihy's room was at the head of the stairs and as Miss Lucretia stood at the door she heard a groan in thi- hall ht-low. l do believe, she ejaculated, that that villain must have clubbed Deborah, into the bargain. And Miss Lucretia descended the stairs in a manner that was by no means slow. As she reached the bottom of the stair case she heard another crash, this time not so loud and followed by a muffled scream. Miss Lucretia lirml' ffrasped her weapons and room. through the windows, a strange sight. On the broken china, sat Bobby tea pot in one hand and 5 s dashed into the dining The moon, shining furnished the light for lloor, surrounded by grasping a huge silver energetically rubbing his knee with the other. My soul, exclaimed Miss Lucretia, drop- ping her tire arms and sitting down on the near- est chair, tif it seemed rather soft at the time she did not noticel, what on earth are you doing here? llarading 'round at this time of night and breaking folk's dishes? XYhy responded Hobby, you see l was hungry an' l 'membered the cake and came down to get some. lt was sort of dark and I dropped the plate. NYhen l was a' pickin' it up, l knocked the teapot off the side board an' bumped my knee on the leg of the table. XYhere's the cake demanded his aunt, not noticing it and wondering if he had eaten it. 'tXYhy, I guess you're sittin' on it, he answered innocently, l put it on that chair. Miss Lucretia rose from her chair in less time than it takes to tell it. lrler bathrobe was cocoa- nut cake from one end to the other. She gazed at it, too indignant to speak. At this moment Miss Deborah walked into the room. The sight was too much for her sense of humor, and she laughed until the tears canie. lt's no laughing matter, said Miss Lucretia grimly. This child certainly shall be punished. The very ideal lhiring the cleaning up process, Bobby dis- creetly returned to lied and after a while Miss Lucretia was sutticiently calmed to be induced to lie down. As Miss Deborah blew out the candle and shut the door, Miss Lucretia called after her, l'm sure l don't know what we're coming to. XYhcn XYinthrops and Logans act this way, there's not much hope for the rest of the people. XYith this gloomy prediction for the ruin of the country, Miss Lucretia fell asleep. and peace reigned again in the Logan homestead. C. C. ,17. COCK ROBIN. Cock Robin and jenny Xklren were engaged to be married that very day. The old minister 5