Winchester School - Oui Dire Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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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

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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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OU 'I otitis 57 pronounced them Ubird and wife and they seated themselves to enjoy the appetizing seeds and worms that constituted the wedding break- fast. Cock Robin was to propose a toast to his bride, when suddenly he uttered a little shriek and fell backward. jenny was at his side im- mediately and found a tiny arrow protruding from under his left wing. She promptly fainted and was carried from the nest. The remaining birds, trying to shed some light on the mystery, asked one another, l'Vho killed Cock Robin 7' No one knew until they asked a little sparrow. who said, I killed Cock Robin with my bow and arrow. So one of the birds dug a little grave and there they buried Cock Robin on his wedding day. ll. H. YI7. A MY STERIOUS DISAPPEARAN CE. One of the visitors who had enjoyed his past vacations at Harbor Point decided to purchase a lot and build a summer home at this beautiful resort. Owing to the popularity of the place. the only available lot was one near the end of the Point, on which stood a little old green cot- tage, the home of one of the fishermen who had lived there in the early days. Nr. Beverly Ran- dolph bought the lot, considering himself for- tunate to secure some property in this delightful place. One of the inhabitants of Harbor Springs, the village across the bay, who was looking for a small home, hearing that Mr. Randolph was planning to have the little house torn down, asked Mr. Randolph to sell the little cottage to him. He promised that he would have it moved from the property in the early spring, before the carpenters would commence building Mr. Randolph's new house. Mr. Randolph gladly sold the old cottage for a small sum of money. The following March, the townsman prepared to carry out his plan of moving the house across the frozen bay from Harbor Point to the oppo- site shore. This idea of his was rather an orig- inal one, and using the ice was a much shorter route than the long winding road which led from the Point to the village. One bright frosty after- noon, when the sunbeams were sparkling on the snow-laden pines, and making the ice in the bay as clear and smooth as a great mirror, a team of horses with its driver, rollers, all the necessary implements, and a number of men, were hired to begin the work. The men were very merry although they had a hard day's work to accom- plish, but before the. task was finished they sur- mised that it was going to take them longer than they expected. So at dusk they left the smgll green cottage standing on the ice, intending to return early the following day to complete the work. Therefore, the next morning, when the sun was peeping above the horizon, the workmen as- sembled, all commenting upon the sudden change in the weather. During the night the tempera- ture had risen many degrees, the air had become warmer, and a soft wind had unexpectedly sprung up from the south. All this had made the ice crack and begin to disintegrate. One of the men who was a trifle in advance, following a bend in the road, and thinking of the little house which they had left on the sur- face of the ice, happened to cast his eyes toward the bay, and to the surprise of his companions, suddenly exclaimed: The house has disaap- pearedl For a moment they were dismayed, wondering what had become of it. for no evi- dence could be seen on the surface. They de- cided to investigate. Two of the men crawled cautiously out on the ice, and when they reached the place where they had left the house the even- ing before, they found a large opening. They peered over the edge and saw a few green- painted boards swiftly Floating in the current out to sea. This was proof enough that the little house was irretrievably lost, Instead of the cottage being numbered among the homes in Harbor Springs, it became a watery summer house for the mermaids of Lake Michigan. ,I7. MISS TOD'S NEPHEW. johnny was a bright little lad of six years, with dark hair and brown eyes that always twin- kled very mischievously. Because of an epi- demic of measles in the city. he had been sent to visit his aunt. Miss Tod. He had been in the countrv a week now and the novelty had be- gun to wear away. He had painted the cow green. had pulled almost all the feathers out of the chickens, had put toads in his aunt's bed. and could now think of nothing else to do. One night he awoke just as the clock was striking twelve, and as he had a most uncom- decided to could find fortable feeling in his stomach. he creep downstairs and see what he to eat. So he slipped out of bed, tip-toed across the room. and opened the door, My, but it was dark and scary out there in the halll He hnally came to the top of the stairs and as he was afraid the steps would creak as they always did when fat Aunt lane stepped on them, he slid down the banisters. After stubbing his toe against every