Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

Page 27 text:

THE QUIVER 25 The next morning, after a night of fearful dreams, Fred told his parents of the incident. His father, reading the morning paper, exclaimed, “Perhaps this explains it: ‘Lunatic escapes. Overpowers two guards and scales wall. Relieved to he in vicinity of W oon.socket, his former home’. I’ll l et that's who it was! cried Fred, lie certainly looked wild enough! After that it was a queer coincidence that whenever the family went out in the evening. Fred invariably had an engagement, too. In truth, he had made up his mind not to stay at home alone. ()h. no! he wasn’t afraid, hut it really seemed wiser to go! John Rich, ’26. IN AN ANTIQUE SHOP Among the most interesting features of Caj e Cod are its antique shops. The one which I am alxmt to describe is situated on the Bowne-Falmouth Road, alxmt three miles from West Falmouth. The shop is in a weatherbeaten shanty, set back from the road, and might well lx described as an antique itself. hitside. there hangs a dilapidated wooden sign, which announces to all interested that antiques may lx l ought within. To this is added the jxmipous phrase: “Miss I avinia Phinney, Proprietress. On the unmowed front lawn, there are a few Windsor chairs, a huge Indian urn of Cajx? Cod sweet j eas, a warming pan, and a massive iron kettle, which is suspended campfire style and filled with red geraniums. We had passed this s|x t several times during the summer, hut never had taken the time to stop. However, on the day 1 mention, we were out riding with no definite destination, so one of our party suggested that we visit Miss Phinney, a suggestion that met with instant approval. We were met at the door by one whom we judged to lx Miss Lavinia herself. Indeed she was all that the name implied, for she was a typical spinster of the type one reads about in a Joseph Lincoln novel. She wore a long, black dress of the kind of silk that rustles with its every move. Her neck was veritably choked by a high, white, lace collar, and h r iron-gray hair was pulled up to a tight knot on the top of her head. About her feet, there brushed a lazy-looking gray cat. whose neck was ornamented by a bow of pink ribbon. On the whole, they were truly a strange pair. Hood afternoon.” said the proprietress, in a matter-of-fact tone. “You’ve come to see my antiques?” Upon my reply in the affirmative, she ushered us into a dingy, low-studded room, literally filled with antiques of all sorts and descriptions.

Page 26 text:

24 THE QUIVER which froze my blood with terror—a deep voice saying, ‘(iet ofif my eye!” This was too much for me, so 1 dropjied the gasoline can and ran as fast as my trembling legs could go. It was then that I fell over a grave! As soon as 1 could scramble up, I made a wild dash for the machine, imagining all the time that there was a “spook” l ehind me ready to grasp me if 1 slowed up at all. 1 reached the car at last, breathless and minus the gas can and my hat. The fellows were sitting snugly in the liack seat and seemed to be in very fine spirits. Noticing my condition, they asked what had happened; but when 1 finished my wild story about ghosts, they burst into laughter. 1 was hurt at first, but when 1 found that they were responsible for the whole “ghost business. I was very angry. I made them go back for the gas and for my hat. and while they were trying to start the car. 1 was sitting peacefully in it. making “wise remarks, which did not please them a bit. but revenge is sweet! We finally started and were home in half an hour. The dance was in full swing when we arrived, but we enjoyed ourselves for the rest of the evening. Leslie Strickland. ’26. THE FACE AT THE WINDOW One cold ()ctober night, the family had gone to Providence to see I iarold Lloyd in “The Freshman. Fred had decided not to go, for. as usual, he had a great deal of studying to do. Anyway, he reasoned, “the picture will probably come to Woonsocket before long. When all had gone and everything was quiet. Fred tackled his lesson in Virgil; after an hour of hard work lie had translated the required passage. Now for the history! “Wow!” lie exclaimed, “what a tough assignment! A four-page essay on the subject. ‘If 1 Were an Egyptian Boy in the Fourteenth Dynasty’! 1 le was plunged deep in the thought of Pharaohs and Pyramids, when suddenly he sat up straight and looked around as if something had disturlied him. “The wind does make queer sounds to-night. thought Fred. Rather nervously he turned his attention hack to his work. Almost immediately an uncanny moan sounded outside the window. Glancing out, he was chilled with horror at the sight that met him. Framed in the opening was a wild, staring face. I'he eyes were glassy and expressionless; the hair was long and matted. Terrified beyond measure. Fred seized the lx ok of Egyptian customs and hurled it through the window at the ajie-like face. A series of piercing shrieks echoed through the still night air. Rushing to the window. Fred looked out into the darkness, but the apparition had disappeared.

Page 28 text:

26 THE QUIVER Miss Eavinia moved noiselessly to a door at the rear of the room. “Mary Ellen,” she whispered audibly, “customers!” In the meantime, the cat eyed us from a far corner, with a lurking air of distrust. Shortly, a girl of probably sixteen, presumably Mary Ellen, entered. She immediately began to set things in order, while Miss Phinney and her cat regarded us expectantly. “How much is this vase?” 1 questioned. “Fifteen.” answered Mary Ellen. The spinster motioned nervously to her clerk. The girl approached h: r employer, who whispered something which sounded very much like, “Thev're summer folks.” When Mary Ellen returned it was to announce, rather abashedly: “’Sense me, that there vase you got is twenty-live. Miss I ovinia smiled contentedly and rustled out of the room, followed by her faithful cat. As for me, I put the vase back in its original place. It was a Dresden china affair, and one of the two ornamental figures was lacking a head. Marv Ellen continued to show us around the shop, which contained everything, from jade necklaces to brass andiron:;. Everything was genuine—at least, if the clerk’s word might be taken as the truth. She exhibited fancy 1 ottles. all of which she claimed to be Sandwich glass; elaborate chinaware. which was admirably chinked and cracked; earrings, brooches, and lavallieres. which lx re the undeniable stamp of an up-to-date Attleboro factory; and the saddest looking lot of furniture 1 ever hope to see. If scratches and splits make antiques, here was a shop of no mean value. And the prices—they were gems! Mary Ellen continually quoted ‘'fifteen. “sixty,” two hundred.” and so on. never bothering to say dollars. That was to be taken for granted. After several minutes of examining and pricing, we decided that we did not want anything in Miss Phinney's line, so we made our exit as grace-fullv as possible, appeasing the feelings of the somewhat offended Mary Ellen by remarking that she had a most unusual shop and we hoped we might visit it again sometime. Ralph Wakdi.e, ’26. PERSONALITY AND SMILES My English teacher has requested that we write a five-page theme on “Personality and----’’. At this moment, to me. five pages might as well mean five hundred ; but perhaps, as ideas present themselves, I may attain the almost impossible. After this request was made, the thought came to me of a theme that I had read in a school magazine. It was entitled