Woonsocket High School - Quiver Yearbook (Woonsocket, RI)

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THE QUIVER 21 I Lis plane was in perfect condition, he was feeling fine himself, he had a daylight run ahead of him, and a day off the next day. Nothing was worrying him as his plane swept over the foothills and headed for the higher peaks of the Rockies. The snow-clad jjeak.s ahead of him glistened and shone in the sunlight, and he thought for a moment of the contrast lietween them and the deep blue of the sky above, as he searched for the nass through which he must go. He easily located it and had entered it Indore he noticed a huge eagle coming from the other end. An eagle is nothing unusual in the mountains hut this one seemed abnormally large, even at the great distance which separated it from the plane. As it drew nearer, instead of rising, as eagles usually do, it came on straight at the plane. Now the pilot realized that it was indeed a giant among eagles. The cruel hooked l eak and the gleaming eves were clearly seen as the bird rushed towards him. He had no room to turn, no time to rise, and only his service revolver with which to defend himself, and the eagle was coming on. He reached liack one hand for his gun and increased the speed of his plane. With a scream that could be heard above the roar of the engine, the eagle soared, jxjised. and struck. With a sinking heart, the pilot felt his plane stagger and begin to drop. He lialf-turned in his seat and fired at the huge shape alxive him. Almost at once came another scream; the plane lifted a little and regained speed, Turning all his attention to flying, the pilot tried to climb higher, away from the floor of the valley, which was too close for safety. He had risen some distance when he saw the eagle coming again. This time it came head on, seeming not to notice the knife-like propeller. It struck. I he profiler snapped like a match, and the plane stopped dead in mid-air. For a second it hung. The eagle, killed by the blow of the propeller, dropjied away l elow. The pilot was dazed; his hand clutched the throttle of his now dead engine, as the plane liegan to slip forward into a dizzying nose-dive towards the earth. The motion of falling, and the blown-back heat of his engine brought the pilot back to his senses. With a gasp he saw the floor of the valley rushing towards him. He stiffened involuntarily, and his feet struck the rudder-controls. In an instant the plane was gliding smoothly and with ever decreasing sjieed almost level with the floor of the valley Rapidly he searched for a smooth ]x t on which to land, but the valley was covered with a growth of pines. The plane was settling. He struggled as long as he could to keep it up. but at last it crashed. With a loud pop, one of the tires burst as it was caught by the top of a pine. The plane shuddered, turned completely around, then sank, tail-lirst. with a great crackling and snapping of branches. Several hours later, the pilot opened his eyes and sat up. He had a terrible headache, his shoulder had l»een wrenched so that he could not use his right arm. and a tear in his leather breeches showed a deep cut in his leg. His face and hands were a mass of cuts and scratches, and his clothes wen-ripped and torn bv his sudden descent. The frame-work of his plane till

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THE QUIVER SILENT NOON 20 Silent noon----- Beneath the great Sun-god’s malignant glare. The corn-tops touch their foreheads in the dust In sick submission. No single sound shatters the sullen quiet. For life itself seems dead. Even the mighty pines huddle in dumb dismay— No scented breeze to set them whis] ering. The very hills on which they grow Have lost their echoes in a brooding haze. And. sulking, hide themselves. Even the care-free butterflies forsake the fields. And lazily folding downy wings, Droop downward, downward. Dissatisfied. Then, drowsily, a drying brook Hushes its eternal murmur. A lone cicada shrills—then stops, Embarrassed! Hut just that one wee sound Awakens depressed Nature. The brook logins to giggle at the little insect’s shyness; The joke reaches the butterflies, who Caper upwards in their mirth ; A breeze springs up from nowhere And. hastening, sets the pines A-roaring gleefully! The bills—the corn—the whole wide world itself Are cheered greatly. And all because one minute creature Has broken The silent noon! I oms ( Jknkkkux. '17. THE BATTLE IN THE AIR The air mail pilot climl)ed into his plane for the hardest run of the whole route from San Francisco to New S'ork. The air was clear, and only a light wind was blowing, so he anticipated an easy trip as he settled down in his seat and tested the controls. He shouted “Contact!” and with a roar of exhaust-pipes the whole plane seemed to pulse with life as the blades of the propeller l ecame a shining, whirling, transparent disc. Slowly he opened the throttle, rolled across the field, and rose at the other end. He circled once over the hangars, and then set off in a straight line for his destinatic m.

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22 THE QUIVER hung from the upper branches of the pines which had caused his downfall, but the heavy engine had torn loose, and lay a few feet away from him. llis first thought was for the mail. He dragged himself to the foot of the tree in which hung the greater part of his plane, and began the long, slow climb to the top. Twice on the way up he almost fainted, hut each time he recovered and continued his climb. “The next branch must hold the mail,” “the next—“the next—,” and so on till he reached a branch where he found the mail-sacks lodged securely in a crotch, very near the top of the tree. He rested there, comfortably settled on the pouches, and waited for the help he knew was bound to come, for “the mail must go through. David Bruch, '27. THE CRUISE OF THE “CLOTHES-BASKET” S 1 sat dreaming one warm summer evening, my thoughts went liackward to the pleasant days of childhood, when imagination ruled the world. In the soft, purple twilight. I seemed to see this scene l efore me. and heard the voices of children. There was a great stir in the nursery—a very great excitement indeed. Lilly load lieen reading a hook of wonderful travels to her sister Alice and her little brother Charley, while Kitty listened intently, all the time pretending to lie very much interested in the tip of her tail. It was a marvelous book, all about pirates, ship-wrecks, desert islands, and savages. Could anything be more delightful! It was. therefore, only natural that Lilly, Alice and Charley should wish to go to sea in a ship of their own. “We’ll go on a voyage of discovery right around the world in the good ship‘Clothes-Basket.’” said Lilly. That will lie fun!” exclaimed Alice. “I'll be Mate. “Hurrah! cried Charley, dancing with delight. “I’ll lie Midshipman.” “I'll he Captain.” said Lilly. And so it was arranged. Xurse let them have the clothes-basket, and they were just alwiut to set out, when Charley thought of a very great difficulty. “Who ever heard of going to sea in a ship without a crew?” he said. And Charley was quite right. Who ever did hear of such a thing? “Then you will have to lie the crew, said Lilly. “You’re the youngest. But the Midshipman is always the youngest. And I don’t want to lie the crew. 1 want to lie an officer. returned Charley. “Then Kittv must he the crew.” said Alice.