6 ACORN An Advertisement It was nearing Thanksgiving. Everywhere could be seen the evidences of it. In the stores and butcher shops great yellow pumpkins and red cranberries appeared in large quantities. Long-necked turkeys and geese, shorn of their feathers hung from the hooks in ungainly and awkward positions. The streets were crowded with hurrying people who were making preparations for that day. All was excitement and bustle. Mrs. Brown, while watching the passing crowd, was thinking of Jim, her lost son. It had been about four years since Mr. Brown and Jim had quarreled and now one more Thanksgiving Day was about to pass without their son home. Everything seemed changed since he had gone. The old place was so lonesome! The tears trickled down the poor mother's cheeks, as she thought of the condition her boy might be in among strangers. Would they care for him as he had been cared for at home? She feared not. The father had long since forgiven his son and the old couple had used every possible means to find him, but it was of no avail. The mother, however, could not give up hoping and planning for his return and on this day decided to try once more. Accordingly in the next issue of the daily paper appeared the following advertisement: "Wanted My boy to come home for Thanksgiving. A mother." Mrs. Brown little realized how much good these few words would do. A traveling salesman bought the paper while on the train. As he read the advertisement a familiar face seemed pictured on the page. His countenance brightened as he remembered the happy smile his mother bestowed upon him when he last visited the old home. He slowly folded the paper and decided that the coming Thanksgiving should once more bring that look of joy to his mother's face. A doctor reading these few words, thought of a little white cottage in the far east. A gray-haired mother stood in the doorway and seemed to beckon to him. As his thoughts wandered back to his boyhood days a pang of homesickness crept over him and with a sudden start he tossed the paper out of the window, resolving to go home. The paper was picked up by a tramp who thought he might sell it for a few pennies. Poor forlorn beggar! His clothes were in rags and his face bore the look of want and hunger. He looked over the "want" column and with streaming eyes read the words which burned him to his heart's core. Home and mother seemed like a dream of the past to him. How he longed for the sight of those dear ones again. He brushed the tears away with his dirty coat sleeve and turned to go he knew not where. ACORN 7 That night he lay down by the roadside and dreamed that in the twilight he stood looking through the window of his old home. The lamp was lighted and his parents were just sitting down to supper. An extra place was set. Were they expecting someone? Had they prepared for him? He awoke suddenly and found the sun shining into his eyes. The dream effected him strangely. He arose and began his day's journey without even choosing a definite direction. Providence seemed to lead him toward a home where a welcome was awaiting him. His mind was in confusion; he tried to collect his thoughts. Surely that was the stream where he used to fish, and the old swimming hole in the background. Then there was the apple tree; the very one he had tumbled from when a boy. There in the same lot stood the home of which he had dreamed. His steps grew light, he straightened his shoulders and almost ran. Cautiously he opened the gate and stepped upon the walk. An awful fear seized him. What if his mother was not there to greet him? He was about to turn back, but he could not. He raised his eyes to heaven and with a prayer on his lips resolved to answer the advertisement. E. H., '14. The Passing of a Summer's Cloud Bud Jensen jumped lightly from the street car and with his books under one arm and a small box of flowers under the other, hurried towards his room. He, with three of his boy chums, was keeping "Bachelor's Hall" and attending the Alpine high school. When he reached the house he pushed the hall door open and hurried into the kitchen. One glance showed that everything was in disorder. The breakfast and dinner dishes were still on the table, one chair took the place of a book case, another that of a hat rack. By the time an hour had passed Bud emerged from the kitchen and sank into a chair in the cool sitting room. What a picture he made! His face corresponded in redness with his heated hands; his hair ruffled, collar and cuffs gone and his apron soiled with dish water. He glanced into the mirror and thought longingly of his mother and sisters at home. "No bachelor's life for mine!" he exclaimed. In a short time he made his way toward the home of Edith Austin. As he neared the house a young girl stepped out upon the porch. "Hello, ready?" called Bud.