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Literary Contest David Kelly 2nd Prize Senior
Essays HE GAVE ONLY IN DEATH
The raw, biting wind whistled and shrieked through the towering trees, snapping branches, swaying, bending and even uprooting the pillars of the forest. Every minute it increased in momentum, tearing and clawing viciously at the·E!9rth, as if seeking to devour. It pulled and wrenched, ripped and smashed at anything which stood in its way. The weird, piercing moan of its fury made all who heard it sense the uneasiness, the unrest of the night. Thunder growled and rumbled ominously and ~he sky threw menacing darts of Iightning earthward between the black clouds.
In spite, however, of the savagery of the night, a lone man, rifle in hand, walked determinedly into the wild wind, sidestepping falling branches, never faltering but valiantly winning every step against Nature's unnatural fury. His mind was set; nothing could deter him. He seemed dazed, stunned, not comprehending what was going on.
"Oh my son," he moaned, "My poor boy. He was too young to die. Too young to die! Fool! He didn't die. He was killed! Killed! Killed!
"Killed, murdered, murdered I" shrieked the wind.
"Killed trying to help me. Killed by my own brother. I'll get revenge! I'll get revenge!"
"Revenge, revenge!" howled the wind.
Slowly but relentlessly the man made his way to his destination while all.the while the wind grew stron-;1er and shouted
strange things in his ear. At lasr he reached the house where his brother lived. Outside was a small knot of men, standing in a sheltered doorway and talking in low tones. As Ned approached them, they eyed him furtively.
"Where's Ben?" Ned demanded gruffly,
"He ain't here." one of the men answered.
"Don't tell me that. Where is he?"
"He ain't here." the man insisted.
"Liar!" Ned threatened him with his rifle. "I'll find him myself."
For a moment no one spoke except the raging wind. Then one of the men blurted out, "He's dead! Ben Merton's dead I "Dead!" shouted Ned.
"Dead! Dead! Dead!" flung back the wind.
A minute passed. Two minutes; and then Ned spat out, "Always Ben took from me what I mast wanted: my inheritance,
my girl, my son, and now my revenge. Even my revenge! He was always taking from me."
"Ned, said a voice behind him, "Ned, I'm so glad you came."
"Still as beautiful as ever, Elenor, even in mourning, eh. Well, you got what you wanted," Ned said cynically. You
have what I couldn't give you: money and prestige. The Widow Merton; that sounds nice. You'll be well off in this place." "That's just what I wanted to tell you Ned; Ben didn't leave me the ranch. He left it to you."
"To me! Hal The only thing that Ben ever did to me was take you from me. You're mistaken, Elenor."
"No. I'm not mistaken. Ben was a strange man, Ned, and he had a strange affliction: something always drove him to
take what you had or most wanted. That's why he took me, I guess. But he knew that I wouldn't be happy here alone, so he left the ranch to you. I told him that I could make out and I will." To hide the tears, she.turned and went back into the house.
"Mine," said Ned, "Mine." As the rifle clattered from his hands, Ned whispered, "My God, my God, forgive my hatred."
And the wind was calmed.
Don Ellis lOE
2nd Prize Junior Essays
THE DREAM
John had been thinking of the events of the last few days which had turned him into a revengeful mood. It had all started one afternoon when he came home early from work. As he rounded the corner of the block he was astounded to see Joan drive off with a man. He did not return to the house until his usual time so that his wife would not suspect his knowledge. She met him at the door as always, with no look of guilt on her face. This made him wonder how long this sort of thing had been going on. She had remarked at dinner about never getting out, and about the usual grind of a housewife. He decided then to rent a cottage in the mountains for a change they both needed.
John came home early that Friday afternoon in order to get to the cottage while it was still Iight. On the way up he thought, "Here is my chance to get rid of her. When we go back to the city she would still go out with other men."
The next day they planned to climb to a tall peak to get a view of their surroundings. After a strenuous climb up the hill, he went over and looked down to the rocky basin at the bottom. He noticed that the cliff dropped for about a hundred and fifty feet straight down. "Perfect," he thought to himself. He looked back at her, and she looked up at him. He was tempted not to go through with it, but when he thought of the way she had deceived him, his blood boiled.
He asked her about the men she had been going out with lately and looked at her with insane madness. She watched him toss a rock over the cliff and listened to hear it hit the ground far below. She looked at him tremblingly, got up, and tried to run. Dragging her to the side of the cliff, he • • • • • • Ring! Ring! It was the alarm clock.
It was a Friday afternoon as they reached the cottage. She said, "We should climb up to that cliff tomorrow to look at the scenery. We can go swimming in the river behind the cottage. I will really enjoy this weekend."
"Not half as much as I will, "he mused.