West Fairmont High School - Maple Leaves Yearbook (Fairmont, WV)

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6,1-HIGM 'th N K 4 1 lf f .7 3 I , , Q u fl. V . L N f v - I V4 M',f,fff Y sew' ff! U 'Using Your Head .-,- ,-yt !OHN and Tom were on their way to town to buy some radio parts ., ' and to mail a package at the postoffice for John's father. On their way they were discussing the new hookup of Mr. , Ricks, a local inventor. ' A As they passed his house they heard him call: John, are you going to town? Yes, sir, answered John. Could you mail this letter for me? I would like to have it go out in tonight's mail. Yes, Mr. Ricks, and the two boys went to the porch to get the letter. By the way, how is your new hookup. Mr. Ricks? asked John. Well, boys, it seems to work to a certain extent, but not to my satisfaction. Come in, boys, if you have time, and I will show you the set. John and Tom were glad to have a chance to see the workshop and the new set, and they needed not a second invitation. There along the walls were tools in the neatest order and gauges of different kinds, but on the work bench was the neatest and best-looking set they had ever seen. ' John, said Mr, Ricks, after he had explained several of the line points of the set, in this coil here, pointing to a small, compactly wound coil, is the most important part of the set. I have wound this coil in a different way and it is insulated better than any I ever made, but yet there seems to be a defect somewhere in the coil. I would give anybody fifty dollars if he could find the trouble. John, taking a better look at the coil, said: What form of acid did you use in soldering, a solid or a liquid? A liquid, John. I always use a liquid, for I think I get better results with it, said Mr. Ricks. Miz Ricks, I had a trouble in a coil and could not find it until I remem- bered I had used a liquid acid in soldering, and thought maybe I had dropped a little acid on the coil, and sure enough a tiny bit of insulation was destroyed, causing a short. Maybe that is your trouble, Mr. Ricks. And then they examined the coil, and found something had removed part of the insulation. Well, said Tom, we must be going. after Mr. Ricks had fixed the defect and they got the letter and proceeded down the street. At the postofiice John Went to give the man at the window a one-dollar bill for a stamp when he noticed a fifty-dollar bill with a note, saying A gift to a boy who uses his head. JAMES DARRAH, '29 Page 129

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org-Hfgb F f 'rn X u ,9 - f . a, H - .4 , A I H i , 9 oN1--'Iii' ' -V V WJVWD, ,,. . , Wy fa guy, not a nickel between him and starvation. No prospects, no hopes, no ideas, no job, not even a trinket that was worth pawning. If that isn't a nice out- look for a man, twenty-three years of age, I don't know what is. He sat down at the tiny table and figured it out. He could live another day on the meal he had just eaten, and after that he could beg a few pennies to keep him until the room rent was due, Then he would be out of luck for sure. When he had given up hope, the door opened and his creditor entered. 'You here?' asked the gentleman in qusetion, taking a quick survey of the room. . 'Yes,' murmured John, dully. 'What is it?' 'I hear you're in financial difl'iculty,' said the man. 'I've been watching you for a long time and I think you're the man I want. Now, I've a propo- sition I want to make. There's a job on B- Street that I want to pull- thirty thousand dollars--fifteen smacks apiece, and I can't do it alone. 'With that money, you can marry that Jane and pull stakes for Europe or South America or Mexico-some place. And all for an hour's work. Does it sound good?' 'It does,' agreed John, 'but I'm not going to accept. I'm not going to sneak about through the alleys like a beaten cur. I'm not going to go through the life of a thief and a robber. I may be poverty itself, but I'm not dead yet. I'm going to stand up for my rights if I get knocked down on every corner. John Andrews is going to stay here and iight. That's what I 'm going to do- FIGI-ITl' The gentleman from the eleventh floor rubbed his chin gingerly. 'Derned if I don't think you're right,' he concluded. 'At least it has the right feel to it. I ought to know. I can tell you the combination of a lock just by the weight of the tumblers. Er-you won't tell?' he added nervously. No,' was the answer, 'I won't. It's every man for himself and the best man wins the pot. It's none of my business what you do so long as it does not concern me.' 'You're right. Will you shake on that?' asked the safeman. 'I must be running along-say, here, the boy brought a telegram while you were gone- plumb forgot all about it-I signed for it. So longl' 'Good-byel' said John, as he tore the envelope and spread the sheet before him. I don't remember the exact words, but I know that a certain lawyer wished to notify a John Andrews that his uncle had chosen this particular time to die and had named his nephew as sole heir to a two-million-dollar estatef' Make it snappy, urged Wally. It's almost time for the whistle. What did he do then? Take Prudence and go to Florida for the winter? Mr. Williams was deep in the realms of an uninteresting ledger. Hey, come to earth! yelled someone. What happened to John then? Jack threw a vacant stare over his shoulder. Oh, that guy? Why-he jumped down the elevator shaft. LEROY FREEMAN, ZS Page 128

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1- HI of' 54, The Keepers of the Fortress HE mellow glow of the warm Indian summer was over land and sea. You know the kind of an afternoon it was-the air golden with sunshine, an autumn haze softening the frost-touched fields . and blending the brilliant colors of the late fall foliage. Nan, Emma, Harold and Dan were down by the sea, playing in the warm sand. Emma and Dan lived in a farmhouse not far away. Today they were entertaining their cousins, whose home was in a nearby city. Let's build a fort, Harold said, after a time. We could use this big bowlder for a lookout tower and build an inner and outer wall. 'Twould be fun. 'AOh, forts are old stories, objected his sister, Nan. Can't we find some- thing new to play? 'ABut I want to build the fort, Harold insisted. Don't you, Dan? Dan nodded assent. You girls needn't help, if you don't like, he added. You will have your way, of course, Hal, as you always do, complained Nan. Come on, Emma. They shan't spoil the afternon for us, shall they? The two girls wandered along the beach looking for treasures cast up by the sea. All the while Emma was talking earnestly. At first Nan did not seem to agree, but by and by they turned and Went back to the place where the boys were hard at work excavating a moat and throwing up the sand for earth- works on the inner side. Emma put her hands to her mouth in the form of a trumpet. Ho! fortress-builders, she called, Will ye come forth for parley? What's parley? asked Dan, scarcely looking up from his work. Will you talk this plan over with us? ls not this fair? . Emma's last words roused Dan. I can go halfway, I guess. I would not on such an afternoon: it wouldn't fit the day, would it? Ha! Harold laughed and shook his head. If we did not agree, we should only have to get over it, he said, and that's too much bother. The four withdrew for parley to the shade of an old pier. We'll build the fort together, this was Emma's plan. After that, we'll each defend the fortress in turn. I have thought of a -- I know! exclaimed Harold. It's asking us to talk things over with them. I was sure they would come to it pretty soon. Of course, the girls overheard this remark. Nan was about to retort, when Emma shook her head warningly. Let me answer them, she said. Once more, forming a trumpet with her hands, she cried in the language of the old-time knights: We are not come, oh, fortress-builders, to declare ourselves in favor of the game as it has been played in the past. We have a plan, though, for building, storming and defending a fortress, name for the fort and names for those attacking. The one who is defending the fort will guess the names of his enemies from the way in which they attack. Page 130