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

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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

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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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.ff GF 0,1-Hfgbs 4 5 'E ty ,Y is 9 'W I . 1, . , y' I R, 449' J 1 ga. IW, . vm- azz ,, v A A swf? ,fffflf 'LQ 4' f ' It was a fine large fort that they built, with the big bowlder for citadel and outlook. There were inner and outer walls and a moat and everything else they had ever read about in stories. When they had nearly finished the fort, Emma disappeared. A few minutes later she came back from her home bring- ing a small roll and a long, slender staff. This is our pennant, she said, and'now let us select the first defender. The choice fell upon Harold. Emma gave him the banneria sheet of heavy paper cut in the form of a pennant. He fixed the staff in the sand close to the big bowlder. On the banner Emma had done in crayon the long word Char- acter. And she had spelled it correctly, too. Perhaps she had asked her mother how-I don't know. Harold was watching now for enemies who would attempt to destroy the fortress and take him prisoner. He had not long to wait. His companions made a rush for the fort, all of them armed with the tools with which they had been digging in the sand. They did not reach the fort, however. Nan fought the other two back, and made first Emma and then Dan give up to her their weapons. I want them, she cried. I want to take the fort by myself and have all the glory. Is it fair to share the victory, you say? What do I care about fairness? If I am stronger than you -- Come on, Foe Selfishnessln shouted Harold from the fort, guessing the part Nan Was acting. I'll meet you fairly and down you forever. Foe Selfishness was not so easily overcome, however. Nor was she willing to meet the Captain of Fort Character fairly. Throwing something over the outer wall, she ran back toward her companions as if giving them the attack. Harold waited until the enemy was at some distance from the fort. Then his curiosity got the better of him. The Hsomethingn his enemy had thrown into the fortress gleamed in the sand a few feet from him. He leaped into the space between the inner and outer walls and ran to the object, to find it merely a bit of tin glittering in the sunshine. At the moment he was off guard, Foe Selfishness slipped in through the forbidden entrance. The captain of the fort turned to find his enemy defying him inside the outer walls. But, Eoe Selfishness, you agree not to come in on that side. The enemy laughed. Captain of Fort Character, have you not yet learned that Selflshness doesn't care how she gets her ends, if only she can get them? she cried. But she shall not get them! And with a big effort, into which he put all his strength, Harold drove the enemy out of the fortress. 1 Oh, but I am glad to be myself again! Nan exclaimed, as she went back to her companions. I don't like being Selfishness the least little bit. ' ' When Harold had driven back Foe Laziness and Eoe Cheating, Nan, Emma and Dan were each in turn made captain of Fort Character, By fighting hard and watchfulness they succeeded in putting to rout a great many enemies: Foe There's No Harm in a Lie Once in a While, Foe Put It Off Until Tomorrow, and- But you can guess the others, can't you? Try it. FORREST B. CRANE '30 Page 131