Albany High School - Prisms Yearbook (Albany, NY)

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10 THE GARNET AND GRAY the storm would stop. What was that rustling? What was that which brushed by his leg? It was a snake! He wanted to run, but his legs refused to respond. He wanted to scream, but the sound stuck in his throat. Then he remembered that it would not strike him unless he moved. It brushed by his leg again. Fear conquered self-control and he kicked at the unseen. He struck something. It struck back. There was a hiss, something caught his leg, and he could feel the prick of sharp fangs. He could not move, but lay as if paralyzed. A cold perspiration broke out on his forehead. He seemed to feel the poison stealing through his veins. Then suddenly he relaxed and lay motion- less, his mouth open, his eyes glassy. He was dead. A sudden flash of lightning revealed a cat, crouching over a mouse, glaring at the person who had tried to take away her prey. EARLE WHITBECK, '23 AUNT MARION'S GIFT It was near Easter and Aunt Marion had sent Betty several pairs of gloves. Accompanying the gloves were the check from Martins and a note saying that, if the gloves were not the right size, they could be exchanged at Martins. The gloves were size seven-and Betty wore six. Although Betty had persistently avoided Martins department store, it was necessary for her to go there now. After changing the gloves, Betty went to her and Bob's old meeting place. She seated herself in a corner. Not very far away stood a very tall, good-looking young man. ' Who is he waiting for now ? she mused. I think I'll wait and see who it is. ' As soon as Bob saw her he said to himself, I see Betty is waiting for someone else now. I'll wait and find find out who it is. Fifteen minutes passed slowly, thirty minutes, then one hour, still no one came. The store emptied until Bob and Betty alone remained. Still they sat there. At last Betty perceived that they were the only ones in the store. She arose, and lifting her head high in the air, passed Bob. .A floor-walker kindly suggested to Bob that it was time to leave. Although they went in opposite directions, they met at the malin entrance. As this door was locked, they were directed to the employer's exit. ' Outside of the store Bob said to Betty, Can I do anything for you? Your-your friend seems to be delayed. What about your friend, snapped Betty, you've been waiting ages. Why, I've been waiting to see whom you intended to meet. stam- mered Bob. At this, Betty lost her hauteur and began to laugh. Why, Bob, she said, I waited to see your friend, too.

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THE GARNET AND GRAY 9 all time. He will soon be so common that he won't be preferred. These animal are very gallient, and resemble the Knights of the Round Tabile except that they has no steel overcoat. These animal are also very ill bread. They never ask for meat twice-they take it. The most popular dog in these part of the country are the Toy Poodle. These dog are like some members of the League of Nations, except that he has no plug hat or cane. These dog are very pretty, he wear a white fur overcoat, with cap to match it. His nose are generally dirty. These dogs are very useful. Ladies use them to have their pictures taken with, and children misuse them by pulling the fur off their coats. A It is said every dog has his day, but the cats still have the nights. GEORGE B. GILDERSLEEVE, '23 THE MAELSTROM OF FEAR The afternoon had just begun to lengthen when Red Gallager stopped in front of the old deserted farmhouse. It was just the place he wanted to stop overnight. They'll never get me, he chuckled. I'm too clever for 'em. He sat down on the dilapidated doorstep and drew some lunch from his pocket. Events had crowded in rather fast on Red for the last, few days. New York had become too hot to hold him, so he caught a freight train going west. He had jumped off at a small town and hadn't troubled him- self to ask its name. A saloon looked inviting so he entered and sat in on a card game. He was sure he saw that fellow cheat. He grabbed his money, shot, and was away before they realized what had happened. Red was sure he had killed himg he couldn't have missed at so short a distance. Red chuckled again at the clever way he had outwitted his pursuers. Ugh ! He drew back as a small garter snake slipped under the house. 'He shuddered. If there was anything Red Gallager hated, it was a snake. The sun had gone down behind a mass of inky clouds. It was growing dark rapidly and now a few drops of rain ,began to fall, so he opened the door and entered. The door opened on a good sized room, which smelled damp and musty. There was another room beyond and he looked in there, but it was so dark he couldn't see anything. He struck a match, but the room was empty. Returning to the first room, he stretched out on the hard floor, doubling up his coat for a pillow. He would get a good sleep and start out early the next day to increase by as much as possible the distance between him and the scene of his crime. But somehow, Red couldn't sleep 5 perhaps it was the steady patter of the rain, or the thunder that fol- lowed the lightning which split the blackness from time to timeg perhaps it was his conscience. A board squeaked. He started. The door blew shut with a bang. His heart rose in his throat. Red's nerves were on edge. He wished

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THE GARNET AND GRAY 11 After being assured that she was the only girl Bob ever waited for, she decided to accept his invitation to dinner. After the wedding which Aunt Marion, of course, attended, Betty con- fessed how at first she was so provoked at having to change the gloves, but, after her reconciliation with Bob, how thankful she was. R'OSELLA DoDDs, '23 THE LOST LAMB Last autumn a much bewildered lamb was placed in the vast and ex- tensive meadow of the Albany High School. Having come from a small select field the lambkin felt as if it had been placed in a teeming small New York. Dear me, quoth the stranger, I don't know where nor how to go nor what to do. Often and more often the dear thing was sent to a dazzling lady in the room with the fence at the end of one of the long lanes. The superb one would glance kindly at the wooly head as if to say, You here again P and casually direct the miscreant to the proper room. ' And then when the room was reached there were so many eyes boring at oneg questioning eyes, scornful eyes, indifferent eyesj The poor victim would get all prickly heat under the nice wool, and wish with all its troubled heart it were away from all humans in a quiet green field with Howers and buterfiies. jerked from its dream, the stranger would be called to the desk and put through the paces. VVhat's your name? Where were you born? lYhere do you come from? VVhat are you taking? How old are you ? To each query shot at it, the poor lambie would stutter an answer, and to the last would blushingly whisper, Sixteen. After a while the scared feeling passed leaving only burning curiosity in its place. For some time our friend unwillingly went down the middle stairs and up the side ones, wondering why it was stared at, and realizing at times that one could not be fat and negotiate the Herculean task of slip- ping eel-like through the oncoming ranks. One sad day the innocent one openly flouted the law in passing a cop before rather than behind. Alas! Alas! the rude thing grabbed our lambkin and whirled it down the lane. False summons to the office once would have caused the lamb's tempera- ture to break any thermometer, but not any more. One day they called it from its many antics in the gym valley. After docilely slipping on a skirt to conceal the--er-uniform and tripping sweetly to 113, it was accused of not being in class and all sorts of things. An explanation proved some- one had juggled the lists, so pardon was given and the culprit went back to the playground. Many weeks have passed and the lamb is quite at home. The office seems deserted and the path to the office erased since the dear one's faltering feet have become confident and sure. Those who stared have turned out to be friends. The cops are really sweet and sometimes humanly obliging. The whole pasture is so nice and pleasant, with so much grass of knowledge, with kindly shepherds and jolly companions that the lamb's,content to stay there and chew, gossip and gambol till Time does them part. A. B. C.