Branksome Hall - Slogan Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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26 The Branksome Slogan Sometimes I watched when the evening breeze arose, gathering- the scattered clouds under her wing until all the sky was clear, save for the frieze of high, puffy, intangible clouds over the west which the darkening sky had not yet swallowed intO ' its unfathomable nothingness. On clouds like these, the last rosy glow of the departed sun lived for a few seconds in luminous beauty. Then night reigned and the wind was still. I uttered a silent prayer of thanksgiving to Him ' ' who maketh the clouds His chariots: who walketh upon the wings of the wind. ELVA PARKINSON. Lost The steaming jungle was silent. The unearthly stillness was in itself a reason for his terror. The sun beat down through the canopy of verdant green, slanting obliquely, and met the jungle tloor in faded patches of lig ht. Great hulks, of trees loomed in the murky shade, their limbs in an embrace of death by long, thick vines which curled and twisted like serpents of evil. Here and there, exotic blooms glowed against the sombre background, almost sinister in their strange beauty. The black soil oozed water; so that at every step his feet sank into the mud. Though it was not yet noon, the air was hot and fetid, heavy with moisture and teeming with tiny insects. He found it extremely difficult to advance, for at every step he had to force his way through the lush undergrowth and matted vines. How long he had been walking he did not know, for in his fever-ridden mind time had ceased to be. A large beetle, black and shiny, ran paist his foot. He stamped at it viciously, losing for an instant the iron will which had kept back all his anger and frustration. The heat and fever had made him dizzy. He felt again the onslaught of sickness. His head was suddenly very light and his body was shaken by a severe chill. One memory kept appearing before him, much as he prayed that it might be blotted out forever. — The plane, its nose buried in the hill, a blazing trap for the other member of its crew, was etched sharply against the wall of his mind. Of hov he had been thrown clear at the crash he had no recollection, but he could hear still the cries of his companions. He felt he could almost see them, as he fought at the buckled door, even then too late to free them. On and on he staggered, blindly tearing at the vines and foliage in sickness and despair. Mercifully, delerium crept over his tired

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ourth Form

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The Branksome Slogan 27 mind, flooding it with soothing- unreality. Soon he was sauntering down a quiet lane in the brisk cool of an afternoon in mid-autumn. Clean-cut maples and towering oaks, magnificent in the glory of fall, lived before him. He smiled faintly as his eye caught the fat dog, in mad pursuit of the rabbit she would nev er catch. At last, though he was unaware of it, his body was no longer able to. go on. Sinking to the ground, he raved and muttered in delirium until he slept. A murky haze grew in the sky and in a few hours a slight drizzle began. The tiny drops pattered incessantly and the leaves dripped. A large pool collected around the sleeping form, gradually soaking it from head to foot. Night was approaching when the rain ceased. The air was fresher. The sky had turned to that pale grey of a twilight alter rain. He awoke with a start, clear-headed but very weak. Looking about in the gloom, he strove to recognize one distinguishing feature of the jungle which hemmed him in. It was useless. After the crash, he had thought a tramp of thirty miles due east would take him to tlie air-field. He cursed himself. Thirty miles seemed nothing then, but now he knew it might as well have been three hundred, for he had no food, no compass. He was hopelessly lost. The full realization of his weakness came over him, as he attempted to stand. It left him reeling and nauseated. He lay back, his eyes closed, fighting to stifle the sudden wave of hysteria. When he opened them again, the tall figure of a man, standing just before him, was silhouetted against the darkening sky. He feared his delerium had re- turned. Then dimly, as unconsciousness closed in, he felt someone pull- ing him up and he knew that he was being carried, but he could remem- ber no more. ¥ hen he came too, the sun had risen and was filling the morning with its brillance. The jungle was no longer about him, and he was lying in a clearing which he instanly recognized as being near the field. Suddenly he remembered his rescuer. Forcing his body to a sitting position, he gazed blankly around him. As if in answer to the unspoken query, a man, who had been sitting a short distance away, rose and came forward. He was very young, with unkempt reddish hair. The uniform of a lieutenant in the Air Corps, tattered and filthy, hung loosely on his gaunt frame. He did not speak, but gently raised the sick man ' s right hand and placed a shining ring on its third finger. Having finished, he saluted gravely and turned back to the jungle. In a moment he had disappeared. The patrol found Captain Grey in the tiny clearing in time to save his life. After many weeks his recovery was sure. Major Halliday,