Central Catholic High School - Echo Yearbook (Fort Wayne, IN)

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6 THE ECHO The Hidden Grave E It is midnight. A soft breeze rustles the pine needles, as the moon looks down on the dormant earth. Suddenly the silence is broken by the sound of footsteps plodding slowly through the brush. A grotesque form emerges from the woods, and starts to climb slowly up Murder Hill. It is a man. On his shoulder he carries a burden. Now and then he stops to look back down the hill. Evidently he has eluded his pursuers for his haggard features are dimly lighted by a sneering smile. Animals scurry from his path as though he were tainted. But he pays no heed. He stops to wipe the perspiration from his face, and one hears his labored breathing. As he again proceeds up the hill his step is more careful, for he is rapidly approach- ing the chosen spot. Several min- utes later he reaches the summit. For the first time he lowers the bundle to the ground. From his shoulder he unslings a shovel. Carefully selecting a suitable rest- ing place for the remains, he digs frantically. He hurries, for he has a feeling of impending danger. At last the grave is finished. As he raises the burden to deposit it in the yearning hole, he cannot re- strain a few tears as a token to his only friend. Each shovelful of earth seems to pain him, but he proceeds in spite of this. Having finished he marks the place so that he alone will know it, and with one last look he turns homeward. But, alas! he dies of sorrow on the way, and with him is buried the key to the resting place of the last keg of Old Kentucky. -J . Striefus, '21. One-Man Street Cars Oh, yes, we have a few speci- mens, you couldn't tell it by look- ing at them, and it would be a hard task to convince a stranger in Fort Wayne that those little yellow match-cases which run about the streets are street cars. Of course they aren't, theyre just samples. Here I am ridiculing a little, de- fenseless street car instead of de- scribing it, but I rode in one once, and if you ever do the same it's a safe bet that the descriptive adjec- tives with which you'll adorn your candid opinion will be censured be- fore they reach polite society, al- though everyone feels the same way about it. After carefully scrutinizing one through a telescope, we find that it has four wheels, one as a rule flat, a front and a back door, not used very much except for entering, the windows being much handier and less difficult for exit. Why? I'll explain later. On the front is a large number which is illuminated at night, probably an identification number to enable the company to recognize the little thing in case someone should forget to bid Satan to get behind him, and take one home for a souvenir pocket-piece or watch charm. A person has to follow the rules for stalking deer to catch one-man street cars, because they are as scarce as hen's teeth when needed, a trait they copied from policemen' Once I waited for what seemed hours before finally catching one, and after depositing the usual jit Cat present a seven-cent slug is in order? I took a seat, but as I never had much experience in one of Henryls shufHe buggies, I

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THE ECHO 5 struck a woman knocking her to the ground. With a grinding of brakes the engine stopped. In an instant the gentleman had the woman in the car. He rushed her to his own home and summoned a doctor. While waiting he paced the room like a caged lion, pausing now and then to gaze at the wan face of the sufferer. Vlfhen the physician arrived he was astonish- ed at the behavior of the man, W was as insistent and careful though the woman were his motn- er. After a hasty examination the doctor announced, 4'The woman is starved. If I am not mistaken sne has not tasted food for at least two days. That, with the shock of the auto striking her, has placed her in a critical condition. Rest and good food for a week will see her well. IV. VVhen the woman opened her eyes she could scarcely believe her senses. There by her side was the husband she had thought dead and buried miles away in a lonely desert. She reached out an in- vestigating arm. No, he was there 5 this was really Harry. In a few moments she was explaining: 'fWhen I left you I secured work, and for awhile was content. After a few months I began to long for you. At last I could stand it no longer and I determined to go back. I hired a car and drove out to our old home, and here she told him what she had seen. The shock was terrible. Since then I have wandered around not heeding or caring where I went. But what of the revolver with the one bullet missing beside my note on the cabin table, and what are you doing here? ho as f'When you left I felt there was nothing to live for. In a rage I crumpled up your note and de- parted from the cabin. For a long time I was a wanderer. Then I reached this place and took a new grip on life, and I made good. I cannot say what has taken place at the cabin since I left there, but some day I intend to return and straighten things up in remem- brance of old times,', he explained, and a deep silence fell between them. Harry, can you forgive? , she shyly inquired. Forgive? Yes. Not only forgive but also forget. We will close that chapter of our lives and on this Christmas night begin to live only for the future. -J. Haley, '21. The Pledge of '23 A score plus ten and five are we, To leave the school in twenty-three With every member to a man A-doing all the work he can. We're proud of this old school of ours, We love its dear old battered towers. f We know it doesn't look like much, But we care not for looks, as such. We're here to drink-as morning dew- Our learning with religion too. For faith we'd fight, for faith we'd die, We'd do the same for Catholic High. -P. McEvoy, '23.

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THE ECHO 7 couldn't hold it for more than thirty seconds at a time, the inter- vals between having been spent in floating uncertainly about a foot above it. There are seven such seats on either side, each having a capacity for two thin persons, or one fat person. Then there are two boards hinged at the back, that is, the north end when going south, and vice versa. You see, there are controls at either end, and when the car is going one direction, those at the other end are not used, so four more individ- uals can be seated, making the seat- ing capacity just thirty-two. As a rule, the count is forgotten, and by the time the Transfer Corner is reached the passenger list has climbed to sixty-four and some- times even seventy, as there are straps on which an athlete can hang, giving the space otherwise occupied by his feet to some other victim. And there is a bar separat- ing the entrance from the exit upon which a tight-rope artist can perch. Besides, the conductor-motorman has learned from experience that by starting and stopping suddenly he can pack the passengers closer, bale them as it were, thereby enab- ling him to take on several more fares. Now you see why the door is used so little for exit, or rather was used so little, because recently someone devised a system of bars on the windows, cutting off this mode of escape. Since the introduction of these small imitations of the real thing the two rival routes known as the C. Y. B. 85 W. Ccarry your baggage and walkj and the L. E. 85 W. Cleave early and walkj have be- come more popular, because they are more reliable and not so crowd- ed. Then, they are not a sure death to a perfectly good shine, or a nicely pressed suit. The name one-man street car is derived from the fact that the crew consists of one man. He wears a blue suit with brass buttons, and gives you twenty nickles in eX- change for a dollar bill. He is called a conductor-motorman be- cause he does his best to conduct one somewhere with the facilities he has, and motorman because- Oh, well, he's called it. But let us be thankful for small favors, and remember what the sage says about small beginnings and great endings, and big oaks and little hickory nuts. -E. J. B., '21. Christmas The time is come The time of bells And they are ringing O'er hills and dells, To spread the tidings O'er the whole earth, To tell the faithful Of the Infant's birth. The snow is falling And cloaks the land In a coat of white. And a joyous band Of angles sing, In happy flight, Their Glorias This Christmas night. -E. Kramer, '21. The secret of success is to do as well as one possibly can.