Central High School - Cog N Pen Yearbook (Newark, NJ)

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8 THE REVEILLE ——— M ا‎ EEE He does, said Ethel, smoothing out her ruffled plumage. “Up there. She never wasted any more words than absolutely necessary on any of the masculine gender, even ií the specimen did happen to be broad-shouldered, clean-cut and blue-eyed. The young man gave something that sounded dangerously like a whistle, and then started up toward the house. Jack had seen him and was half way down the path to greet him. Dillie, Billie Reynolds, you old scamp, fine way to treat a fellow. Fanny, as they reached the veranda, this is Billie Reynolds, my old roommate. Come, Billie, where've you been since we leít college, any- way ? Oh! travelin' round. Delighted—er—pleased to make your ac- quaintance, Mrs. Brown. Say Jack, who's that young person out there in the hammock?” Jack turned around suddenly and stared at his chum in amazement. “We—ell! I'll be jiggered ! To use his own expression, the wind had been taken out of his sails at Billie's queer acceptance of his welcome. He piloted Billie up to the guest room without another word till, Say, Jack, who is she, anyway? Billie Reynolds, do you mean to say you've fallen in love with my sister-in-law ? “Your sister-in-law, is it? Well, why didn't you tell me that in the first place? No, can't say I've fallen in love with her, not exactly. But when a young woman is as complacent as she is and doesn't even take the trouble to be civil to a stranger within her gates, 1t sort of rouses my interest, you know. What's her name? Ethel Walker. You'll meet her at dinner to-night, so be patient till then, and she can be civil when she wants to be don't forget that. Meanwhile the much-discussed young lady had completely forgotten about the Sewing Circle and was wondering who on earth that stranger could be. From where she sat she could see Jack was ox erjoyed at his arrival. Wonder who he is? One of Jack's college chums, no doubt. They seem very much pleased to see him, yes sir, and he acts as if he intended to stay a while, too. Guess I'll go find out who he is and what he wants. No, I won't, either She hesitated and finally, I'm going to find out. But her curiosity had to wait. Fanny was busy preparing the room for the guest's stay and Jack was busy entertaining him. But at dinner time Fanny introduced him and he accepted the introduction very coolly, much to her astonishment. In fact, it seemed rather an effort for Mr. Reynolds to be even civil. Jack wondered at this, for Billie was such an agreeable person and he had displayed such an interest in Ethel before. As time went on, matters did not become any better. Ethel refused to make any effort to be agreeable, and Billie was simply indifferent. They spoke when it was absolutely necessary, were very polite to each other when they did speak, but othe rwise each simply ignored the exist- ence of the other. Nor could Fanny pry any opinion of the guest out of Ethel, try as she would, and Jack was driven almost to desperation by his chum's indifference. But such things must end. Fate wills that, and when two perfectly agreeable young people take it into their heads to be absolutely disagree- able to each other, Madam Fate usually teaches them a lesson they are not likely to forget. So it happened that one sultry afternoon Ethel started out for the village center to attend the Sewing Circle. Not that she was anxious

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THE REVEILLE Herold А 12. TWAS EVER THUS By Maude Jenner kah os Well, of all things! Sewing circle, ore ce aima indeed! Call it rather a Husband Cirele! Harold says this, and Theo- dore thinks that, and William likes the other thing! Why, I couldn’t get a word in edgewise. There's one thing І сап say—if I ever get married, and Heaven forbid, I'll never burden my acquaintances with the opinions of my spouse! Ethel Walker flung herself into the hammock and blazed away at her newly married sister, Fanny : “And you're as bad as the rest Jack here and Jack there. You make me tired. Her sister laughed at the outburst, and in her wisdom said nothing because Jack held Ethel to be a very impetuous young woman and thought it betokened a lack of sense to argue with her. Of course Jack was right. The girl had been invited to spend the summer with her sister and brother-in-law, who had taken up their abode in Nelville Village, better known as Newly-Wed Village. About two-thirds of its population con- sisted of brides and grooms. The brides had formed a Sewing Circle, and the time was very profitably spent-in quoting the witticisms and wonderfully infallible opinions of Harold, Theodore, etc. Ethel had just returned from one of these meetings and was full of righteous in- dignation, not exactly because they were continually quoting their hus- bands (though that received a fair share of her wrath), but more so be- cause she knew they looked upon her with pity as a predestined old maid. “She never intended to marry, poor thing!” While she was working off her disgust in the hammock, the garden gate swung open and a tall, ge yod-looking young fellow strode up the path. He stopped in front of the hammock and said: “Beg pardon, does Jack Brown live here?”

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THE REVEILEE 9 bored to death by listening to what Harold and the rest of the sons did, thought or said, but because she had nothing better to do. had started for the center, intending to stop at the post office for etters and incidentally buy some new fishing tackle. The air was heavy storm, but both Ethel and her enemy disregarded пу warning and started out unprepared for it š thel had just reached the center when the storm broke and the rain ame down in torrents. She made for oe nearest shelter, which hap ,ened to be the post office doorway.” She was standing there at logger- reads with the world in general and he 6 іп particu tla ir when the door with the promise of : 1 | pened and out n arched Billie. Now Billie couldn’t r the temptation, and he spoke. То his sur- as a matter of course and answered him as if he was | just returned. friendly two people can become when they are stand- ing a orway waiting for a thunder-storm to stop. Billie admired Ethel because she didn’t shriek at every flash of lightning, and clutch at him when a particularly loud clap of е went pealing through the pines on the near-by mountains, His comment was, “Cool, all right.” She admired him because he дас no mention of Ше past unpleasant- ness, but simply ignored it he thought, “He’s not such a brute, after all.” By the time the storm had abated Ethel knew that Billie swore by Tennyson and Browning: she did, too; Pope was a horrid bore: just her opinion; he was very fond of boating: so was she; and when they reached home he knew all about her grievances against the village Brides and he had admitted that it was torture to him to listen to the Grooms sounding forth the praises of these selfsame Brides. He sug- gested that they form a Бонна e of two to hunt up а cure for the epi- demic, and she agreed. Things began to grow pleasanter after that, and the atmospheric conditions cleared up. Ethel played tennis with Billie; Billie took Ethel canoeing ; nisi sat together under the oaks and read Tennyson; and to- gether they climbed all the mountains in the neighborhood. Ethel was no longer сте {о desperation at the Sewing Circle, since she never had time to attend. Billie saw to that; and he no longer felt like doing something reckless when the Grooms talked of the wonderful girls they had been lucky enough to capture. Mentally he was comparing Ethel with them, and her charms far exceeded all of theirs. Time went on, and summer was giving way to autumn. Ethel was thinking of returning to the city, and Billie knew he had to get back to work. Their departure was a very few days away, and Billie had made Ethel promise she would write to him, as he would to her. The formal “Miss Walker” and “Mr. Reynolds” had long changed to “Billie” and “Ethel,” and each had admitted to the other that this summer had been the most enjoyable of any summer in their memory. The day before they were to leave the Brown cottage Ethel startled Fanny and her husband by bursting in upon them like a whirlwind. She held up her left hand, and there on the third finger glittered a diamond. Now Ethel had always vowed that when she accepted a ring for that finger she would accept none but an opal, and that she had a peculiar aversion to diamonds. Fanny wickedly reminded her of that vow when she recovered her breath, and Jack of course backed her up. “Well, Billie likes diamonds best, and he thinks that it is the only suitable stone for a ring for me, and Billie says that” and she wondered why they laughed.