Cumnock School - Chronicle Yearbook (Los Angeles, CA)

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L l T E R A T U R E 4' Adore what, Herbert? You don't mean- Why, mathematics. Well, if you don't mean mathematics, Herbert, what DO you mean? You said you adore something. Let me guess what it is. Do let me guess, Herbert? I'd rather not, he confused himself a little more. Why, you bashful boy! Then l'll just have to tell you myself. He looked a little helpless. The harpoon was poised, but the blow was not driven home. lt was halted by a sharp sound from the rumble seat. Lionel had sneezed. When we say that Lionel sneezed, we mean some- thing historic like Socrates drank the hemlockf' or the famous words of Nathan Hale. There was so much of the fine, so much of the dignified in Lionel that the very thought of a sneeze in public disgusted his finer sensi- bilities. Nevertheless, Linoel sneezed, blasting his dignity to bits in order to save a friend. Noble. Did you hear that? The drowning man clutched at the sneeze. Hear what? That sneeze. Lionel sneezed. He sneezed, Lydia. Oh, the dogf' Her back hair flew up ever so slightly. Hope he isn't is catching cold or anything. Now, l was-- Coldl Oh, dear, maybe he is. He has such a delicate constitution. We don't get much exercise, we both have delicate constitutions. Surely not a cold! lt might be fatal, Lydia. Think of it, fatal. Oh, my poor Lionel! Now, don't distress yourself, dear. Lionel will be all right. If he gets sick, l'll take care of him. Tell me, did Lionel ever have a mother? Why-er-no, he looked troubled. I don't think he did. That's just what you need, Herbert. Both you and Lionel need the care of a fine woman. Why, yes, he began to agree. 'l see what you mean. l think we need a governess of something. Oh, not a governess, silly boy. She made the point delicately. Not only someone to take care of you, but someone to care for you l Yes, yes, of course. l think so. Not so much for me, really, as for Lionel. I must think of Lionel, you know. But who would want to care for us? Did you ask me that? she smiled. Of course l asked you. 77

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4' L I T E R A T U R E SQUARI NG THE TRIANGLE By Bill Pearson I. The beach was quite placid and undisturbed that summer's evening until a powerful red roadster ripped the silence into bits and wreaked havoc with the peaceful scene. A neat little bit of havoc was trying to get itself wreaked in the passenger seat of the roadster. There was a mathematician and a girl and, in the rumble seat behind them, a dog. To be more correct, there was a mathematician and a girl and Lionel, for we can't be quite inaccurate enough to call Lionel just a dog. True, he possessed many canine attributes, the usual shaggy coat, the long tail, the four legs. But Lionel had soul. He had dignity. He had character. In fact, he is perhaps the only individual in our story worth considering. At the moment, however, his brow was creased from the weight of a perplexing problem. The man in the driver's seat, one in whom he had not only a kindly and protective interest but also a feeling bordering on friendship, was getting himself in a most compromising position, indeed. The mathe- matical fellow was, quite unwittingly, allowing a girl to place him in the situation where he would, in the natural sequence of events, propose to her. This, Lionel felt, would be disastrous, and it was one of Lionel's petty con- ceits that he could always avert disaster. However, his bodily limitations were such that he was somewhat handi- capped. Naturally, it was impossible for him to speak to the man just before him, in order to turn the conversation diplomatically into other channels. Of course, there were numerous radical courses which he could pursue, but he dismissed them all as not being in keeping with a dignified and intelligent behavior. Nice moon, she cooed. Of, rather, yes. Rather a nice moon. You're quite right. You know there is a definite attraction between the moon and the water- Not really? A definite attraction between the moon and the water? How romantic! Tell me about it. Well, he hedged, not precisely romanticg more or less mathe- matical- Not really? she welled up and vibrated. I just adore mathematics, don't you? Why, yes, he yessed, I just adore- 76

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L I T E R A T U R E Herbert didn't see the danger, but Lionel did. There was only one thing left to do. It wasn't so hard as before. The down hill grade is easy. Lionel sneezed again. He did it again. He sneezed. It was Lionel I Herbert was almost hys- terical. But-- Yes, he did. He's catching cold in that rumble seat. It's all my fault. I shouldn't let him ride there. Oh, Lydia! What shall I do? I suppose, she said with a smooth sarcasm, that you want that dog here and want me to sit in the rumble. Would you? Missing the irony, he wrung her hand gratefully. Oh, Lydia! Lionel will be so thankful. There would have been one of those awful reverberating silences, had not Herbert reached for the emergency brake to bring the great red roadster to an abrupt stop. Lionel was silently holding his breath and waiting for an explosion. Lydia was seething with a quiet white heat. Herbert was merely oblivious. Lionel and Lydia changed seats without a word. As the car started a gentle breeze fanned her. ln a voice too low to be audible, Lydia swore. The gentle wind wafted her words back to her face, and ever so slowly the rouge began to peel. ll There are times when our guardian angels have problems of their own and cannot be disturbed by mundane matters. During these times we may find ourselves in unaccountably great amounts of trouble, for the fates have deserted us while they go on little fliers of their own. Lionel had decided to spend a week in the mountains. Matters more weighty than human relations were occupying LioneI's mind, philosophical and intellectual they were: but his only relaxation came in concentrated study, and he spent his vacations in deep reflection. How- ever, from the purely practical viewpoint, it would have been better if Lionel had forgone his intellectual pleasures for the benefit of Herbert. When Lionel returned he was somewhat ta-ken aback to find Herbert married to Lydia. Stoical resignation, Lionel realized, is all very well in its placeg he firmly believed, however, that its place is merely the hiatus between action and reaction. He decided to make the best of it for the time being. Herbert, of course, was completely out of control, being ruled by an- 78