Eastern High School - Punch and Judy Yearbook (Washington, DC)

Page 24 text:

THE EASTERNER 22 On not a few subjects had Gladys con- templated writing ; they all treated, how- The Arnold ever, of common events. Literary Society was offering a valuable prize for a story of any kind that might exceed others of the competition in €xX- cellence. This story must be written by a student of a preparatory school, and Gladys was trying to put forth her power as an authoress. Now she wanted to be original and write something besides facts; yet she realized her lack of mate- rial, and decided to create a story from her imagination. She could think of any number of relatable themes, but always their similarity to some other story was apparent. So far Gladys had made lit- tle progress in surmounting the seem- ingly prodigious task; moreover, she could not settle down upon anything def- inite. Turning the pages of the encyclopae- dia in abandon, Gladys stopped here and there to notice a word. Almost to the end of the book, and about to close it she noted a word which had a startling effect upon her. Where had she heard it before? What had it in common with another word she had in mind? Differ- ent reminiscences sprang up in her mem- ory; she thought of books she had read, and of other recollective instances. How did her brother describe the mad sailor's yarns and how part of it had impressed Professor Meider of the University of Chicago, who happened to be there at the time. Hardly without knowing it Gladys had thought of a number of oc- currences which if handled properly, would harmonize, and likewise develop into an impressive narrative. An expedition was being formed by A Transformed Trial the Agricultural Department of the Uni- versity of Chicago, to study plant life in the Island of Java, and also to discover if possible an island in the Utopian Archipelago which was said to contain a peculiar tree. In a meeting held shortly after the arrival of Professor Meider from a trip he had taken to Bos- ton, he related to his brother instructors a tale told to him by a broken down deck-hand who had been caught in a ty- phoon in the Indian Ocean. The vessel to which he belonged had been driven aimlessly about for days, and finally beached on an unchartered island. As “One of the ship's boats went ashore” suddenly as it arose the great storm died down, and it was found that the vessel had grounded in such a place that once it was there it was comparatively safe. Having passed through the typhoon with his ship secure, but with half of his crew missing, the captain found that he could get off the reef at the next spring tide. One of the ship’s boats went ashore to get water and provisions, if possible. The men who were in charge of the long boat had no trouble in securing what they needed and they also learned from

Page 23 text:

THE EASTERNER Jack'o Lantern [Ss SAVED! ut Serious Accident! ] occurred had sufficient look-out been kept. In nearly all cases, how- ever, there is hope that the sunken pupils will be raised to the surface. ganized in our last issue, but disban- ded when the Feds asked for peace. President Summers states that there were too many casualties to have a successful team. The Chess and Checker Club or- | Scare Number Three NumBer 3 | NEW DANCING RULES OUT | Approved by Committee |. A small volume entitled, “Dane- ing ‘S She Are” and approved by a self-elected committee of t : { stu- as been printed and placed | on the market. dents, h Lack of space pre- | vents us from giving the contents | of the book in detail, but the gen- eral rules for dancing in the drill | hall are as follows: | 1. Nothing but the most barbaric | of music may be played. 9 « eer Se 5 2. “Ragging” is emphatically Proper, and may be indulged in at any time, but preferably when moonlight dances are being en- joyed. 3, Chaperones may be allowed to attend if asked, but are not abso- of Students—Will be Used in Drill Hall | lutely necessary. If chaperones do attend, they may be expected to pay one-half the admission price. Cou- ples are not expected to notice the chaperones in any way, if they do not desire to. {. The dances may last until one o'clock on Friday nights, and two o'clock on Saturday nights, since Sunday School does not begin until 9:30 A. M. - When dancing is held at noon, the fifth period shall be omitted, and an informal dance shall be held. Good music shall be furnished by the Faculty and by those who do not dance. It is to be hoped that all Eastern pupils will earnestly follow these tules, in order that no misunder- standing about dancing may occur. ANSWERS TO QUERIES Answered by Miss Information Dear Ed: How can I learn to | play golf? Yours, Crockery D. Ome. Ans.—Wait until spring comes, and then go out with the base ball team and shoot pool after practice. Dear Queery Ed: I saw a pretty girl in Room 13 the other day, and haven't seen her since. What the best thing to do in order to get another peep at her? Yours, Spaghet I. Mugg. Ans.—Maybe the reason haven't seen her is that you first. Disguise yourself as th is you she saw e€ |corridor and theyll all stick around you. Then you can pick her out. AFFAIRS OF THE HEART By Mrs. Dan Cupid Mrs. Cupid, having noticed a large number of love-lorn lads and lassies wandering about our halls of learning, has graciously offered to warn and advise them in their adversities of the heart. All let- | ters should be addressed to her and put in the local box at the end of the first floor corridor. They muct be signed or initialed and should be written on one side of the paper only. Here's your chance, girls! If you are contemplating an action that you fear may look too much like “leap year,” consult our new heart specialist, Mrs. Dan Cupid. Her answers will be published in this department in the next issue of | THe EasTERNER.

Page 25 text:

THE EASTERNER the natives of a menace that continual! threatened their lives. Tt was said pe 3 0 be in the form of a tree having serpents for its branches, which would enfold any one who came near them. It also had Bowel, to poison the atmosphere to a great distance ; so that any one who came near it was overcome, and the re- gion in which it stood was bare except for the bones of its victims. Things be- ing so, the faculty decided to inspect this singularity, though they did not credit the superstition of the natives, As a preparatory measure, arrange- ments were made for the sailor who was the source of the information regarding the tree, to take part in the enterprize. After being under special care for two months, he appeared to be himself again, and was confident of his ability to show the scientists the way to the unmarked island, The scientists spent considera- ble time in other places before they were able to go in quest of the remarkable tree. As Theseus had found his way out of the labyrinth, so did the sailor lead the horticulturists to the unknown island by means of landmarks he had taken note of when he was leaving it. All disembarked in one of the fine har- bors peculiar to the island, and made camp at no great distance from a few of the queer houses of the natives. The people of the island were found to use one of the Malayian dialects which was familiar to some of the party. The half- civilized inhabitants of the island were friendly enough, but when they learned the purpose of the party, they were un- willing to give them any information. The sailor knew the exact location of the tree, and consequently, he volun- teered to see if the tree really was as it had been pictured by the natives. Persons who had come near the vicinity of the tree were never seen again, and as the tree was close to a road in conjunc- tion with a mountain pass which had to 23 be us ed to cross the motntains, its toll was A he fearful. The priest of the people authority to feed the crimi Ot AEC | the criminals to » and keep innocent persons away from it. Owin i : HOSEN one i ig to these condi- aie wits see ever seen the tree. nee , hough he volunteered, saw e €ason to risk his life. Reaching the aaa were nearest to the ae ok g climbed it on the farther create le supposed destroyer, he fo- f S powerful glass on it. Instead 0 a desolate country, he saw a beau- tiful valley covered by a forest over which the object of his venture towere d. Moving around through the valley were the priests, some well near their temples ; others well in the forest showing no fear of the dreaded tree, while a few kept watch on the road farther away. From the description of the tree given by the sailor on his return, the scientists found it already to be known to science as the Upas tree, which has the same ef- fect as poison-oak or ivy on one. This being a fact, the priest must have been practicing a heinous crime for an in- definite time. Not until the people of the island had seen from the mountain, did they believe their priest to be so atrocious. Any horrible death may be imagined as the end the priest met when a crazed mob swept down upon them. Gladys had finished a synopsis of her story and was reading it over. Before she finished, however, she was crying. She saw that all her efforts were in vain; her story flavored of a cheap novel. It had meant so much to her, and now she simply could not stand it. Her sis- ter wanted to know what was the matter. Gladys raised her head and pointed at the cause of her grief. No one had been apprized of Gladys’ literary endeavor ; so when her sister had read the story she was astounded. She threw her arms around Gladys, and said, “Stop, you silly; I don’t see why you cry about such a nice story.” Her other sister, her mother, father and brother were like- wise surprised when they read it. Gladys was made happier by their esteem than any reward would have made her. T. Marguis, 10A1.