Garfield Junior High School - Gleaner Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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In fact, he even quit the air corps of which he had been a very enthusi- astic member. His nerve was completely shattered and he shunned any- thing with any risk to it. It was all because of that jinx ship. But, after ten months in this condition, he decided that if he was going to die, he was going to die, and once more joined the Air Force. He even went back to his old plane, the X-13. Then one day while he was warming up his deadly craft, she began to miss, and then backfire. Just cold, he said to himself, and gave her the gun. Wilson flew high that day; higher than usual. At a great height, his motor sputtered and then died. He thought of the jinx. Suddenly, the captain ' s voice came through the radio, Your ship is on fire; take to your chute. Wilson made all haste to do just that, but in his frantic thaste he pulled the ring too soon, and his chute caught in the tail surfaces of his plane. He shrieked in agony. So died the only man who ever flew this jinx and lived a year, and he Hved just three hundred sixty-six days. — Loren Caffee, Low Nine. {NO SHANGHAI DURING THE WAR Shanghai is divided into four main sections, the International settle- ment, the Chinese city, and Chapei. We were refugees in the French settlement within a mile and a half of the firing line. One night a bomb landed on the street on which we lived, but we were not in as much danger as one might think, for Japan knew if they started fighting in the International settlement the other countries of the world would be involved. The rattle of machine guns, the rumble of cannon reached our ears as we sat in the evening reading the newspaper or wondering what would happen next. Hundreds upon hundreds of the Chinese that lived in Chapei were fleeing into the International settlement for safety. The streets were thronged with people using all modes of travel, conveying them and their few belongings to safety. At ten o ' clock a curfew blew. Anyone found in the streets after that hour spent the night in jail. Every night for a solid month we could hear the bombs, shells, and machine guns, while every once in a while a French tank or armored car would go by our door with guns bristling patroling the streets of the French settlement. The ruin caused by the war was terrible, but that is another story. — David L. Weeks, Low Eight.

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King Sun ' s lAnnouncement The king of the sky sends heralds forth, To announce his coming each morn. First come the servants in blue, ivhite and gray, To tell us the new day is born. Then come the fine ladies in rose, pink and gold Their skirts trailing out o ' er the sky. They seem so fine, with their rainboiv-hued goivns. Those beautiful ladies on high. Next come the king ' s private messengers. They ' re the sunbeams in yellow and gold. Then comes the king of the sky himself. The sun in all glory! Behold! — Betty Lou Howard, Low Eight. JINX A GROUP OF AIRPLANES Circled the airport. On the ground sat James Wilson, U. S. Army. He was speaking to a captain nearby about the beautiful precision of the manoeuvers of a cer- tain biplane. He said, Say, Captain, I think I ' ll take that ship up tomor- row; I sure like the way it handles. I agree with you, Wilson, was the rep ly, her performance is mar- velous, but perhaps you should know she is a jinx ship; every man who flies her dies within a year. All foolish superstition, returned Wilson, I ' m going to take old X-13 up tomorrow. Have your own way, I ' ll not interfere, answered the captain, but I think it ' s a jinx and yet, have your own way. So next day Wilson took up the X-13 as he had planned, and he was delighted with her performance. When he came down, he sought out the captain and said to him, Say, captain, that ship may be a jinx, but it flies better than anything I ever saw and I ' m going to keep on flying her. Ah, but she ' ll get you in the end — that ' s her motto, you know, I always kill my flier. ' Enough of such foolishness! Really you get on my nerves, said the irritated Wilson. Get on your nerves? Well, it may, replied his companion but to change the subject, how do you like that new gas we ' re using? Fine, was the very bored answer. Then one day he (Wilson) had a change of heart. His nerve was shat- tered. He feared the plane that had been his favorite, and he was in a ter- rible state of apprehension and fear.

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T)ajfodil Deep in the woodland glade, Close by a rill, Sheltered in darkest shade. Blooms daffodil. Doom to Persephone Plucked she your bloom, Tool of Fate ' s destiny Lured by perfume. — Betty Stearns, Low Nine. A WILD RIDE Late one Saturday afternoon, on the fourth floor of a large de- partment store in New York City, a certain Miss Sophronia Jessup, amid throngs of pushing customers, suddenly happened to look at the store clock and found, to her dismay, that it was four-thirty. She remembered, still more to her consternation, that by five o ' clock she was expected to be at a hospital several miles distant to visit a sick friend. Since visiting hours closed at five, she hastily gathered up her purchases and quickly made her way to the elevators, only to see the top of one, downward bound, just disappearing. While she was waiting, another one passed, full to its capa- city, and not stopping to open its doors. In another minute, a white light twinkled down at the other end of the long row. She hurried to this and was about to step in when she heard the elevator starter say, Going up; going up. Her third attempt in getting an elevator, however, was suc- cessful. Down to the first floor in the crowded elevator, she rode, and you may be sure Miss Sophronia was the first to alight. By sheer force she man- aged to elbow her way through the throng of shoppers and squirm out the front door. She immediately summoned a taxi and her words to the driver were: To Francis Hospital. Be quick, my man; most urgent. (Miss So- phronia always spoke in sharp, jerky phrases.) And then the long re- membered ride began. Up and down hills and through tunnels, the cab raced, until a loud siren sounded directly behind them, and, in a second, a motorcycle, bearing an officer of the law, drew up beside them. Shure an it ' s like a race horse you ' re goin ' . Why the speed, me man? asked a huge, burly Irish policeman. Oh, said the driver, I gotta very sick lady in the car here. I ' m atakin ' her to the hospital. Oh, well, ef thot be the case, nobody kin ever say Dan O ' Mera hin-