Malvern Collegiate Institute - Muse Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE MUSE I C E A Short Short Story by ll'iIIianz A. Connor HE cold sun glittered on rolling hills of ice covered snow. Un- broken stretches of ice Hed into the dazzling horizon. A cutting wind whirled flakes of snow in eddies and save for its low whistle there was not a sound. When the wind lulled, the silence was heavy and oppressive: it seemed as though a great storm was coming rapidly. Now and then the ice cracked with a staccato report. Far over the ice two little dark smudges broke the endless sheet of white. They shifted. stood still for a moment, then moved slowly closer. In a short while the larger of the two grew into a man, and the smaller into a dog. The man was swathed heavily in furs and his ungainly figure moved erratically. He swayed and stumbled and occasionally his feet became so unmanageable that he was forced to stop. His face mirrored his bewilderment at such moments, and finally he would stagger on again. The dog trotted with dropping tail behind him. The man's face was covered with a heavy black beard, covered in turn with many fine icicles. Fine white particles made his black eyebrows seem silver, and a rifle trailed from his mittened hand. Steven Harvey was a trapper. For days the had long since lost count of timel. he and a companion had wandered aimlessly over the glaring ice. hopelessly lost. Caught in a blizzard. they had been driven far from their snug cabin. Steve's companion. wearied by the endless iight with starvation and cold, had finally ad- mitted defeat. He was dead. far back on the trail. Before his death he had pleaded with Steve to spare the dog. The dog was food, and the two men were starving. His companion had died to save the life of a dog. The dog belonged to Steve, but his companion had become greatly attached to it during the long winter months. It was a true dog of the north, gaunt and rangy beneath its thick gray hair. Its stamina had triumphed over that of the man. While the man tottered the dog was firm upon his feet: the man's mind was befuddled and foggy. while that of the dog was clear. The dog should have led the two, not the man. Nevertheless the dominance of man throughout the centuries kept the dog behind. Steve reeled drunkenly now and he began to mumble. The ice cracked beneath him. for Steve was a big man and the ice was thin. The dog looked questioningly up and Steve passed a huge furred hand over his face. Far over on the horizon a blue finger of smoke trickled up into the frozen blue sky. The dog p1'icked up his ears and his nose began to twitch: Steve stumbled blindly on. The dog whimpered softly but Steve took no notice. It whimpered again. and the man turned angrily and cursed it in a high cracked voice. Steve's brain whirled and a wave of hot unreasoning fury broke over him. He raised his gun to his shoulder and levelled its slim barrel at the dog. The dog. sensing something amiss. weaved quietly from side to side. The man was unable to keep the rifle barrel still and he cursed again. A deafening report and the dog rolled head over heels at the shock of the heavy calibre bullet. The man smiled a crooked grin of anticipation as he advanced toward l31l

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Q-di-.gg M T Hggill li S Big g H fgggg OUR BUST OF MR. LEHMANN T IS surprising for a High School to be so fortunate as to possess a bust of its Principal, but as the result of talent of an ex-pupil, Cleeve Horne, Malvern is an exception. It is not the first time that C'leeve's skill has been displayed at Malverng his works are ever becoming more widely known and admired. When in 1929 an article featuring his work appeared in The Muse, the attention of the Literary Society was called to his remark- able talent and the executive became interested. Accordingly, Cleeve was asked to model a bust of Mr. Lehmann, which task he accom- plished last year. The bust was formally presented to the school at Commencement last November and has now been placed in the library. The Literary Society is to be congratulated upon its prompt action in seizing such an opportunity while Cleeve was still at Malvern. Fleeve gained his honour matriculation in four years at Malvern and is now, a year later, in the second year at the College of Art. The comment which his work has already aroused convinces us that his future as a sculptor is assured. The wish of every Malvernite is for his continued success. The bust isnot only a fitting testimony to the artist's ability, but also the esteem in which Malvern holds Mr. Lehmann. H301

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THE MUSE the fallen animal. It lay stretched full length. and suddenly as he reeled toward it a sickening wave of nausea swept over him and he crashed face foremost into the snow. The dog struggled upright, and a red bullet furrow showed across its skull. Its tongue lolled over its gleaming teeth as it crawled painfully to its master and would-be murderer. It licked his face-once. Two days later Steven Harvey awoke in a cabin filled with bluish pine smoke. His body was pleasantly warm beneath a huge pile of blankets and his eyes wandered over a rough hewn log roof. They strayed down a wall and stopped lazily as they encountered the ruddy glow of a iire across the room. Logs crackled pleasantly in a crude stone grate. and the abundance of heat made his face tingle a little. His eyes wandered to a man seated by the fire looking at him with flashing dark eyes. Smoke curled from a black pipe between his lips. To the silent question in the sick man's eyes the other answered: Your dog, M'sieu, he come to my door. He lead me to you. Where, said Steve, is the dog? He die, M'sieu, from cut on head, said the Frenchman. THE CLOCKS AT MALVERN NE of the latest deveiopments of the clock industry is the per- fecting of the electric clock, Iirst invented by Alexander Bain in 1843. In one type electricity is used to wind the clock, but in another electrical vibrations cause the movement of the pendulum. The clock's errors may, they say, be corrected by a system of syn- chronization, by which a number of clocks are connected electrically to a master clock. Yet, despite all this scientific application and control of delicate mechanism, at Malvern disorder is rife. The master in the school ofiice seems to have no control whatsoever over his subjects in the various forms. They are running wild! On making a circuit of the rooms one would perceive that. in some, dawn should soon be in evidence, whereas ln others the shades of evening are stretching themselves out tor the night. During lunch period a few days ago I expounded to several of my chums the futility of scientific attempts to better the sun dial and the hour-glass. I was just beginning to pride myself on having aroused in them a realization of the absurdity of our supposed time-keeping system. when one of them declared himself a staunch defender of our electric clocks. Then he proceeded to credit the clocks with such marvelous accuracy that my convictions began to topple and I came to believe that the system is really very ingenious. First, he reminded us of that old question: If it is twelve o'clock noon at Greenwich, what time is it at-1'3 Then by playing on our school spirit he incited us to the grandness of our realm and of all that transpires in our own little world, Malvern. V121