Mattoon High School - Riddle Yearbook (Mattoon, IL)

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THE RIDDLE 2l Then grabbing a flashlight from her dresser, she courageously entered the searching party. When they reached the basement stairs she led a few of the braver ones down, and there searched thoroughly but found nothing. Finally the dean being convinced that all was safe, complimented Mary for her bravery and ordered them all back to bed. ELIZABETH BETH CRADDICK A French letter received by Golda Oakley from her French correspondent, Mademoiselle Denise Braud: Cornet, Bressuire fDeux Sevresl France March 26, 1925. Ma grande amie: Many thanks for your nice letter and for the pretty post cards which I received on Sun- day and for your photographic that I received yesterday. I find that you are very nice and my friends think like me. Now I speak to you about the French schools. When the children are four or five years old they go to a school for little children called ecole maternellef' When they are six years old they go to another school and they learn many things, reading, writing, arithmetic, histo- ry, geography, French grammar and science. They go to this school for six or seven years and after they pass an exam. If they succeed they can go to a school in a High School for girls or boys. After three or more High School years they pass another exam if they succeed they go to a school for teacher or professor or to other great schools. We go to school six hours in a day, three in the morning and three in the afternoon- The class begins at eight o'clock in the morning and it is over at eleven o'clock. In the afternoon it begins at one o'clock and it is over at four o'clock. We have no school on Thursday and on Sunday. We have tasks to do and lessons to learn at home. At school we repeat our les- sons and we correct our tasks and the professor explains a new lesson. All the pupils learn the same things in every class. In my form we learn history, english, chemistry, physics, natural science, geography, algebra, geometry Cplane et dans 1'espacel arithmetic, literature, classics, civics, home nursing, needlework, drawing and gymnastics. We have five minutes for play at the end of ev- ery hour. Our english professor has changed our books and this time we read Little Wom- en, by Louisa M. Alcott. This book is very pleasant and not very difficult, we like it. I am very interested by the map of Illinois. I will send you pictures of different towns and you will be able to locate them on a map. I have a friend in Paris and he will send to me pictures of Paris and after I will send them to you. My friend is very pleased and she thanks you very much. There was snow on Sunday and Monday at Bressuire but it was foudue by the sun. I have sent a map of France to you and I hope that you have found Bressuire on it. I am like you a letter is never too long, au contraire elle m' interesees beaucoup mieux. Dans less journaux nous avons vu qu'il y avait eu un cyclone dans l'Illinois et dans les regions environnantes- .l'espere bein que vous n'avez pas eu de mal de votre cote et que vous voudrez bein me donner quelques renseigne- ments a' ce subjet. Vraiment ce doit etre terrible si l'on en croit les journaux l'rancais. Je vous dirais que je vous aime enc davantage maintenant que j'ai votre photographie aussi je vais vous encadrer et je uous mettrai dans ma chambre car comme cela je vous verrai tous les jours et je penserai a vous tous less jours et je penserai a vous tous les jours. Les vacances de Paques approchent nous allons etre en vacances bientot le 4 Avril et nous recommencerons la classe les 20 avril. Aussi comme cette lettre arrivera a peu pres aux environs de Paques, je vous souhaite de joyeuses vacances et de bonnes fetes de Paques car je pense que vous celebrer bein Paques comme nous le faisons en France. En ce moment je suis tres enrhumee aussi. Je vais terminer ma lettre pour monter me coucher, car maman ne veut pas que je me couche tres tard en ce moment. Votre francais est excellent, vous ne fautes que de legeres fautes et je vous dirais que c'est vous qui ecrivez le mieux le francais de toutes les cor-

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20 THE RIDDLE AN EXCITING EVENING AT A GIRLS' SCHOOL Mary, Mary, quite contrary. Apolo- gies to Mother Goose Rhymes. Girls, I am not going to miss that Hal- loween party to-night. I will go in spite of Miss Macey and any one else who cares to interferef' declared Mary as she stood and faced the other girls, with a determination that few cared to resist. f'Oh, please don't, pleaded timid Kathe- rine, You'll be sure to be expelled if you are caught. I most certainly don't intend to be caught, flaunted. Mary. And with this she dashed out of Katherine's room across the hall, and into her own room. ' Maryis character was all that her name implied. To this was added her great ability for getting into trouble from which usually she successfully escaped. Miss Macey, the dean in this girls' school, earned the displeasure of practically all the girls at the beginning of the term by being haughtily indignant over a harmless joke, which no doubt Mary had originated. Consequently she was very strict and allowed only a few privileges. There had been a basketball game with a neighboring team the night before and never under Miss Macey's strict rule were the girls allowed two nights out in succession. Nevertheless, Mary was determined to get out this particular evening, and being a favorite of the girls, she was the more deter- mined because she was sure of their support. As they were returning from the dining hall she summoned several of them into her room. Then she told them of her plan to es- cape and solicited their aid which was. reluc- tantly and fearfully promised. Two of the girls were to go down to the kitchen and start conversing with the cook and finally get her out of the way. Then Mary was to make her escape through the kitchen door. When the girls left Mary's room on their mission, Mary tightly rolled a sheet, pillow case and a paper of pins in as small a bundle as pos- sible. These she held under her left arm as she skipped gaily after the girls, past the dean's open door on the right. Then she went down the hall through the dining hall and into the dark pantry. Here she waited rather impatient- ly listening to the girls trying to persuade the cook to let them pop corn in the fireplace in the dining hall. Having gained this permission the girls invited the cook to come with them to tell them stories of her native land, a thing which she never tired of doing. Considering this an expression of gratitude, she readily consented. As they passed through the dark pantry, Mary slipped into the kitchen and out the door and once more breathed freely as she sped on her way to the party. All went well at the dormitory as the girls kept up a gay chatter to make sure Mary's absence was not discovered. So far all had gone well with Mary also, but in the excitement she had overlooked mak- ing preparations for getting back. Now returning by way cf the kitchen door, of course she found it locked. How was she to get in! She thought of the fire escape but had no way of getting up to it. She dared not call to the girls for fear of waking the dean. Suddenly she thought of the coal shute. As a last resort she determined to use this. No sooner thought than done with Mary. But alas! As she slid down, she bumped into a barrel, knocking it over and this in turn, started the coal to rolling. This made a rumbling noise As if by magic the upstairs lights went on. She heard feet running down the hall and realized she would be discovered unless she acted quickly. Acting on the spur of the moment, she unrolled the sheet which she had taken off to prevent detection and slipped it around her again. Thus attired and waving her arms, she mounted the stairs as the crowd with the dean at the head, appeared at the top. Frightened at the unexpected appearance of the seemingly real ghost they turned and fled in terror to their rooms. Taking advantage of this opportunity she slipped off the sheet and following the others, entered her room unnoticed. While the others were summoning their courage to start their search again, she quickly changed her clothes.

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22 THE RIDOLE respondants des mes amies americines ou anglaises et j'en suis tres contente car mes amies vous felicite de loin d'avoir si bien appris le francais en si peu de temps. Je vous enverrai une carte de mon de- partment- I must conclude my letter with my love to yourself and my kind regards to your family, DENISE THE PATIENT James, put that book up and go to bed, right this minute now. Not a word:-.MrS. Miller had. expected Jimmy to beg, as usual for just two minutes more, Mom. When no sound issued from the bedroom, she turned back to her work with a vague sense of mis- giving. Jimmy obediently, but unwillingly, slid the book under the bed, not however, until he had carefully noted the page where he had been so harshly interrupted. He pushed one experimenting foot out of the covers prepara- tory to turning off the light, but hastily drew it back into the warm shelter his own body had created. And it was then that the great IDEA was born. Just like that it came from no- where-a divine inspiration, a voice from the clouds- Snuggling down in the covers, Jimmy held his nose tightly with his thumb and fore- finger and blew for all he was worth. Tear traces on his pain-wracked face, -ah, that was the proper thing. Jimmy had read that in a book and liked the sound of it. Yes, indeed, he knew all about how people acted when stricken with a great sickness. But, blow hard as he could, tears wouldn't come. And then a new thought gripped him. With what dire malady should he be afflicted? Silas Marner had had epilepsy, he remembered, but Jimmy soon decided he wouldnlt like that, you had to do such funny things and-no, he was sure that wouldn't do. Neuralgia,-.that was what Mrs. Trott had had when her jaw swelled up so funny- But one's jaw doesn't swell up to order, so, of course, he had to pass that by. Hay fever was impossible, because al- though he could sneeze as high as five times in succession by looking at the sun, still, what would he do when the sun went down? All the complaints and diseases he had ever heard of passed through his mind, but all were rejected in turn for some inability to fill the bill, and then for a second time that even- ing he was favored with a happy thought. Why not invent a new disease? He felt his cool face with a little dis- satisfaction. He ought to have fever, by all means, but it couldn't be managed. Nerves and pains here, and here,'n, herem. Sooth- ing sleep came at last and obliterated all traces of suffering from his pain-wracked brain. Sometime later his mother happened to glance up the stairway, and saw the light still burning in his room. James, this is the last time I'm going to speak to you. Put that book up, and turn out that light this instantg if I have to come up there, you'll wish I hadn't- But the usually efficacious threat brought no return. Stepping out to the kitchen, Ma unhooked Pop's razor strap, and folding it up, placed it in her apron pocket. She advanced up the stairway with the martial air of one about to go into combat, and paused at the door of the sleeping cherub. Blank amaze- ment, unbelievable surprise, and finally tender- ness played across her face. Asleep! and he had brought the new book home only this evening. An unheard of occurrence-he must have finished it though, she thought, dubiously. She'd have to speak to him about leaving the light on, too. It must have been the great idea which waked Jimmy at exactly a quarter to six as he had never been known to wake before his mother had called at least four times. Then he screwed his face up into a tragic copy of a man whom he had seen in the movies- He thought he'd like to see how it looked in the mirror, but he cou1dn't bring his courage up to the point of stepping out on the cold flocr. He lay very still for a few minutes practising, putting his face off and on, until he heard his mother call, James, oh James. Then sitting up in bed, he clasped both arms around his knees, began rocking back and forth, and at the same time moaning in a heart- rending tone. His mother ran up the steps