North High School - Polar Bear Yearbook (Des Moines, IA)

Page 18 text:

THE HEART OF SLIPPERY SLIM. Mary Rose. HE SNOW glittered on the brilliantly lighted streets and the shivering child, known as Slippery Slim, tried to brace himself for his task. He was in the hold of Jake, the boldest robber in the gang. Tonight, poor little Slippery Slim, against his will, was to rob the rich as they came from the theatre door. Jake ' s daughter, Julia, feeling sorry for the poor little fellow, had tried to help him, but it was of no avail. Jake was too wise for that. In his heart, Slim was praying that help might come to him, when his mind grasped the idea. He would give himself up. But, no, Old Jake could not be fooled that way, for even now he was talking to the police at the stage door. They would never believe his story. They would only laugh at him. Jake was everybody ' s friend, it seemed. As the doors of the theatre opened, and the people came out, Slim fell to his beggar position. Tonight he was to gain the pity of the rich Mrs. Armstrong, who sat in the box at the left. As the boy lay on the pavement, his eyes were directed to the crowd, coming from the left wing. Then he gave a start. Some one had kicked him and turning he saw the eyes of Jake cast on a beautiful lady, coming from the door, escorted only by a maid. Yes, thought Slim, old Jake knew what evening she would be alone. Mrs. Armstrong passed. She felt some one looking at her and glancing around, she saw the poor pitiful heap of a boy imploring her pity with wide terror-stricken eyes. She knelt beside the child and without knowing just why, she took the boy to the car and took him home with her. Jake never understood just how he let Slim get away, but Julia did, and at her little window, she knelt and thank- ed God that her one prayer had been answered and that the child had been taken from his life of terror. 84

Page 17 text:

SgeeiHE ©MCLE ii wife of Lieutenant Dick Warren. Old Aunt Sally shook her head solemnly and said, Dem Yankees sure am a knowin ' how to capture things. First it ' s Richmond and den it ' s Miss Betty herself. A DESCRIPTION OF HOW MY FATHER USED TO SKATE IN EUROPE. When my father was a boy in Europe, he used to make his own skates in winter. He would first take a piece of wood, preferably fir, about one foot long and three inches wide and two and one-half inches thick, and cut it down until it fitted the bottom of his shoe. He then whittled each side until the bottom was a sharp edge. A piece of wire was fixed to this edge by nailing staples at the front and ba3k of the skate. Holes were made in the sides, about one inch from each end, by taking a red hot iron and burn- ing through the wood. He put a strong cord through the holes and fastened the skate to his foot by tying the cord in back and then twisting a stick around it until it was very tight. In this way he made a very good pair of skates, at the cost of about two cents, which was the price of the wire. He and his comrades played many interesting games on their skates, one of which was played by having each one of them put down either a penny, a marble, a top, or some other trinket in one place on the ice. Those who were in the game would then take turns at skating at full speed toward the objects and bending down and picking up whatever they could from the group. This was a very hard thing to do, however, as they nearly always fell over while bending down. After all the things were picked up, each player was permitted to keep what he had taken from the pvA the one who had the most, won the game. Harold Cohen ' 18. 83

Page 19 text:

CROSSED WIRES. Agnes Buchanan. ACK PATTEN sat at his study table thinking. He was not in a very cheerful state of mind, as he had that day been expelled from school on a charge of which he was entirely innocent. He thought of the morning several weeks before, when everyone, while quietly studying had been startled by four sharp rings of the dismissal bell. This was the fire signal. In a short time every one was out of the building ; on seeing no smoke they decided that a fire drill had been successfully performed. Just at this point, Miss Jackson, the principal, came out and told them to re-enter the building and go at once to their work. During the forenoon, the whisper went around that the fire signal had not been given by Miss Jackson. In the two weeks intervening the giving of the first false fire alarm, and the day of Jack ' s expulsion, the pupils had been called away from their lessons four times. Each time, on reaching the campus, the pupils were recalled to their work by Miss Jackson, whose pale face told plainly of her annoyance. According to her secret orders, the signal was changed, but the bell continued to ring at the most unsea- sonable times, usually at five or ten minutes before dis- missal time. Finally, the electrician who had installed the system was called in to ascertain wherein the difficulty lay. Mr. Sargeant, the superintendent, was confident that some- thing was wrong with the timing mechanism which con- trolled the ringing of the bells. A thorough examination of the mechanism showed it to be in excellent condition. Not satisfied to leave without making one more attempt, he examined all of the wires connected with the timer. He was just ready to give up, when he discovered a place where the crossed wires parted. Following one wire he found that it led to a small shelf, in the library, on w hich the dictionary was kept. The electric button was just behind 85