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

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the dictionary, so that when it was pushed back, the bell was rung. This important discovery was reported to Miss Jackson and Mr. Sargeant, who at once decided that some clever student, who had access to the building on Saturday for gymnasium work had done the mischief. They decided to see who would next use the dictionary. The first person to use the dictionary, after their de- cision to wait for the transgressor, was Jack Patten. Upon the completion of his task. Jack closed the book and care- fully pushed it back to its accustomed place. The ringing of the bell at this time, caused much disturbance among the pupils. The teacher in charge of the library at once re- ported the matter to Miss Jackson, who requested Jack to meet her in the office at two-thirty that afternoon. Upon his arrival. Jack was at once taken to the library, and shown the button which was causing all of the trouble. When accused of being the inventor of the clever piece of workmanship, he earnestly denied being guilty. His pro- tests were vain, for had he not been seen using the diction- ary? He, Jack Patten, member of the Senior class, was ex- pelled, and his high school days were at an end. Finding these reflections poor company, he started down town, hoping against hope that something would happen to show his accusers that he was innocent. On the way, he overtook Bob Merrill whose greeting was, Hello, Jack, hear you ' ve been invited to cease from your high school labors for a spell. ' ' ' ' I guess I can ' t deny it, said Jack, but it seems to me that you ' re mighty concerned about my affairs. How about it. Bob? Well, Jack, I was kid enough to fix up that wire deal, and I at first thought it was fun to see the commotion I stirred up. But, I hope. Jack, that I am man enough to take my own punishment. I ' m on my way now to see Miss Jackson and Mr. Sargeant. 86

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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

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THE O ' BRIAN ' S THANKSGIVING DINNER. Catherine Clock. OMEHOW, no one ever seemed to think much of the O ' Brians. But it was not so strange, perhaps, for they were the poorest family in the village and, as was perfectly natural, made themselves as insignificant as possible. The town folks regarded them with a sort of in- different tolerance, all except the Elwood Twins, who were always searching for some- thing unusual to do. They had suddenly developed a prodig- ious interest in the dirty little Irish children, who greatly appreciated their frequent visits, and even more so, the bags of candy and other goodies that usually accompanied them. Therefore, the Monday before Thanksgiving found the twins sitting before the old-fashioned fire-place, cracking nuts, munching apples and planning a magnificent Thanks- giving diimer for ' ' those poor little O ' Brian children. ' ' Which shall it be, pumpkin or mince pie? asked Mildred. ' ' Both, ' urged Madge. ' ' We ' ll get mother to bake some for us. She ' d have to bake some for the family, anyhow. If Harriet would only contribute her share, but we ' ve asked her twice and she positively refused. I told her we only needed one dollar more but she snapped back, ' Dollars don ' t grow on trees, and you won ' t get any from me to feed those stupid, worthless O ' Brians. ' While Madge and Mildred were thus confiding in each other, Harriet was reading in the Town Library. Tiring of her book, she strolled down to the basement, where, in one of her previous researches, she had discov- ered a room in which many interesting stuffed birds were kept. For almost an hour the girl busied herself with queer birds from every land. Then, noticing that darkness was falling, she turned hastily to go. 87