Polytechnic High School - Caerulea Yearbook (Long Beach, CA)

Page 14 text:

ef GHG 'I' ' of ' LLFRGG T was a dull, dreary afternoon. H ea v y, rain-soaked clouds if lnmg low in the sky, clouds Wir, which, before uigmfaii, will have dampened considerably the few .square miles of territory that, accord- ing to the broken sign on the box-like railway station, was known as Bull- frog. The little back room of Lige Per- p kins, general store held its usual after- ' noon crowd of 'ginfluential citizens of Bullfrogf' and old Jim Crawford, as usual, was doing the talking. g'Yes, sir,', .lim wa.s saying, I maintains that there are times when it is absolutely necessary for a man to lie. A lie can do just as much good as the truth many times an, Iill prove it to you some time. There ainit any occasion fer it now, but I'll prove it. The old 1112111 gave his head a peculiar jerk. It was his strange way of giving a note of assurance and finality to what he had said. '6VVa-al, Jim,', drawled Lem Tucker, mebbe you're right and mebbe youire not. Leastwise it donit do no harm to prove itf' Yep, you gotta show us, Jim, broke in Lige Perkins. HA good 111any people says as how a man's got to be a good liar to get along in business. Now I don't consider myself a liar, but I will say Iim a real pert business man. .lim Crawford smiled at the storekeeper's boastfulness and then spoke again. A good liar, providin' he is good, is all right as long as he lies fer the good of all concerned. Jim was possibly speaking pretty strongly for one of the con- servative members of Bullfrog's elite, but this was not altogether unusual. Une or two more farmers came in from the front of the store

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O, blighted l1ill, whose furrowed back is torn By whirling shafts of steel through all 'the night, Whose very heart is rent by screaming drillsg Resent this dinning rack, and show your might. The brooding hill crouched lowe1'. All the day Its baleful glance surveyed the dismal sight, A shudder racked its derrick-bristled crown. The hill lay ready, waiting for the night. Then when the shroud of darkness clasped tl1e da And all the city slept in quietude, A rumbling blast re-echoed through the night, And woke to terror all the multitude. A 'tongue of fire shot up and licked the sky, A tortured flame that struggled to be free. The roar resounded in the vault of space, And drowned the deep-voiced rumble of the sea. Woe be to him who taunts old Vulcan's might, Or thrusts his darts in Pluto's Stygian halls. On him who seeks to rob their ebon wealth, The roaring rage of all Cinnneria falls. ltlelvin Nielsen A '22 3 9 V U

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' ' Robert ' Givvin ' Clark and found themselves seats on the Var- ious boxes which we1'e .scattered about the floor of the little room. Jim was about to go on with the expression of l1is views, when the door opened and the proprietor entered, followed by a young man whom he introduced as a drummer from the city. He was a good-looking young chap and well-dressed, but he had a i sort of supereilious air about him which l did not make a very good first impres- f sion upon the older men, especially Jim Crawford. Glad to know you, gems, he said in a somewhat jovial tone of voice. Mr, Perkins tells me that you are having your daily con- fab. I suppose that you are eithjer talking about politics or ghosts. Mind if I listen?', Ghosts,,, mused Jim, half to himself. Ghosts The word seemed to set him to thinking deeply. But the young salesman l1ea1'd him. Yes, ghosts. A small town of this sort isnit really alive unless it has at least one family ghost to talk about. You don't mean to tell me that this burg hasn't one? 93 This was a gibe at Bullfrog which pricked Jim Crawfordls civic pride. f'VVell, he replied, before any o11e else could answer, this town ainit so awfully backward. VVe have got a ghost here, an' a mighty lively o11e at that. VVant to hear the story?', 6'Sure, said the young man, let'.s have it. The rest of the men looked st1'angely at Jim Crawford, but said nothing. They knew enough to keep still when Jim was going to tell a story, so they just shifted their quids from one side to the other and looked wise.