Senn High School - Forum Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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A candle standing on 9 will they 31:2-Muse ilting. T EVENTEEN boys, the N sons of very respec- hn- table families in New ill V Canaan, sat around a M' small keg of cider in gp 'P' the basement of the , ' Presbyterian church. the keg tried weakly to push back the darkness. The boys were not a whit op- pressed by the gloom. Their spirits rose with the disappearance of each cup of cider. They were reasonably safe from fear of detection, for no one ever came near the church between Thursday and Saturday. Besides, Skip Farrel was doing guard duty. The seventeen had deliberately banded together for the purpose of purloining food. Boys of seventeen or thereahout seem to have an eternal hunger. If you otfer food to a growing boy you may always be sure of having it accepted- unless he is on his good behavior or very much embarrassed. These boys, partly because of their love for what they thought a joke, and partly on account of this hunger, made frequent raids on the ice-boxes and back porches of poor helpless fellow villagers. They had deft- ly removed a freezer of ice-cream the night Mrs. Ellis had the church social at her house. They took a barrel of apples from the Rev. Mr. Sloat's summer kitchen, They had also taken some of Mrs. lfiper's fruit jello and she was forced to make dessert on Sunday, an unnecessary labor which she was sure damned her soul forever. Their last escapade had been to carry away a keg of Deacon Lutkin's hard cider, although for the sake of the deacons standing in the community few knew he ever had it. Bill Dailey was the ringleader of the little group. He delivered yfroceries for his father after school: so he had a line opportunity to look things over. Be- fore the lmys planned a raid, he was the one who noted the fastenings on doors and such small details as whether the family had a dog. The boys had just mapped out another such expedition. But now all serious business was past and they were discus- sing the prospective arrival of Lana Forest. lVhenever she came she was the center of attraction. The girls thought she was a cat, Not so the boys, however, and now they were talking about her with much animation. Say fellows, said Bill, Mom says I can give a dance if I want to. Guess I'll have one on Valentine Day-but dubs on Lana or I don't give the party. See ? Cries of Aw Bill, don't be such a hog this time and Dont think you can get away with what you :lid last time arose. But Bill was Firm. No sir, I'm going to have Lana or I don't give the dance. And say fellows, Mom says I can borrow the minister's TTI lllt Q 'init' . l t Someone has taken the icescreamf' Yic'n- he turned the spigot of the cider keg fruitlessly. Say fellows, the cider's all gone. Huh, said 'lim Ferris, and we promised to give two extra to Skip for gnardin'. Hc'll be sore. Come on, kids, let's go up town.

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A Utilv in the Affairs nf dark. It was the night of the big senior masque. And jack Fielding-jack the immaculate, the biggest fusser in the school,-walked slowly up the long, nar- row, winding paths to the school- alone. Other boys walked there too, but at their sides were the girls. jack entered the building and me' chanically had his hat and coat checked. He passed old friends by, without even a perfunctory greeting, and walked quietly into the big gymnasium where the masque was to be held. The senior masque was always the biggest social affair of the year in the school, and this evening the crowd gathered early, while streams of brightly costumed guests flowed constantly through the big doors. In the corners stood girls who were besieged by the many novel mas- quers imploring for dances. And 'lack was alone! Yesterday such a thing would have been thought improbable, and yet here he was all alone. A group of boys had gathered in one of the corners and were now discussing this topic. Various theories were ex- pounded and exploded, many sugges- tions were oifered and refused, but Charles, Jack's best friend and most loyal follower, was silent. Suddenly he spoke, and sharply. You fellows are all barking up the wrong tree. I'in going to tell you the exact story as I heard it from jack him- self, and as I know from my personal observations. You all mean well, you're all wrong. She's a beautiful girl, you'll all mit that, and ever since her father, German consul, came to this city, and 'lack have been on the best of terms. They were inseparable in school, and whenever you saw one at a party or dance, you didn't have to look far before you saw the other one. but ads the she 7 ,f t 'jack got in good with her dad from the start, and was up at her house nearly every night. Her father told him all about Germany, and about the Kaiser, and about the German's hatred for Italy, because of that country's failure to stand by her allies. Clara usually shared her father's prejudices, and she hated Italy. 'lack always acquiesced to every statement she made. He was no fool-yet! And so time passed, until they had been going together for some months- At this point a convict entered and in- formed Charles that he was to have the next dance. He left, and the group of boys waited impatiently for his return. Finally he came back, As I was saying, he commenced, mopping his brow, they had been going together for many months when4well, you all know julius Caesar- 'There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the Hood leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage Is bound in shallows and of their life in miseries'. For one day And so it was with jack. at least, he left all his usual tact at home, and now he's sitting over corner all alone. You know ,lack usually eats over at the store with us, but that day it had been raining and there was a regular lake on the campus, so he thought he would eat in the lunch room, and he did. .-Xnd who was seated two tables in front of him and facing him, but Clara! XVell, he smiled at her, she smiled at him, they both smiled at each other: then she glanced at his plate- Aud? lt was all off. VVhat-w hy ? He had spaghetti that noon ! there in the f ,E fi , llrm ., Mw s- V i 'V . ,QB Edgar E. Stcrnheim. , m

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THE FORUM Seven So they carefully put out the candle and, that they might be less noticeable, left the church in little groups. It 4 It lk Ik lk X lk Lana and St. Valentine's Day came in due time, though it seemed to Bill that he had waited for years. He and his mother had argued and discussed every detail. Although for the n1ost part Mrs. Dailey had convinced him of his ignor- ance in regard to social procedure, Bill had ventured one suggestion that met with her approval. He wished to have ice-cream molded into heart shapes. He had wanted them red, but his mother had forbidden that absolutely and had diplo- matically suggested a dark pink. Many times he had rehearsed the scene in which he should present the beautiful Lana with a blushing heart-his heart, he passion- ately told himself. Almost daily he had gone to the drug store to tell the clerk to be sure and have it an awful dark pink and not to forget to order the heartshaped mold. His pleas must have had some effect, for promptly at seven-thirty the ice- cream with the mold arrived and was placed in state on the back porch. He went early to call for Lana, and with her at his side, he received his guests! I-Ie felt very important and was enjoying himself thoroughly. After a little awkward pause in which a supreme effort at dignified conversation was made, the dancing began. Bill passed the next two hours in an excited daze terminated at last by the appearance of his mother at the dining-room door. She beckoned, and he went to her impatiently. He hoped she wasn't going to ask him to help serve! O lVilliam, she cried, someone has taken the ice-cream! What the-. Who could have done that ? VVell, there are others in this town who would like to know that beside you, observed Mrs. Dailey tartly. Many thoughts were running through Bill's nonplussed head. They ran strangely to jello, cider and the minis- ter's apples, Gee whiz, it's kind o' fierce --. I didn't know-. VVell, VVilliam, don't stand there like a calf. Hurry up and run over to the minister's house and telephone for some more ice-cream. You may not be able to get it all one kind, but for goodness sake get something! At the door he turned, Mom, he cried pathetically, did they take the mold t00 ? at x ir ir ir -r is at The Rev. Mr. Sloat was speaking very earnestly to his wife, You know, jerry, I wasn't sure that it was the boys till I found the deacon's cider keg in the church basement along with that queer old cup of Mrs. Dailcy's. I've known the meanness to come out of boys Bill's age in some mighty queer ways. It's funny I didn't think of them before- Then after I did get an inkling, Bill came over to ask for the Victrola and told about the ice-cream he was going to have. The idea came to me then and I couldn't resist-Poor VVilliaml He did look so unhappy when he came over to telephone. I hated to make him take all the punishment, but I more than half think this business will stop now-And I guess Bill will remember this better than any sermon. XVilma L. Mentzer. . . ll Q --F' lfslfr-Q ., li,, , 7,