Trivoli Community High School - Memoir Yearbook (Trivoli, IL)

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Of the hardest questions, and the pick the teacher Has on you, and the prospects of flunking Make thee to shudder and get cold feet- Take the advice of thy beloved teacher and spend The night before in calm and quiet, opening Not thy books to cram and study, but get A good night's rest and sleep. If thou dost this As she suggests-yet a few more days and thy Report card will testify that thou hast FLUNKED. But so study that when the summons comes to join That innumerable carvan, which moves To that mysterious place-the office-where each Shall go to register for another semester, Thou go not, as one who feels down in his boots That he has flunked, but sustained and soothed By the fact that thou didst cram, and still Have hopes of passing-and can go on with The class that thou didst begin with. Radio Jack Wheeee-P-P-P-scratch-scratch. There issued forth a most dis- pleasing sound from the loud speaker, as John McFarlan, otherwise known as Radio Jack, adjusted the dials of his small home-made radio set. Finally the sound of a man's voice was heard in the distance, an- nouncing the number on the program. More adjusting, followed' with more success. A varied program was the result interrupted by hideous scratches. As the program ended, Jack turned off the current and with a disgusted sigh lay down on his bed. Jack was the son of Mr. and Mrs. James McFarlan, who were poor people working by the day, and had hard times making ends meet. Jack, that summer, had earned enough money to send himself to the nearby high school. With the meager surplus, he had constructed the small receiving set which had just given such unsatisfactory returns. Finally he prepared for bed, going to sleep almost instantly. Close onto two o'clock, he awoke, and being restless, got up and took a turn about the room. Lying down was followed by thirty minutes of restless tossing, after which he tuned in on the air partly because he was lone- some and partly because he had a curious feeling which began to de- mand attention. The experience of last evening was repeated. After ten minutes' tuning, nothing was heard, and he was about to shut down when there came the voice of a man calling off the following numbers: 2-18-9-14-7 20-8-5 25-1-20-3-8 13-25-19-20-5-18-25 23-9-20-8 2-15-15- 20-25 20-15 14-5-23 25-15-18-11, D'you hear me Dud? I got 'cha, Jim, was the answer. Page Fifty-four

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v ------- --are ------- They carefully picked their way to a place designated between the two tunnels. If the two bands of smugglers met here it would be hard to overcome them. At noon they were stationed behind rocks not far from the American tunnel, but two men were placed to watch the Mex- ican side. Suddenly six masked Mexicans, all of them heavily armed, rode out of the tunnel. A short 'thands up ! They came to a stop before they had advanced ten feet. Twelve armed men with ready rifles, under Lieutenant Barnes, stepped from their hiding places. Carefully cover- ing these men, they disarmed them and seized the pack horses. Keep- ing them under heavy guard, Ralph and the Lieutenant opened the packs and found ammunition. Their curiosity aroused, they searched farther into the goods. In a separate box unmarked, they found many precious gems. This was quite a funny thing to be smuggled by Mex- icans. Still another surprise greeted them, for when the masks were torn from their faces, they proved to be a group of desperate criminals under Richard Bartson, and wanted for more crimes than one. The reward was pictured in Ralph's eyes, since a huge price was of- fered for the arrest of this notorious gang. After tying these desper- adoes to their horses, the men planted over a hundred pounds of pow- der in the two tunnels and Diaz was given the honor of setting it off. A sudden rumble and the smugglers' connecting link caved in. Quickly rising, Ralph saw the approaching storm and also four Mexicans leaving the vicinity towards Mexico. Arriving home, Ralph thanked Diaz heartily and the criminals were taken to the national prison. Ralph received a great share of the honor and reward. To his utter amazemennt, came the telegram say- ing, Promotion of Ralph Morean to Lieutenant with an advance of wages and forty days' leave of absence. A kind hand rested on his shoulder, and as Captain Henderson congratulated Ralph, he said The kind of a fellow that makes America invincible. D. B., Class of '25. Examinopsis lWith Apologies to William Cullen Bryantl To him who in the love of wisdom holds Communion with her various text books, she speaketh Knowledge. For more studious hours She hath good grades, and a stand-in with The teacher-and she comes To his assistance, when forgetting, with such Realness, that the teacher knows not that she's Bluifing through the term. But, when thoughts Of the last bitter finals come like a cloud Across thy horizon, and vague imagination Page Fifty-three

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By this time Jack was on his feet, excitely bending over his set. Nothing was heard after Hfteen minutes more listening. He paced the room. What could the message be? There must be some sort of il- legal proceedings, otherwise why the late hours and secret code? He wrestled with the question until he saw evidence of dawn in the east when he lay down to rest until called. He dozed off, and the next thing he knew his father was calling at the foot of the stairs. This was Mon- day morning, which meant school and lessons. That morning as he walked to school, he pondered over the question until his head was a haze of figures. He studied the figures from all sides and angles, but he could not detect the meaning. That morning in mathematics, the only numbers which took def- inite form in his head, were the numbers heard last night. He sat dur- ing science, studying the code. The instructor seeing him, compelled him to sit in a chair by his side. This made Jack feel rather embar- rassed, but still he wondered and puzzled over the myterious message. Suddenly a bright light came over his face. Was it possible? Could it be, that the numbers stood for letters? He took paper and pencil and figured out the code. Yes, it was the mysterious message. The astound- ing words were: Bring the yacht, Mystery, with booty to New York.'f As he read these words, he started in his chair until it almost tipped over. The instructor fixed a gaze on him that caused him to stammer out a half audible explanation. You may go, said the instructor, Hand bring me an explanation of your behavior tomorrow. Jack got up, seized his cap and ran all the way home. Finding the paper in the box, he frantically opened it. There it was in big head- lines: TRAIN LOADED WITH U. S. CURRENCY ROBBEDX' He went on to read the details of the robbery, which stated the belief of the officials that the crime was committed by a well organized gang. The train had been loaded with currency from the mint at Washington for the New York banks. The loss was said to have amounted to several millions. As he finished the account, he gave a low whistle: I'll go to Mother and Dad and ask 'em if I can go to New York and lay the information before the authorities. It's only an hour's ride on the cars. His parents were somewhat skeptical, but finally consented. Jack hurried to his room, donned his best clothes and caught the two-thirty train to New York. Upon arrival he hurried to police headquarters where he asked to-see the chief. He was put off by the reply, The chief's busy now, working on the big train robbery. He can't be both- ered with you now. You go to the Lieutenant. ' That's just what I want to see him about, answered Jack. At tlliisfstatement he was immediately ushered into the presence of the c ie . Page Fifty-five