West Side High School - Legenda Yearbook (Saginaw, MI)

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during these days. On one of her days off duty, Sylvia went to a jeweler ' s shop to have her watch regulated. She was dressed very plainly, her only ornament being her black pearls. As she was explaining the condition of her watch to the salesman, he noticed her beads and said: Why, Miss Zane, what beautiful pearls! You certainly did not get them here, did you? Sylvia told him of the purchase, and added. I don ' t imagine they ' re of very great value, for they cost only forty dollars. The man who was waiting on Sylvia was a foreigner, and had a foreign accent very hard to describe. As he looked at the beads, his eyes narrowed and a look of triumph came over his face. Would you wish to have them tested, Miss Zane. I ' m sure they must be worth a great deal more, said the foreigner. Well, now that you ' ve aroused my curiosity I believe I shall, said Sylvia smiling. Very well, you may leave them now, if you wish. Call for them any day within the next two weeks. Sylvia took the beads from about her neck and put them into the man ' s hands. When she had left, he clasped them to his heart, for there was no one else in the store, and murmured, Cassa is avenged. The rumor that the war could not last much longer began to spread throughout the country. Everyone was waiting, waiting. Sylvia had word that Jack would be among the first sent back, because he was still quite ill. One day when she was shopping, she stopped to get her beads. The same man waited upon her. Yes, Miss Zane, he said, you have quite a rare necklace here, quite rare. We could not determine the exact value, but it must be in the thousands. Take good care of it. And Sylvia took the necklace, and never dreamed that in the safe of the store, lay the pearls which she had purchased in France. When she was leaving, the man said : The prophecy has been fulfilled. Miss Zane. And Sylvia replied: Yes, isn ' t it wonderful? She had refer- ence to the end of the war, but the foreigner was thinking of the words of the old man, Narga, spoken so many centuries ago. It may have been only a coincidence — but on the very day that Jack came home to Sylvia, an Assyrian arrived in a far off country, and with him the necklace of black pearls. They were returned to what was left of the temple of Cassa. At last, the order of Magon had ful- filled its mission through the work of the Assyrian jeweler. And so the words of Narga had come true; Whoever has these jewels shall lose them, for they shall be stolen. I care not who owns them. Wherever they go, there will be war until they are restored. But, if thy be given back without bloodshed, the last owner shall be happy.

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well, all who hear, who ever has these jewels shall lose them, for they shall be stolen. I care not who owns them. Wherever the jewels go, there will be war until they are restored. But, if they be given back without bloodshed, the last owner shall be happy. After the princess had grown tired of her necklace, it was locked away with the other treasures of the court and almost forgotten. But, in Assyria, the black jewels were remembered. In the heart of every Assyrian simmered wrath and revenge. Then an order of Assyrian men was formed. Their leader was Magon, and they swore a solemn oath that they and their descendants would never give up the search until the black jewels were restored to the temple of Cassa. The ages rolled on, Babylon rose and fell, the Assyrians had their day; but they did not recover their jewels. The necklace was taken from one place to another. How, only the gods know. Sylvia Zane had been studying in Paris for several months. She was one of these American girls who have plenty of money, and like their freedom. She was pretty and frivolous; and at the present time, she was trying her hand at painting. Quite frequently she visited old curiosity shops in search of some old minatures. It was on one of these visits that she found a string of black pearls. She had happened to stop to inquire about a small painting in the window, and while the owner of the shop was wrapping it, she wandered about looking over the stock. The shop was very old and dusty. There were shelves on the walls covered with the usual curios found in such places. In a corner of one of the lower shelves, she saw an odd, red velvet box. It was very dusty, and as she picked it up, a spider ran out from behind it. On opening it, she found the string of black pearls. Oh, monsieur, she cried, how much do you want for these? They are worth two-hundred francs, he replied. Let me see, said Sylvia thoughtfully, that is forty dollars, is it not? Yes, mademoiselle, said the old man, do you want them? I think I do, said Sylvia, because they are so odd. Where did they come from? I could not tell you. Most of this stock was here when I bought the shop. Will there be anything else? No, that is all for now, Sylvia was very delighted with her new beads, and wore them almost constantly. She remained in Europe until August of 1914, when so many Americans left on account of the war. Sylvia ' s home was in New York City. When she returned, she found life quite a bore. There was nothing for this young adventur- ous person to do. It seemed that many young Americans needed some- thing to occupy themselves with at that time. And, at last, that word came — War! Then Sylvia was busy, canteen work. Red Cross, and motor corps service; everything came at once. At one of the camps near her home, Sylvia renewed an old acquaintance with Jack Haccum, whom she had met in college. Every Sunday found Jack at the Zane home, all furloughs were spent with Sylvia. At last came the day of departure. Before Jack left, he made sure that Sylvia would be waiting for him when he came back. Again came dull and tiresome days for Sylvia, in spite of all her duties. Then came the day of anxiety and suspense, when Jack was to lead his company over the top. Next was the message, he had been wounded in action. Sylvia grew more serious and a little older

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Betty Needs Awakening Bessie Close The Cottages near the beach were all in a state of excitement. This was being placed and moved. Everything was having the last touches put upon it. Surely some great personage was expected. To the people working, a great person was coming. Betty Smith, their beloved schoolmate, who had been so sick was to arrive in the after- noon. Just before graduation, Betty had had a nervous breakdown and although she had recovered physically, she was not yet her old self. She wasn ' t interested in anything and always had a dreamy, listless look in her eyes. Her friend, by much planning, had persuaded Mrs. Smith and Betty to spend two weeks at the beach. Thank goodness that ' s done. I ' m so tired I ' m ready to die. All you have to do now is to see that Betty and Mrs. Smith have a lunch when they get here. Oh, by the way, Sue, is Jane ready to carry out her part of our plan? We ' ll all rest tonight but we ' ll be ready for a good time tomorrow. Oh yes, don ' t worry about Jane doing her share for Betty. I ' ll go in and see about that lunch now. Sue ran off, entered the cottage, and started to work harder than ever. Suddenly she looked at the clock, only half an hour to dress in! Jane! Jane! come and help me dress. Jane came in all dressed and ready for Betty. Well, Sue, what are you so excited about, you only have to change your apron. Just as if Betty ' s coming wasn ' t enough to excite anyone. At the end of the half hour, Jane and Sue joined the rest of the young people who were out watching for the auto that was to bring Betty. Soon some one yelled, its coming, and before the rest could add anything, the auto had stopped and Jack was assisting Betty and Mrs. Smith from the automobile. Jane and Sue looked at one another. Surely this was the old Betty. She looked so beautiful in her trim hat and thin dress. But no, she was pale and tired-looking. It seemed to require an effort for her to speak. Jane went to the rescue. Now don ' t all be bothering Betty with questions until she ' s rested. Come on up to our cottage, Betty, and rest for a while. Betty, Mrs. Smith, and Jane went up to the cottage. Some of the boys started to get wood for a big fire that night. Sue and Jack started to walk slowly back to the cottage. Jack had a pained expres- sion on his face. Sue, did you see how she looked? Just as if she wanted to go straight back home. Oh, I do hope this will help her. Sue, you ' ll do your best to help her, won ' t you? Just as if I wouldn ' t do anything for Betty. Say Jack, don ' t think you ' re the only one that likes her. The next morning all were up early, but none earlier than Jane. Their plan was to keep Betty amused all the while without tiring her. Today, was Jane ' s day to provide the fun. As she was strolling along the beach, she passed the huge boulder, as they called it, and suddenly came upon Betty. Why, up so early Betty? It ' s my turn to worry today. I just felt like coming out here, and I found this lovely spot and sat down. Betty, do you want to know what we ' re going to do today? And from that time on, Jane talked incessantly to Betty for half an hour.