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

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told me that he had received news of an injury to father at Buffalo. He must have sent Jim on an errand, for he wasn ' t in the car, and Rath drove it. He pretended to go to Buffalo, but he came way up here, intending, as he said, to make me marry him. She then told of Rollo ' s appearance on the scene, disastrous to Rath, and almost so for them, and as much as she knew of her rescue. But how in the world did you happen to be in the car? demanded Rollo ' s father sus- piciously of his shame-faced son. Oh I had an attack of — er, dizziness, and I got in to rest. I must have fallen asleep. There was an obvious limp in his story. Rollo turned to Clara: So we were supposed to marry each other all the time. She nodded. Well, I ' ll be— Your husband, he finished. For the next few moments Old Rollo, Mr. Branch, and the driver, concentrated on the beautiful scenery across the river.

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Well you needn ' t git huffy, returned the farmer unbending a trifle. Folks can ' t be too keerful of their reppitations. I guess I kin fix you up. For the remainder of the morning till seven o ' clock the girl slept in a bedroom upstairs, while Rollo had an old couch in the dining room. Their host seemed to trust him with the family silver at any rate. When the clock struck a tinny seven, the wife of the farmer woke him. Jed ' s goin ' to Durham ' s, she informed him, an ' if you want to tellygraph, you kin ride with him. She appeared to be a kind, motherly little woman. I ' m bakin ' , she continued, an can ' t get you a reg ' lar meal, but there ' s some milk an ' coffee, an ' some cold ham on the table there. You ' dbetter eat before you go. Yer sister, Clary, was sleepin ' so nice it was a pity to wake her up, so I left her sleep. Rollo was disappointed. He was anxious to see the girl once more. He almost fancied that he was in love with her. Well, he could wait. He thanked the old lady, and was finished eating, when a tremendous i-attling sounded outside the door. He seized his hat and coat which were now dry, and hurried out. Jed was sitting in an old Ford, of some ten years of age, judging from appearances. It quivered from radiator cap to tail light. Morning,, sallied the tiller of the soil, somehow less formidable when seen by daylight. Thought I might as well give yuh a lift, sence I was goin ' anyhow! Rollo returned the greeting, and thanked him for his consideration. It most certainly would be more pleasant to ride the five miles, for the sun was already hot enough to be dis- agreeable. The car, though old and decrepit as it was, covered the ground with surprising agility, reaching the settlement in shortly under fifteen minutes. He found his way to the diminutive telegraph station with no difficulty, and handed to the operator an envelope containing the message which the girl wished sent. She seemed to be afraid that he might forget a verbal message, so the night before — or to be exact, earlier in the morning — she had given him the envelope. It was nearly two hours later that the reply came. Jed had completed the deal which brought him to town, and was waiting, so they returned. It was after ten o ' clock when the farm was reached. The girl looked prettier than ever in the sunlight as she read the answer- ing wire. ... ' Father will be here as soon as he can, by motor, she exclaimed. It will be late this afternoon, though. Rollo was nothing loath to spend the afternoon in her company. She called him Ted. He called her Clara, the name of the only girl with whom he had ever been involved, and whom he had never seen. After viewing all of the live-stock, especially the clumsy gambols of a small calf, she announced her intention of picking wild flowers. They crossed a pasture to the woods by which they had passed after their thrilling ex- perience that morning. Flowers were very much in evidence, and they spent a long time gath- ering Mayflowers and violets. Her eyes, he discovered, were the exact shade of the most purple violet. Do you know, she said suddenly, I could live forever under these blue skies and big trees. And this clear country air — ! Marry me and you can, he replied just as suddenly. His utterance, almost unconscious was most startling. The girl gave him a quick glance, and blushed. But she was not offended. I couldn ' t, anyway, she retorted with a laugh. I ' m a confirmed man hater. But don ' t you think we ' d better go? Rollo certainly did not want to go, but he couldn ' t think of remaining against her wishes, so he agreed. When they came to the farmhouse some time after, it was nearing four o ' clock. They had not waited long before a car, dusty from travel, drove up to the gate. In the tonneau sat Mr. Armitage and a strange man of about his age. Dad! cried Rollo, almost stunned with amazement. Father! exclaimed the girl eagerly. Then you ' re Rollo, she accused in surprise. And — for the love of Mike — , you must be Clara! he countered, more befuddled than ever. Explanations were in order, and the newly discovered Clara was a logical candidate. She undertook the task. We reached New York sooner than we expected, she began. That is, Jim, the chauf- feur, Mr. Rath, and 1 did. Father stopped at Buffalo on business. We left him there yester- day morning, and arrived at New York about this time in the afternoon. Jim took me to the hotel, and Mr. Rath went somewhere else. At about nine last night he came to the hotel and

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IT DOESN ' T LAST VIOLA SCHURRY ' ' Well, I ' m through with them, that ' s all that ' s to it. I hate the sight of every one of them. That ' s the spirit, Ethel, that ' s the stuff. Our club will progress fast if we continue in that spirit. Joyce and Ethel were seated on the davenport in their apartment. Their plans for the Manhater ' s Club were becoming more and more complete. Well, Joyce, since you started this, you must be president. All right, I will be president. Do you suppose Alice will agree with us? Yes, I think she will. She was grumbling the other night about the conceit of men. Here she is now. Hello Al, you ' re just in time. We are discussing a club to rid ourselves, once and for all, of those contemptible, disgusting, loathing creatures, called men. Whew, that sounds good. I ' m with you, girls. I am positively sick at the thought of having some man come up and make himself a nuisance. Where ' s Aunty? She ' gone to the store. Come on, I told her we would start supper. Joyce, Ethel, and Alice worked in that large city, Detroit. Joyce was stenographer at the Gray Motor Company; Ethel bookkeeper at Hudson ' s, and Alice librarian. They rented a very homelike apartment and Alice ' s Aunt Ella kept house for them. She was Aunt to all of them now. After supper was over. Aunt Ella washed the dishes in the little kitchenette and the girls flocked to the living room for further discussion. You know, Alice started, last night. Bob and I went to the theatre, and Hariy Lincoln sat on the opposite side of me. Bob always was jealous and when I started talking to Harry, he simply saw red. I got mad at his ravings on the way home and told him I was through. Alice, I congratulate you, said Joyce, you acted very independent as all women should act. Come on, girls, I ' ll summarize this, Ethel joined in, from now on we have nothing to do with men. We all have stated our hatred for the beasts and now we will live up to it. Fine, fine, cried both of the other girls. So they talked on and on. Many plans were brought up and many rejected. Finally, they decided to be very cold and formal if they chanced to meet any man; to decline all invitations for parties, and to rid their minds, altogether, of this once absorbing topic. Even the Inter- fraternity masquerade ball was not to be favored with their presence. In this way, a month passed with the big event, the masquerade, drawing closer and closer. The subject was never mentioned among the three girls, although deep in the bottom of each girl ' s heart was a longing to go. Joyce was seated at her desk in the Gray Motor ' s office busily typing, when the phone, on her desk, jangled angrily. With an annoying frown, Joyce picked up the receiver and answered, Gray Motor Company. Hello, Joyce, answered an eager voice, how are you? Haven ' t seen you in ages. May I take you to the masquerade? Why, why, a, thanks Stan, I, I ' ll go. Joyce turned back to her work in a whirl of excitement. Almost instantly, the thought of the Manhater ' s Club rushed back. What shall I tell the girls? They won ' t know it, I ' ll make something up. She flew around to buy a costume and decided to dress as the Queen of Hearts. On the night of the masquerade, Joyce was in her room dressing. Funny, she reflected, but lucky for me, that both girls and Aunty should be going out and all to different places. The hall of the Board of Commerce was brightly illuminated. Gay, sprightly, grotesque, objects fluttered to and fro. From one of the corners came the jazzy strains of Lovin ' Sam. Here one could see the Spirit of ' 76 dancing with the Flapper of 1923, Boy Blue grace- fully waltzing with Cinderella in his arms, the Queen of Hearts fluttering around on the arm of Old Father Time. At twelve o ' clock the command came from the balcony: All masks off. The hand of the Queen of Hearts fluttered. What if someone should recognize her and tell the girls. Bravely, though, she took off her mask and turning around saw Old Mother Hubbard to be no one else than Alice. Both girls stared, then giggled hysterically, and rushed for the dress- ing room where they found Cupid, no one else than Ethel, rearranging her hair. All three girls gasped, and then with many explanations and much higgling and gushing all stories were told. Well, anyway, Alice said, I ' m having a wonderful time, and Bob isn ' t so bad after all.