Western Oregon University - Yearbook (Monmouth, OR)

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m '. llnshvd unbidden lw km-w the 30ch F i... mm sure she 11:? s m-ur low ti r vklvxs pace d rhungnl t0 denow: own the fear 'l '1! Ruth's name dB: hrnkq- HVOF the foot dial. t l m, Ruth cameinslgh p1 fsu't'. vallml, indicatingm. u-d up tn the ledgeoul piun-d hl'r agates. ll 'um which she had . 'r surfact- uf themd M nut pull herselfup rmu'h u huld for be?! ill Hf llft' ledgaandll 1n rlimh up nearertll . EUR! lu'vatlllesishe lt Mary. framimlly. '1' , q tm-pwr than this- 1 0-;u'h nlher, tlthe Ml. lll' t'ullml. Mal'l'bllh b V .. gd 'I'nm ulmvr mne DJ . -; 3 LBJ. H thi' rilk' 350 1h . - n nil? 9 Hm utter 9mm pl .THIRTY-ONE THE N ORM . lWith apologies to IrvingJ l .OEVER has lived in the Willamette Valley must be familiar with the ivy-clad Normal building of the A Modern Rip Van Winkle little Village of Monmouth. It is a brick structure, lBy BESSIE BAYSJ With two. stories and an. attic, and was erected by some of the early citizens of the place as a training school for teachers. ,1 At the time Of my lstOiryf the attic, was seldom visited, but those who clamber'ed up. there, when the weather was. fair and settled, could overlook all the surrounding neighborhood. Near this. building, and in this same village, there lived, many years since, a young girl by the name of Gertrude Ro-hr, a student Vonf the Normal. She was a simple, good-natured girl, a kind classmate and a great favorite among all the other students. She assisted them bat their sports, made up good excuses for them when they wished to miss class and told them long stories of ghosts, witches and. goblins. On a fine, sunny afternoon, she could frequently be seen on the campus, surrounded by a group of students, ready to. listen to some story she had heard or imagined. The great error 01 G-eartrudel's composition was an. insuper'able aversion to all kinds of study. She was the foremost girl in all school frolics, but as to getting her lessons she found it im- possible. Her instructor's kept continually dinning in her ears about her idleness, her carelessness and the ttMinus C,s she was W1 getting in every test. One day, after an unusually poor lesson in Technical English, Gertrude was neudluced almost to despair, and to escape her in- structors and sympathizing classmates, gathered her Carsonls H and Book up and started for the attic, determined to conquer , the mysteries of Carsonian:ism. On reaching the attic, she threw herself panting and fatigued 0n the sofa in the Y. W . C. A. room and seen fell asleep. . . She had not been sleeping long when she heard a vome saylng, llGertrude! Gertrude? She'looked anxiously into the darkness

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THIRTY a THE NORM white and yellow stones. A thought fiashed unbi-dden through his mind. ttThose agates ! Instantly he knew the secret of Rut:h,s mysterious behavior that morning. He was sure she had meant to try to get into the shags cave. ttIVs near 10w t1de new. Per; haps if I hurwry-Jt He dashed at a reckless pace down the creek, Upon the rocks, Marys anxiety Changed to fear. The tlde was rising faster now. Mary shrieked Ruth7s name desperately,- Still no answer. Nearly every wave broke over the foot of the ledge. The rocks at the end were covered. W ild'ly Mary called, and as she did so, Ruth came in sight. A glance showed her the danger she must face. tTll have to climb up here, she called, indicating the spur above. ttYou cant! screamed Mary. Before she tried, however, she tossed up to- the ledge on which Mary lay the bag in which she had placed her agate'ss. Then in vain she tried to! regain the spur from which she had dropped . t0 the floor of the cave. The under surface of the rock was slippery with seaweed, and she could not pull herself up high . enough to: gain a secure footing or reach a hold for her hands. The waves: were breaking over the end of the ledge, and the side of it was steep and 'slimy. She tried to climb up nearer the end, but slipped and fell. At last, bruised and breathless, she gave up her useless attempts and looked up at Mary. ttTrwy the other side V, urged Mary, frantically. ' Ruth shook her head. ttNo use-w'itts steeper than this Vt They waited, gazing helplessly at each other, till the waves began to wash near where Ruth stood. tTll have to- bitter sob's. But as. Ruth turned, a loud call from above caused both girls to look up. They saw Wil'l coming down the rocks at a headlong: pace. It was the work of a. moment to. fasten one end of the rone hecam'led to a point of rock and to lower the other end to Ruth. Wlth the help of the rope, she soon climbed to safety. . W11Ps face was paler than hers, and. his. voice shook with some Eglsttlogpther than anger as he asked, ttDid you come for moss a . es. r001Euth nodded, pointing to the bag in front of them on the s. ttWell, young lady? declared Will, ttyou owe them. and our life to two patches of olrange-colored fungi. y go back in the cave? she called. Mary broke into .. .1. '3: um um :In'w in a m ha: :- mw :4 llth n u- am- :5 hm taw- 5 Nu

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THE N ORM THIRTY-TWO and perceived a strange hgure, dressed in a dark robe. She Was somewhat surprised at the familiarity of the strangers. appear- ance. N ething interrupted the. stlllness 0f the scene until the stranger spoke again in. that same mysterllo'us Ymce, ,Cefne, FOL low me, and I will teach you how to change C s to- A st. Gertrude was somewhat frightenedt, but deCIded to obey this injunction; but, as she was groping 1n the da:I:'knze-ss, trymg to follow the mysterious, figure, she felt herself golng down, down, down, until she crushed her head on the stone walk below and knew no more. On awakening, she found herself in a strange room. She rubbed her eyes. It was a bright, sunny morning. There was a great noise from the street, as of busy bustling and hurrying of many feet on stone pavements and a clang of numerous. street cars. tSurely? thought Gertrude, tTm not dreaming. She re- called the occurrences. before she fell asleep. ttOh! my lessons ! exclaimed poor Gertrude. ttWhat excuse shall I make to the faculty ?,t She looked around for her Carson?s Hand Book, but it was gone. She now hastened to leave the room, which. had the appear- ance of a large hospital. With feeble and faltering steps She reached the street. Here poor Gertrude was brought to a stand- The little Village seemed to! have changed into a. mass of magnify eient buildings, dotted with various signs of life that we're un- familiar to her. n sip: ?Ii-T Wt