Willard Middle School - Target Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

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4 The Target From Court-Martial to Cross The court room was silent. Private Smith was being tried for cowardice under fire. The court was meeting in a house near the front lines. The judge arose to give the verdict, Guilty. Bang! A shell crashed into the room. Ten minutes later the Red Cross workers carried Private Smith to the hospital. He was the only one alive. Private Smith, what was the ver- dict of the court? asked one officer when he gained consciousness. What should he do? He didn ' t want to be shot. Well, no one would ever know, so The verdict was not guilty, sir, he answered. Recovering, he was sent to the front with a bad conscience. It was a busy sector and the Germans made occasional trench raids. One night the Germans suddenly left in the midst of a raid. The Americans saw the flare of a fuse which was attached to dynamite. All were para- lyzed except Smith who, jerking up a sand bag, thrust it upon the blaze in time to save every one but him- self. He had saved a hundred men, but the surgeons said his wounds were fatal. Private Smith, hearing this, confessed that the court had pronounced him guilty. He would at least die with a clear conscience. Ten days later the crisis had passed and in two weeks Private Smith was well. In another week an automo- bile took him from the hospital with two armed guards to the general ' s stone building. His heart sunk. He thought they would surely shoot him because he had confessed. As they came to the wall he expected to be placed against it. But they took him into the building. He thought they were preparing him to be shot. He was surprised to see the general and the staff officers. He saluted and the general, stepping forward, shook hands with him. Private Smith was astounded. He had come thinking he was to be shot, and instead to shake hands with the general was enough to knock him over. Corporal Smith, said the general, you have been reported to me to have saved several of your comrades from death; come here while I pin this war cross on you. Corporal Smith fainted. GEROW VAN NOSTRAND. HUMPTY DUMPTY IN THE ORIENT. It was the day after we had arrived in Plongkong. We were putting up at the St. George ' s Hotel while wait- ing to make the connection with the P. and O. bound for Singapore. Our room was situated on the third story and opened onto a sort of porch that overhung the street. My sister and I were not allowed to eat our meals downstairs with the grownups and so the Chinese boy would bring them up to us on trays. This morning there were soft-boiled eggs on the bill of fare and we found they were served English style, and so tried to eat them in English man- ner. This consists in taking off with a knife a small part of the top

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The Target 3 must beat her. We will. The captain ' s little eyes gleamed with anger and his face grew red. Thief! he cried. Then, remem- bering his father ' s saying, Wrath doesn ' t mean success, but coolness means everything, he calmed him- self. John, he said, tell the fireman to give her the limit. At once the Galeworth shot for- ward and kept the distance very well. At this rate we ought to get to the island at eight o ' clock tonight, said the engineer. On and on went the Galeworth, with the Woodpeck about five miles away. Suddenly the boat began to slacken its pace and soon came to a standstill. Commotion was every- where. Something was wrong. The Woodpeck was closing up the gap between the two. Now they were just a mile from the Galeworth. The engine is fixed, explained the engineer at last to the captain. There was a leak in the boiler which we had to mend. Again the Galeworth started and gradually she gained on the Wood- peck, and as the afternoon dragged on she began to outdistance her rival. At eight o ' clock they sighted the island and by nine they had anchored. The small boats were let down the sides of the ship and the captain, mate, pilot and a few trusted sailors rowed to shore. They jumped out and with the chart and a flashlight they found the cave in which the treasure was hidden. Dig, boys, dig! said the captain in excitement. For three hours they dug, and in that time they had suc- ceeded in removing the treasure box. The captain opened the steel door with a key, which was attached to the chart. He pulled up the cover and there they saw — Billie! Billie! Get up! it is after eight and you will be late for your appointment with the dentist. Aw, mamma, you spoilt my dream. I almost saw Spanish Gold. EDWIN BUCKALEW. MY FIRST TROUT. Mr. Harris, a Forest Reserve man, decided to take his Sunday School class on a fishing trip to Dear Creek and I was lucky enough to be invited to go along. We started early one Saturday morning and after a two hours ' walk we came to a beautiful spot where there were many deep pools in which the trout love to lie. After fishing up and down the creek for about two hours we built a fire and fried some of the trout for our lunch. Now we were fortified and ready to try to catch a crafty old fellow who had fooled us in the morning. As luck would have it when we got back the fish was still biting. I was ready and cast out near the mid- dle of the creek and waited expect- antly for a tug which came in a few minutes. After slowly and painfully reeling in my line, to my surprise and consternation what should I reel in but an old shoe. With the sight of this and the roar of laughter that followed I was ready to give up bin Mr. Harris dissuaded me. After what seemed ages to me I felt an- other tug but was a little timid to reel for fear it might be cause for more merriment. I finally decided to take a chance and this time not so painstakingly. I began to draw in my line. This time by a streak of beginner ' s luck I landed a battle- scarred veteran about nine inches long. JOHN MOORE.

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The Target of the egg and then scooping the in- sides out with a spoon little larger than a salt spoon. When we finished we found that we had almost an entire eggshell left. It would be quite a while before the grown folks came back upstairs and in the meantime we had to find some- thing to do. 1 know, said my sister, let ' s play Humpty Dumpty with the egg shells. All right, said I; how do you play it? She took the egg shells, placed them on the railing of the porch and then climbed up to look over at the street below. It was a typical Chinese street, narrow and dirty, with a number of Chinese coolies carrying ponderous baskets suspended by a pole over their shoulders, passing to and fro. My sister spied one old fellow. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, she yelled; Humphy Dumpty had a great fall, and she pushed the egg shell off the railing and it, falling, lit in his basket. He stopped and looked up wondering from where under the sun or above it an egg shell could come from. He gave it up and started on again. Whereupon we shoved the other shell off the railing, this one landing on his head. He thought per- haps that some god was wreaking its vengeance on him and he started off on the run. We were now out of ammunition, so were forced to call a truce until the next meal. We asked for eggs at every meal and continued our bombardment for about two days, at the end of which time we were discovered and soon wished that Humphy Dumpty had kept his balance. ADOLPHUS CHEEK. AT THE FOOT OF THE RAINBOW. Whene ' er the sun in golden splendor shimmering Beams through the rains of Spring ' s declining day, A rainbow in a radiant halo glim- mering, Hangs o ' er the trees its beautiful display. But those who seek the hoard of shining gold, That at its foot is hid in mossy nook, May seek from morn until the day is old And never find the gold for which they look. But in different form they will behold A priceless treasure brightest in the showers, And laughing at the elfish raindrops bold, The yellow primrose, sweetest of spring flowers. EUNICE LEHMER. PARADISE. Lying at the top of Kelley ' s Butte, Arizona, is a ranch called Paradise. Coming up the trail two men can be seen, now riding, now walking, for it is a very steep trail. Finally they arrive at the ranch. The foreman comes forward to meet them, they exchange greetings, and the older man, after looking around a few minutes, compliments him up- on the appearance of the ranch. The foreman then turns to the younger man who has been silent and asks him what is the matter, for he hasn ' t said anything. Oh, said the young man, You see I ' m in Paradise. HELEN KEMP.