Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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2 THE SPECTATOR that he trudged along the grass-grown road beside the lake, and finally, selecting a depression near the lake front shaded by a mammoth oak, he threw himself on the grass with a sigh of utmost comfort. How long he would have lain there, smoking and dozing, is hard to tell; suffice it to say that his rest was not of long duration. The soft splash of oars and the swish of the prow of a boat recalled him to this mundane sphere. Cautiously he raised his head until he could peer over the edge of the slight embankment which lay between him and the lake. “ Wonder what the deuce they are doing with that woman ? ” was the question he asked himself as a startling sight met his eyes. Far over on the other side of the lake two men in a boat had stopped rowing and were carefully attaching stones with pieces of rope to the body of what seemed to be a woman. She was limp as a rag, and no doubt but what she was dead entered the mind of J. Heres- ford Parke. Intently he watched the astonishing spectacle, undecided whether to run for assistance or to remain and see the thing through, ultimately to write up an astounding tale for the Review. His dream would now be realized. His fame would be spread broadcast as the writer of the greatest “scoop” in newspaper history. He would ferret out the whole matter himself. His rosy dreams were interrupted. A pair of strong arms imprisoned his own to his side, and a gruff voice said : “ Wal, youngster, takin’ it all in, be ye? Mebbe you think yer mighty sharp. Mebbe you be, but not sharp enough fer us. If yer got as much sense as yer have crust, ye’ll just waltz along wid us sorter peaceable like, and not ask no ques- tions. Otherwise—” a dark look which told more than words accompanied a sinister movement toward his hip pocket, where Parke could distinctly see the outline of a bulldog revolver. After his first shock of surprise, Parke glanced coolly around at his captors. There were three of them, all bearded, villain- ous looking types of men, and evidently men who would stand for no trifling. “ Well, gentlemen, after your rather rough but hearty greeting 1 might as well inform you as to whom 1 am, why I am here, and also ask you— ” “Stow yer gab, young feller, or it’ll be the worse fer ye, ” growled the stubby-bearded fellow who had first cap- tured him. “ Ye'll come along wid us, and mebbe arterwards yer can give yer fishy little tale, whatever it be. ”

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Tibe IHtgb School Spectator. “ Vires acquirit eundo.” VOL. Vi. High School, Johnstown, pa. no. 5. 77re Peculiar Predicament of J. Heresford Parke The rather startling outcome of a pleasure trip, and the unexpected realization of a reporter's dream. HERESFORD PARKE leaned back in his office chair with an impatient jerk. After hastily filling his meer- schaum with his own special mixture, he folded his hands behind his curly head and gazed abstractly at the ceiling. Under the soothing influence of his pipe his thoughts reverted from the dingy editorial room of the Daily Review to the heights usually dreamed of by most young men in his position. He was on the reportorial staff of the Review, but to his mind came the question, Did he belong there? Were his talents in the newspaper line sufficient to warrant his posing as a pillar of Readburg’s foremost paper ? What had he done to deserve that honor ? True, his uncle, Alexander Wright, was the editor and proprietor of the sheet, but did that fact entitle him to his position as head reporter ? These discomforting questions were succeeded by the lofty heights of imagination mentioned above. He pictured himself as securing a magnifi- cent “scoop” on their bitterest rival, the News, and lauded to the echo by his indulgent uncle. Bah! what was the use in merely doing such brilliant deeds only in his own mind ? He must do something to make himself at once noted and an important part of the paper of which he was now only a sort of parasite. Putting away his pipe in its satin-lined case, he strode firmly from the office and wandered up the street with a swinging athletic stride. The June afternoon was so hot, and the thoughts of the cool shade of the forest-encircled Lake Meteor so refreshing and inviting, that J. Heresford Parke took a trolley for the suburban district, whence he walked the two intervening miles to Lake Meteor. Here, reclining on a grassy bank, he could better think out his plans of fame in newspaperdom, and at the same time, soothed by his pipe, enjoy the almost primeval solitude of the forest. It was with a merry mind

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THE SPECTATOR } Thus admonished, J. Heresford Parke, head reporter of the Daily Review, marched sullenly along with his captors. They led him by a tortuous route through the woods, with which they were evidently familiar, and in their retreat used every precaution to avoid attention. At length the party reached a cabin of rough-hewn logs, ugly enough in appear- ance, but certainly as stout as it was uncouth. It was now late afternoon, and the shadows of the woods made it almost dark. Parke was led by his captors into the cabin, which was as bare inside as on the exterior, except for a few rough chairs, a table, and an open fireplace. It was forbidding in the extreme, and did not serve to lessen the alarm which had been steadily arising in the mind of Parke since his sudden apprehension. Binding his feet as well as his hands with stout hemp cords, the desperadoes threw him in a chair, and then seated themselves around the fire and lighted their pipes. MYSTERIOUS ROBBERY—PROBABLE MURDER. RESIDENCE OF EDMUND HOWE, BANKER, ROBBED—DAUGHTER HAS DISAP- PEARED—PROBABLY AB- DUCTED AND MUR- DERED BY ROB- BERS. READBURG IN FURORE OF EXCITEMENT. DETECTIVES HOT ON THE TRAIL. This afternoon, between the hours of 3 and 5, the large safe in the residence of Edmund Howe, the well known Read- burg banker, was rifled by five masked men. Mr. Howe was absent at the time on business out of town, and only his wife and daughter, Virginia, and a few servants, were in the house. The daughter has disappeared, presumably stolen away by the thieves and either held for ransom or murdered. The finan- cial loss is about $25,000 in bills and coin. Detective Montague and his dep- uties are hot on the trail of the robbers, who are known to be not far away. Fuller particulars later,