Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

Page 16 text:

10 TIHE SPECTATOR The High School boys were in despair, for the last event was the mile race, in which Chevers and Cules were entered for the Independents and Brooks and Lars- ton for the High School. Chevers was expected to win, Brooks to take second place, and Cules third, while Larston was regarded as an outsider with no running qualities. Charles was not discouraged, for he knew Chevers' and Brooks' style of runningg if they followed it in this race, he was confident of winning. When the time came for the start and the men fell into position, their broad backs gleaming in the sun and every muscle quivering as if longing to burst from the skin, it was a sight to thrill the nerves and send the blood rushing through the veins of every lover of strength and sport. The start was magnificentg the men sprang forward as if shot from a gun. Chevers led, Brooks was second, Cules third, and Larston fourth. Round! round! they go, the race remaining the same until the quarter is reached, where Brooks takes the lead only to lose it again at the half. The long strain is beginning to tell on the leaders, and their breath comes in quick, short one-eighth pants. As the last quarter is reached Larston passes Cules and is rapidly gaining on the leaders. Now Brooks has dropped behind, and Larston soon overtakes and passes him. But Chevers is still running, going at the terrible pace that he has kept since the start. Only of a mile yet to go, and Larston gains steadily, inch by inch, so that Chevers soon hears his steady tramp, tramp, behind him. As he hears it he quickens his pace and shoots forward at a terrific pace, but in vain. He cannnot shake off Larston, and as the stretch is reached they are neck-and-neck. The strain is terrible, their heads seem burstingg their hearts beat- ing like trip-hammers. Now the line is only a few yards distant, a few more bounds, and all will be over. Lars- ton, with one supreme effort, shoots forward and wins the race in the phenomenal time of four minutes and thirty seconds. Brooks comes in third, and, as he falls across the line, he and Charles Larston are lifted to the shoulders of a crowd of cheering High School boys and borne to their dressing rooms, J. R. M., ex-'o5. i

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THE SPECTATOR 9 A Triumphant Dafh QREAT EXCITENIENT was rife in the little town of Walden. The Independents, an athletic club of the place, had challenged the High School to a field meet to decide which was the champion of the city. The High School had accepted the challenge, and the business men of the city had put up prizes for every event, as well as a cup for the winner of the meet. Among the members of the High School was a ju- nior, Charles Larston by name, whose greatest ambition was to obtain a place on the basketball team, but, as his parents were poor and he was unable to train in a gymnasium, he was unable to obtain the desired place. One of the events of the meet was a mile race. Now, as Charles was long-winded, he resolved to enter the race in the hope of winning the prize of five dollars which would enable him to enter the gym for a year. He trained faithfully until the day of the meet, which found him in fine condition. When the afternoon of the race arrived Walden was a blaze of color, the purple and white of the Independents mingling with the gold and blue of the High School. Claresnote park, where the meet was to be held, was thronged with spectators. In the judge's stand were the mayor of the town and sev- eral prominent business men, while other patrons of the meet sat in the grand stand. As the meet was declared open, the air rang with the cheers of the opposing sides. The opening events were pulled off in rapid succession, the winner of each event earning three points for his side, the second man two, and the third, one. High School won the hammer- throw, the hundred-yard dash, and the pole-vault. The Independents won the high jump, the shot-put and the fence-vault, and when the time came for the two-mile bicycle race they were five points in the lead. In this race the High School men set such a terrific pace that the Independents were outclassed and High School won Hrst and second places, thus lowering the lead of the Independents to one point.

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THE SPECTATOR li An Ocean Wave Hotter than Arizona.. H Dl lNlNlORTALlS EST. How happy the world seemed to the young man, who, after weeks of search for employment, at last succeeded in obtaining a position as assistant clerk. Oh! Madame, how can I ever repay you for your kindness. It gives me life and hope, and I shall be your most devoted slave. Command me, and all shall be accomplished. He hnished so dramatically that the stout proprietress stepped back with a startled look. Hal l-la! At last l have met the youth who doth rival my own son. You shall receive your board and a dollar each week, with a chance for a raise. Will that suit you P Would that suit him? It would suit him like an enterprising tailor. What did wages matter to him? Why, the very privilege of staying in Atlantic City all summer was as great as a musquito's bite in August. Philip, you may take this dress-suit case up to room No. 13, on the first floor. Yes mum, he answered eagerly. With a bound he grasped the grip and made for the stairs. But not without a mishap, for in his haste he stepped upon the landlady's understandings. After a few high notes like the music of a freight whistle, she accepted the ever- ready apologies of her new pilot. Once again he started on his fatal trip for the narrow stairway which led over the clerk's desk in the ofhce. Having progressed as far up the stairs as to be directly over the desk, he was met by another stout lady coming down. But lo to him, in order to make room for her to pass, he, with a graceful swing, brought the rickety suit-case on the outside of the railing. The sudden stop was too much, for the handle came off and the suit-case dropped with the speed of a watermelon down a negro's throat. It struck the busy clerk square on the back of his neck and rammed his face in a bowl of red ink. Such a blood-