Johnstown High School - Spectator Yearbook (Johnstown, PA)

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THE SPECTATOR 27 ing.” So he straightway proceeded to dig up the brick. Just as he succeeded in extricating it, up came a policeman. “ 1 guess you’ll go to the station with me, my gay bold. Tearing up pavements, are you ? We’ll see about that.” He was hurrying Archibald off, when up came Scrubby, and, explaining the situation, succeeded in rescu- ing his unlucky friend. On Friday afternoon as Archibald and Scrubby were going to school they spied several bricks lying in Stony- creek Street, just where a blind alley joins the street. Archibald, seized with his mania, turned them all over, but there was nothing doing. “There it is, on the sill of that stable back in the al- ley,” said Scrubby. “You idiot,” said Archibald, “do you suppose those kids have been skating there all morning and not turned over that brick ? Don’t you think it.” And so they passed on. With all the searching no one found the brick, so at Saturday noon out started one of the theatre managers with the chief-of police and his little dog, to find the Dolly Dimples Brick. Archibald was on hand and fell in line with half a hundred others. Out Market Street they went, up Vine, up Stonycreek, and into that very blind alley. There lay the same brick, scorned by Archibald the day be- fore. The chief picked it up. It was the Dolly Dimples Brick ! Since no one had found the brick, the management would place it under one of the theatre seats that night. “Now,” thought Archibald, “I’ll get myself a seat in the orchestra circle, because they will certainly put it under one of the most expensive seats.” But when he went to buy his seat, the only one left down-stairs was number 13 in row 23. Archibald’s great desire to get the brick had made him superstitious, so he would not take it. But he bought the best seat he could get in the balcony. That night Archibald was on hand early.’ He thought that if he were first in the balcony he might see the brick and capture it before the owner of the seat arrived. But there was one fellow ahead of him. When the doors were opened the man in front was shown to his seat, and after

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26 THE SPECTATOR the first one over, and there on the under side was pasted a piece of paper. Greatly excited, Archibald stooped over to make out the words. “-----------, Shoes. Well, I’ll be hanged. Wonder if anyone saw me do it.” Looking around, he saw there was no one in sight and, turning the brick over, he went on his way. By reason of kicking so many bricks, Archibald’s toes became sore and he was fast losing his temper. The climax was reached when, seeing an especially promising brick, Archibald gave it a tremendous kick, forgetting that some of the bricks were frozen to the ground. Archibald flew in one direction; his papers In another. After reliev- ing his feelings with language more forceful than proper, Archibald gathered up his papers and was starting off. Just then he saw another High School fellow, called Puss for short, who also carried Democrats, laughing with all his might. “ What were you trying to do ?” he said to Archi- bald. This aroused Archibald’s temper anew, and he an- swered shortly : “I thought maybe you had hid those Eng- lish reference books under there. I wanted to find them and restore them to the library.” Going to school that noon hour, Archibald happened to espy a brick in front of Paulson’s, on Franklin Street. He turned it over but nothing was there. Just then his boon companion, known as Scrubby, came out of Paulson’s, where he had been whiling away his leisure at noon. “What are you looking for ?” inquired Scrubby. “That Dolly Dimples Brick,” was the reply. “O, that’s a fake,” said Scrubby. “That brick will never be put out. They are keeping that to draw a big crowd Saturday night.” “ Well,” said Archibald, “ when I find it, you’ll wish you had looked too.” All the time between that Wednesday morning and Saturday noon, Archibald did his best to locate the longed- for piece of baked clay. He turned up bricks and kicked over bricks until his fingers were raw and his toes sore. Passers-by on the street soon came to recognize him as “Demented Dolly Dimples.” One day he saw a loose brick in a pavement. “I won- der if that might be it,” thought he. “No harm in try-

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28 THE SPECTATOR him, Archibald. As it happened, their seats were to- gether. As Archibald approached, he observed the other fellow down on his knees tugging with all his might. When Archibald reached his seat, the man electrified him with the words, “ I’ve found the Dolly Dimples Brick.” And they carried Archibald Johns out senseless. Easter 11’VE taken that sacred volume ■I And glanced at each time-worn page, I’ve read the old, old story — So sweet with the scent of age — Of that first and hallowed Easter, When, at dawning of the day, From the grave of Christ, the angel Had rolled the stone away. My thoughts are deeply buried In a grave of doubts and fears, Walled in with the rocks of sorrow, And sealed with my heart-wrung tears ; From my soul’s inmost recesses, These thoughts swell forth to-day — O Christ, for some kindly angel To roll the stone away. RUTH RAGER ’10.