Commerce High School - Commerce Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

Page 125 text:

Decided the second must stand for the street or town where the lad was confined, if the boy indeed had such knowledge. Hurrying to school, he obtained a street directory, then compared the names of the streets with the outline. None would fit. Next he looked over the suburbs and small surrounding towns. Ah, he had it. It was Butte. A little slanting straight line, but it stood for much Turning his attention to the remaining outline, he quickly decided it stood for “brick building.” How easy. A brick building in the village of Butte. Surely there were not many brick houses in that small town. Hurriedly he went to the residence of Mr. Astorbilt. As the fine looking old gentleman came into the room, Mr. Smythe noticed the dark rings around the eyes. The haggard look in his face and the general forlorn appearance indicated how deep was the attachment between father and son. Cordially welcoming his son’s teacher, Mr. Astorbilt begged him to sit down, but Mr. Symthe stood, the better to give his good news. “Mr. Astorbilt, I think I know where your son is at the present time.” For a moment, Mr. Smythe thought the man would faint, and sprang to assist him, but quickly recovering himself, the father demanded, “What’s that, know where my son is! For the love of heaven, bring him to me, and the reward shall be yours.” “I do not know who holds him, nor how to get there but I do know where he is. Lend me your largest car and eight good men, and I think you will quickly see your son again.” Then, briefly Mr. Smythe explained how he came to have his information. Consent was quickly given, and in a short space of time, the party was on its way- As they approached Butte, a small place of about four hundred population, the chief hailed a farmer lad, and asked him if he knew of any old brick house in the vicinity. “Yes sir,” there is an old haunted house just up over that hill, but no one will go near it. Quickly tossing the astonished farmer lad a shining silver dollar, the chief started the machine for the top of the hill. Stopping the car a short distance from the house, the searchers circled around to the rear by aid of the friendly trees. Here they decided to have four of the men charge the house, and the remaining four stationed at places where they could watch. Mr. Smythe begged to be with the first party. So being provided with an automatic Colt, he followed the Chief. After a plucky struggle, the kidnapers were captured, and jailed, but as Kipling would say, “That is another story.” Suffice it to say, Harry was soon restored to his parents. The boy often reminded his father that his rescue was due to his knowledge of shorthand and the cleverness of the master in deciphering the apparently meaningless marks of a boy’s new pen. HOWARD KIRK, 1912. 123

Page 124 text:

ents. Meanwhile Andy was just approaching the house from a visit to the city, when, spying a white clad form down the road, he became suspicious, and putting on full speed, he swooped down upon Harry before he had time to dart into a sheltering thicket, and our hero was suddenly recaptured, and pulled into the car. Harry yelled so lustily that Andy had to hold his hand over the boy’s mouth, and follow this action with threats before he could silence him. ‘Til make your father pay dear for this. It will cost him exactly $10,000 more or I quit,” Andy said. At last the day come for writing the letter which was to decide whether his captors were to be rich or merely fugitive kidnapers. Harry was requested to write a short note to his father; this he did, very neatly, after first carelessly trying out his new pen in the upper corner of the paper, but as that was a hoy’s trick, Andy thought the careless marks would appeal to the boy’s father, and the letter was sent scratches and all. Dear Dad: I am being well treated here, and every one is very kind to me. Please do as they say, because I want to see you and mother soon. (Signed) Harry Astorbilt, Jr. Then the threat was written by Andy: Be at the Central Park Zoo at two o’clock Friday, the thirteenth, with $100,000 in a satchel and give it to a man dressed in a brown suit with a carnation in the lapel of his coat Be near the north entrance. If you show this to anyone or bring anyone with you to the meeting it will go hard with your son. (Signed) The Holder. When Mr. Astorbilt received the letter, he called up McConnell who came in haste. ‘‘I’ll do my best to get them, though I see no clue. There are no water marks, nor anything to identify the sender, but I’ll sec that Harlem, where it was posted is searched more thoroughly. The next morning a photographic reproduction of the letters was shown in the “Sun.” That morning, Mr. James A. Smythe, head teacher in the Shorthand Department of the High School which our hero had attended was reading his morning paper while on his way to school. All of a sudden, he jerked his paper more to the light and stared at the printed page before him. It was the small pen scratches in the corner of Harry’s letter which attracted his attention. It at once dawned upon him that Harry was trying to communicate with someone, probably himself, and a feeling of pride came into his heart as he thought of the boy's daring. The first sign, he immediately decided read, “Help, but what good would that do if he could not read the remainder. He 122

Page 126 text:

Cf)e Junior Snformal SINCE the days of Adam and Eve many strange things have come to pass and, as one of these, is numbered that affair at the High School of Commerce, Thursday evening, February 16, in the year of our Lord 1911. Everything was motion and commotion from the time when the hands of the clock pointed out 7 :30 until those self same hands were wrung in anguish at the sign of ten and a half. In the first place—the Seniors were invited. Secondly they came—in vast numbers. Everyone and everything was dressed up “hull swell,” from that venerable old Gym, that had been arrayed in pennants galore, to those vain little ice cream bars with their pink and brown trimmings, which disappeared so soon after their arrival. Then there were those macaroons so crisp and fresh of which there were ten too few. Poor Mr. Ditmer. How he did suffer! Long may he remember his first attempt at dancing under the directions of the supercilious Miss Grosser and others: “Now take two short steps.” “1—2—3—5—4. “Mr. Ditmer and you’re a bookkeeping teacher! Try again. Now three glides. “7—3—9—’steen— ten—why bless me I must be doing this wrong. I can’t dance and count at the same time, and with that the poor man collapsed with laughter for everyone within range was trying hard to suppress that desire for a hearty “Ha! Ha!” This is but one instance of the spirit that prevailed. One distinguishing feature of this especially good time was the Serpentine Dance, in which many couples were entwined in the mystic and many colored bonds of Romance, only tissue paper romance. The President of the Senior Class, John Tobin, did justice to the occasion by delivering an after dinner speech, this, being served as dessert, of course followed the refreshments. Soon, too soon were heard the strains of the Home Waltz. Then very reluctantly the chaperones, Miss Bowie and Mr. Ditmer drove out their unwilling charges with the words—“School begins tomorrow, as always, at 8:30 A. M.” FRIEDA LUCHT. 1912. CJjtngS 3Ue flUoulb Hike to lUioto Why they call Julius Smith fat, why he does not take the terpsichorean art and why, in Senior meeting, he does not rise until recognized by the chair? Why they call Crebbin “Toughy”? Why Room 1 is so quiet the seventh hour? Who plays “Juliet to Romanis’s Romeo ? Why Clara Pfister went to all the football games? 124