Eastern High School of Commerce - Eastern Echo Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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50 EASTERN ECHO thrown open by a slim young girl, who called out ea-gerly, Daddy, hurry in, 1 have kept dinner waiting for over an hour. lim sorry, my -dear, -but I had to leave the city on a business matter, the girl'-s fa-ther replied as he removed his hat and coat. That night as the father -and daughter had sat talking to each other in the seclusion of the-ir drawing room, Wil.liam Crawford rece-ived the greaitest shock he had ever experienced in all his exciting and unusual life. His -daughter, Doreenj just before retiring had told him of 'her engagement to Harvey Jackson, the clevereszt an-d most 'popular private detect-ive on the New York -po-lice force. The one man who caused Blind Bill and hi-s folllowers to tremble -in their shoes as they salt -gathered around a table, dividing and dis-tri'but-ing -their plunder, and planning what their next escapade would be. The net was gradu- ally being -drawn closer and -closer around the sma-ll -band of men who had, for so many years, struck terror into the hearts of the -c'ity's inhabitants by their dar-ing. The irony of -this situation appealed 'to Bill'-s strange sense of hu.mour. His daughter wished to marry the man who was on ,his track, just as eagerly as a thirsty b-loodho-und when it is hot on the scent off its prey. Never had Bill refused his girl any-thi-ng and it did not enter his head to do so now. If it was her desire to wed this man, Bill would -be the la-st person on ear-th to stop her. Bill sat up late that night. Warned by some s-trange premonition he put all his affairs to nigh-ts, straightened up -h-is papers and destroyed any eviden-ce which might -give away -his true identity -if anything should happen to him. After -managing to keep Doreen -in the dark as -to the true s-tate of affairs all her life, 'he did not wish to leave beh-ind him any ugly memory which might mar 'he-r 'future ihappiness. Doreen had always been under the impress-ion that her fa-ther was a commercial traveller, this a-ccouniting for the fact that he was away from -home on so many different occasions, sometimes for a -period of -several months. He heaved a heavy s-i-gh of relief when everything was put to rights. His daughter would be able to live in -comfort and luxury for t-he rest of her -days. B-ill was happy. He felt that -he -had made a good job of what -he had set himself to do. He had vowed that .this lonely little waif on -the streets should have everv advantage which money could buy. Doreen was a per.fect lady in 'every sense of the word, Bi-ll had every night to be proud of his work. Then and there Bill made a vow that he would say good-bye to his .old life and spend the remainder of his days in peace. A few days later Doreen Crawford walked down the street, deeplv engrossed in the conversation of the young man a-t her side. ' You see Doreen, Harvey jackson was saying, Lf I can round up this ba-nd of men I will ga-in the publicity I need and establish myself for life o-n the force. I it-hink with a li-ttle assistance from vou l shall be able to 'capture the ring leader of the w-hole outfit. We have now 3 tangible -clue to work on. VVe -are on 'the right tra-ck at last. That harmless looking creature sitting over -there is the -brains of 'the whole outht. What you must do is to follow him, find out where he goes and fContinued on page 833

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EASTERN ECHO 49 hungrily at toys which, for some reason they could not comprehend, would not be by their bedside on Christmas Day. Long, low, limousines bore beautiful ladies and handsome gentlemen to 'the various places of amusement which the city had to offer. Christmas spirit was in 'the veryatmosphere. lt could be felt in the breathless air of excite- ment which overhung the pulsing mass of humanity, it could be seen wherever 'the eye fell. Bright, glittering tinsel, red and green trim- mings, huge paper bells and hundreds of novel decorations were dis- played in the store windows of even the humblest merchants. The whole enormous city seemed to be shouting Yuletide gree-tings at each and every one of its children. lt could be heard in the buzz and hum of the moving mo-b. All these things served to create in the minds of the crowd the spirit of giving. This accounted for the smile on the face of B-lind B-ill, who sat huddled in a heap on -the pavement, his crutches beside him and his tin cup in -his hand, listening to the steady stream of coins which were dropped into it by kind-hearted persons who were deeply moved by the pathetic sight. Late th-at night, when the city had wrapped itself in slumber and the .lights in all the store w-indows slowly went out, one by one, Blind Bfill with the aid of his crutches slowly hobbled along on his one good leg. He Wended his way up a long, narrow street on the East Side of -the city. As he opened the door of one of the dirty, dreary, dilapi- dated houses 'he was greeted by loud, lusty shouts of welcome. Hi, there Bill! How was business, you must have made a pretty haul to-day? Not too bad, not too bad, was the reply. The main t-hen proceeded to take off the coloured glasses, unstrap his leg, stretch it a few times an-d walk around the smoky room full of dangerous look-ing men, as whole and sound in every respect as any of -the people who had given him their money. This neatly concealed 'hiding place was the rendezvous of the most tre-acfherou-s gang of crimi-n-als ever known in the history of the city. For t-hir-ty years they had bafiied t-he police by the daring and cunning of the robberies and hold-ups they had committed. Many times one of the notorious gangsters ha-d almost been caught, but a cruel fate seemed to take a pleasure in keeping the criminals just beyond the reach of the law. That n-ight, as he dressed himself, in a room far to the back of -the house, Bill's gaze rested fondly on the picture of a pretty girl about nineteen years of age. His memory travelled back to the Christmas Eve so mwany years ago, when he had stumibled on a little heap of humanity t-hat 'had been left on his front doorstep. For nineteen years Bill had sat on tihe street corners begging so that he could bring up this girl and give ber everything she desired. He had never been loved by anyone in all his life, and the adoring devotion of his foster daughter am-ply repaid him for any hardships 'he -h-ad suffered. There was not the slightest resemblance between the pompous, prosperous-looking William I. Crawford and the deiected, drooping figure of the blind beggar on the street corner. and yet they were one and the same man. As this gentleman's limousine slowly slid up the long winding drive to his p'alati1al residence, the front door was

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EASTERN ECHO 51 The Light That Failed Crash! Another monster of the sea swept across the belaiboured deck of the Nancy Ann, the game little tanker which rode the fiery-tempered seas. Old Skipper Martin, named sometimes the demon of 'the tides, was probably making his last voyage. llut, as the waves beat around and over the -small craft, his sp-irits were high. ln the midst of danger and death, he was shoutfing words of encouragement to his comrades. Keep the pumps working boys, the shouted above the din of the angry seas. The old 'lighthouse will soon be visible. O.K., sir, came back the answer of the half-starved, worn-out sailors. Suddenly, one of the men thought of prayer. Many silent prayers were sent up to the Maker above. From out of the inky blackness a tremendous squall hit the side of the little steamer, and the next moment the sea was covered with thousands of pieces of debr-is. Strange to say, the huge piece on which the men were stand-ing came off in one chunk. They knew their prayer was answered. For three days the eleven brave men faced the dangers and terrors of the high seas, and on the fourth day their coldness and starvation were brought to an end. A large gra-in boat picked up the exhausted, half-conscious looking men, who after a short revival of food, clothing and sleep felt them- selves again. One fine day the boat steamed into port. Glad were the people when the tidings, that their lost ones had returned, reached them. The lit-tle town was alive with people. Cheers rent the air for the rescued and their rescuers. After ia few days had elapsed, the now normal men paid a visit to the old lighthouse. On reaching there, they were horror-struck. In that awful storm, a huge wave struck the gallant little lighthouse-keeper who was ga-ther- ing drifttwood. It had swept him high up on t-he beach, and there he lay-in death. This incident accounted for- the light that failed. -W. Rogers, SH, 204. Their Ideal ES, there he was coming around the corner. Even in the dense London fog and fast falling rain, .loan could not m-istakc that great manly figure. She was surprised, however, to see under his large umbrella a young lady and a curly headed lad in his arms. Ioan Cairew, a progressing young antist, was tall and slim, with golden cur-ls and a pair of eyes which were rather sad and dreamy. She owned a little Art Shop in the heart of London. Every night for six weeks now, she had wa-t-ched and waited for that familiar figure to emerge around the corner and stop to look at her paintings in the