Hathaway Brown School - Specularia Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

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7 Jlfama 5 gay RAYMOND SHORT STORY PRIZE OY, that guy never knew what hit him, ejaculated Pete, the boss of the Penn Alley gang. We cleaned up swell from his cash box with no trouble at all. just needed a smack on his bony old skull with that piece of pipe l swung-the rest was easy. No one saw us, and it may be hours before anyone goes into that outfoffthefway joint. But rememf ber, fellas, it's my brains that thinks up the plans, so you can thank me for the extra cash you got tonight. Yeah, said joe, rather sullenly, you know how to get it all right, and so far no one's on to us. But sometimes your methods-. The pic' ture of the druggist, with a bloody gash on the back of his gray head, crumpled in a heap behind the counter, haunted joe's troubled mind. Breaking into a closed store is one thing, but you might have bumped this fella off! What's eatin' you, joe? You got your dough, didnlt ya? So just cut the complaininf You keep your trap shut and do as l say like Mike, Al, and the others here. Let me do the managin'. The rest of the gang nodded approvingly at this suggestion. The six boys were clustered about the muchfscratched table in ,loe's kitchen, where they had just finished dividing the money from the night's work. lt was nearly ten o'clock, and suddenly joe, realizing the time, jumped up and said uneasily, You fellas have got to clear out of here now. Ma usually comes home about this time, and she wouldn't understand you guys being here. Sure, Mamma's Boy, we're goin', said Pete scornfully, pulling his dirty cap further down on his head. 'LSee you next Saturday at the same time. We're goin' to try the garage on Route Eightyfsix-should be a walk' away. ' The boys greedily snatched up their shares of the stolen money, stuffed them into their pockets, and sauntered from the room. After their noisy footsteps had died away down the alley, joe still made no move to pick up his bills. They were crumpled and dirty and looked oddly out of place on the immaculate surface of the table. Although this was only an ordinary table, it was the center of the Gano's housekeeping. lt was withf in easy reach of the stove, so that joe and his mother ate from its surface. lt had been the scene of Ioe's struggles over homework from first grade up until several months ago when, having reached sixteen, Joe quit school to go to work. The darning basket usually reposed there on Sunday. During the week Mrs. Gano had little time for her own housework, as she worked long hours as a cook in a fashionable residence. The table l29l

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Lzglzt POETRY PRIZE I heard Through the darkness A low whisper from Him: I am here beside you. And then Dawn came. Jorm IVeber, Class of To UWM! ,Qzufre I tellyou this: beware of distant towers You had to gog That beating, compelling force Would not cease Until it reached your arms and legs, And you were left breathless Gazing up at towers. But when you climbed to lofty heights, Your glance fell backward over hills. Wild mountain laurel is hard to untangle from the heart. That is your warning to me. Yet I too must go. Noise and tumult and life, Subways and buses and life, Life and towers, Towers and life- Let me breathe the air of chaosg Let me live. Joan Weber, Class of 1 I23l

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was one of the few relics she had been able to save when her husband had died five years before, and it was as if its very presence in her shabby kitchen could bring comfort in reminding her of former happy times. -Ioe's dark, serious eyes filled with disgust as they scanned the cramped room, noticing the ugly, chipped plaster, the jagged crack in the ceilf ing which leaked maddeningly, and the old battered cupboards and sag' ging shelves that seemed unworthy to hold the few nice pieces of china that his mother had managed to keep in her possession. Joe dropped wear' ily into a chair and rested his grimy elbows on the table. How could he bear to have his mother living in a hole like this? There must be some' thing more he could do to help her save enough to move to a better section of town. He had worked several months at the gas station, but that was before he had met Pete. Pete was the boss of the neighborhood, and it was considered a privilege to have him as a friend. joe quickly fell under his spell and was flattered to be included in Pete's gang. He found they were smart fellows who scoffed at working and were able to get ready money by easier and more alluring methods. Ioe, tempted by easy wealth, formed the habit of working less and making up the difference from es' capades with Pete's gang. This way of life had seemed a good idea at first, but now he realized he could not repeat another such dangerous and brutal affair as tonightis. Stealing at first had seemed daring and clever, but now the sight of the bills before him only strengthened his conviction that no amount of money was worth a possible murder. It appalled him that the rest of the boys did not feel the same shock that he felt. How could they all be so eager to try it again? Would one ruthless deed sim' ply make them all the more ruthless? Suddenly the door pushed open, and Mrs. Gano appeared. She was a small, grayfhaired woman whose dowdy hat and faded coat seemed illfsuited to the erect figure beneath them. Her dulled eyes took on an inward glow when she perceived her dark, wellfbuilt son. In a voice that quavered with weariness she said, I hope you found enough in the house for supper, Joey. You look quite done in. They must have worked you pretty hard today. Joe swallowed hard, stared at the floor, yet managed to answer in a level voice. That's o. k., Ma. Working in a gas station's not so bad, you know. At least I got my pay today, and that should help out some. He indicated the money on the table with a careless gesture, almost afraid to look at it himself. Mrs. Gano's thin face flushed with sudden pride. joey, you are such a good boy, she exclaimed. L'You are learning young what an effort it takes to make an honest living, but with both of us working it won't be so very long before we will have saved enough for a better home. l30l