University of Toronto Schools - Twig Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE TWIG done so, or you would not have spied on us as you did, and I don't think that the radio can have been entirely to blame. Brown.-As a matter of fact, you are right. There are other reasons, but I don't quite see why I should reveal them to you. Thomp.-There are two excellent reasons. The first is this: in my profession it is not the custom for the successful operator to make mistakes. Apparently I have done so on this occasion, but I do not wish, on future jobs , to repeat my error, or errors. The second rea- son to which you will possibly attach more importance, is in my pocket. So get on with it! Brown.-I see your point. My first sug- gestion is this: get rid of your safe- blowing side-kick. Several times he started to say something which you choked off. Incidentally you ought to pay closer attention to his reading matter than you do. His magazine there on the bench is a week old- Look at the cover. Thomp. Qreadingj.- Printed in Canadaf, what a fool I am! Brown.-The rest of my clues really all point to the same fact. After some hesitation you agreed that you came from Chicago in a Chev. Now on this night job there isn't much to do but read and look out the window. For two hours before you arrived, only about five passenger cars passed. None of them were Chevs.. and none carried Illinois plates. Thomp.-To be put down under that popu- lar heading, Circumstances over which Control. Proceed, please. I Have no fAt this point a train, apparently a freight, rumbles past, and is heard grinding to a stop several hundred feet away.D Thomp. Cfumps up and runs to door, still however keeping Brown coveredy- Here, what's the meaning of that? I trust you have not been so unwise as to try anything, Mr. Brown? Brown--Nonsenseg there's not much help for me there, I'm afraid. They're just stopped for water at the tank out there. Thomp.-I hope for your sake that you are telling the truth. fRe-enter Sullivan, bringing rope.j Ah! I'm glad to see your efforts were crowned with suc- cess. In view of what our host here has told me, I've a good mind to fire you. Sull.-Huh? Thomp.-Never mind. You wouldn't un- derstand. Get busy and tie him up- well. By the way, is that train doing anything suspicious out there? Sull.-Naw, it's just getting some water. fFinishes tying Brownj Thomp.-Good. Well, Mr- Brown, get on with your story. Brown.-There is a company in this town which manufactures suitcases. It is a thoroughly Canadian company. My son works there, and I know all their lines pretty well. Your cases-very good ones too-were made by them. They are sold only in Canadian stores. Thomp.-Hereafter I shall pay closer attention to such details. Anything else? QTWO men, members of the freight train crew, as their attire indicates, and three policemen, a sergeant and two constables, appear in the doorway. The criminals are seated facing away from the door, and do not see themj Brown.-Well, I found out that you knew as rnuch as I do about the local bus lines. I think that's-no, there's one thing more. Your overcoat has been swinging open ever since you carne in. On the inside breast pocket appears the crest of a large Toronto store. Thomp--You are a very observant man, Mr. Brown. I fear I underestimated your abilities. ' 60

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THE TWIC country will most regretfully be cut short. Brown.-That's too bad. Excuse me gentlemen, but I must go out and attend to some signals. fThrows on his raincoat, picks up a lantern and goes outg from where we are we can see that he does not go very far, but remains just outside the door, out of the line of vision of the other two.j Thomp.-Now, you fool, you keep your big mouth shut and let me do all the spiei- ing, or you'll queer this job yet. You may be a first-class safe-blower, but you drive the English language like a ten-ton truck, and in the wrong direc- tion too. fHere Brown disappears for a moment or two, then comes back againj Sull.-Well gosh Chief, suppose you turn on your Rolls-Royce technique and tell me what this crazy stunt's about. Seems like the dumbest trick anybody could pull, goin' right back into the middle of all the fuss like this- I tell you, I'm only stickin' with you on account of you're generally there with the little gray cells like this bird Parrott QPoirotj in the detective stories. Thomp.-You idiot, you'd be a better hand at this game if you'd act like some of the guys in those stories you like so much. Can't you see that the safest place we can be is right back in Toronto? The dicks there think we've cleared out so nobody will dream of suspecting us. Besides we'll have been seen by dozens of people leaving the station and going over to the hotel like a couple of ordinary business men. In fact I've got it arranged so somebody will see us in case the public is as un-W observant as usual. QHere Brown be- gins to make sounds indicative of a re-entrv in the near futurej Sull.-Well, I dunno: it still seems to me- Thomp.-Shut up !-Yes, there is no doubt that methods of railway operation em- ployed on this continent are vastly different from those in force in Eng- land and Europe. Qenter Brownj Ah, Mr. Brown, we have just been dis- cussing some of the-er-shall we say technique of your calling. I've no doubt that it is, in some ways, a most arduous one. Qslight pausej That's strange Mr. Brown. Has the rain stopped? Brown.-No. Why? Thomp- Cslowlyj.-Your raincoat, Mr. Brown, is perfectly dry. Yet you were outside for several minutes. Rather strange, isn't it? Brown. Cnervouslyj.-Oh, the platform is covered, you know. It's quite dry out there. Thomp.-Then why did you put on your raincoat? fHis hand is in his coat pocket, and there is a suspicious bulge there.j Mr. Brown, you are obviously a man of high intelligence, but of little tact, and I would suggest, in the language of that community in which I have recently claimed citizenship, that you stick 'em up and do it fast! fAt the end of this sentence his voice has lost some of its cultured quality, and has an intonation which suggests that Mr. Brown would be well-advised to comply with his request, Mr. Brown does so.j Thomp. Cto Sullivanj.-Frisk him. CSuI- livan does so, Ending nothing danger- ous.j You may sit down, Brown, and lower your hands, but you will place them on your knees and keep them there. Sullivan, you will go out, find a good strong rope somewhere and come back as quickly as possible- But don't come back without one. Cexit Sullivanj. Now, Mr. Brown, since some little time must necessarily elapse before we shall be able to take our leave of you, per- haps vou will be good enough to tell me what we have done to arouse your suspicions. Something must have 59

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THE TWIG Brown Qmodestlyj.-Well, you know I told you I read detective stories. Thomp.-So you did. As an artist of sorts, I must say how sorry I am that your observations served no useful purpose. And now we must be going, in case that train really does arrive some time. Serg.-I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry, Mr.-Randolph, I believe you usually call yourself? Put the brace- lets on 'em boys. You'l1 have plenty of time on your hands for some years I think, that of course goes for you too, Mr. Platz. My congratulations, Mr. Brown, for nabbing these gentlemen. They're known all over the province, and we've been trying to pin some- thing on them for years. We could never get any evidence. However, I think that this time we'll find some in those bags- CThis is done.D Thomp.-Mr. Brown, as I may have said before, I am an artist. Therefore, far be it from me to be angry because I've been caught. I still admire your abili- ties. How, by the way, did you manage this? Brown.-I think I'll let my good friend, the conductor of the freight train ex- plain this one. Go ahead, Charlie. Cond.-Well, there's not much to it. Mr. Brown, here, often wants to send something along to his daughter in Windsor. Naturally he knows all the crews along this line, and he Ends it quicker to send things by us. But freights don't generally stop here in the station, so he rigged up a little light on the water-tower out there, controlled from a switch here on the platformg he turns that on and leaves what he wants sent on a little shelf he built by the switch. He's usually alone here and he doesn't like to leave the station untended. Well to-night we found the light on, so I ran back and found a note on the shelf. In this note he told briefly what was going on here, and said he'd hold the crooks, if he could, until we got the police here. Of course, if we hadn't been on time, you chaps would have been in luck. But we were on time- Thomp.-And the train we wanted wasn't. Mr. Brown, I might have known some- thing was up when you submitted so willinglyg but then, as I've said, I'm a fool. Sergeant, let us go before I lose any more of my faith in myself. CURTAIN The High School Editors' Convention . J. M. CARELESS The Tenth High School Editors' Conven- tion at University College was attended this year by four representatives of The Twig Editorial Board - lVlcE.lheran, Davies, Steiner and Careless. Thanks to the adroit supervision of Sigma Phi Fraternity, the Convention was a great success. Indeed, without Sigma Phi, who have managed the Convention for eight years, it would have been impossible. After an opening message by the Presi- dent of the University, the members heard two very informative addresses, then divided into groups to study Circulation, Art, Literary, and Athletics, in high school magazines. After lunch, two more lectures were given. Then the Convention divided into three parties and toured the Star , lVlaclean's and Brigden's Publishing l-louse. ln the evening there was a banquet, followed by a dance-great attractions!- and the next day, further lectures and group study. The Convention closed at noon, fol- lowing the reports given by the secretaries of the groups fincidentally, Davies was sec- retary of the Athletics groupl, and a fare- well address by the President of University College.