“Oh, Steve !” cried the girl, tightly gripping the lad’s
arm, “What—what is it ?”
It was some minutes before Armstrong found voice to
speak, and then the tones were decidedy shaky. “Oh !” he
exclaimed, “it’s only Old John ! Don't you recognise him ?”
Gradually regaining his natural voice he went on. “We see
him every day in Physiology. I suppose some of those
Sophs thought they’d scare us !”
The girl still trembling and clinging to him only said
“Bet's go down now.”
As they walked slowly into the cupola, Armstrong, now
growing very bold, reached out and with a laugh was about
to take hold of the grewsome object standing there. “Don’t,
Steve ! come, please ! ” pleaded the girl, by no means recov
ered from her fright, and tugging vigorously at her escort’s
arm. Once on their way down they proceeded much faster
than was their wont and soon took leave of each other, see
ing nothing of the gang who had played the prank. These
bold intruders had disappeared immediately on hearing the
girl scream, traveling as fast as their legs would carry them,
almost as badly frightened as the victims of their escapade.
Next morning one of the janitors, with a good deal of
very expressive language, found it his duty to return “Old
John” to his proper place in the Biological department.
If Armstrong and Miss Seymour ever saw the inside of
the old cupola again it was not for many a long day.
Another thing was also no longer practiced by them. The
loop of gray cord was taken down and never used as a letter
carrier again. And indeed a marked cooling of the “case”
was soon noticeable.
“Old John,” so named by the students, for what reason
it is difficult to say, was used many times afterwards as a
source of amusement. Finally, however, when every one be
came so accustomed to him that he would not have caused
any anxiety had he been seen walking out over the campus,