(Continued from page 92) The Condemned Dormitory beings as they crouched under his bed, anxiously awaiting the signal to arise. They had not long to wait for suddenly two Devaline whistles in the mouths of two students, and a rotary fan in the hands of a third, gave forth the sound of a mighty onrush of wind. Seated in the window directly below the one in the room in which John was sleeping, another student sent frequent flashes from a powerful flashlight while another imitated loud peals of thunder by rumbling on a huge bass drum; a dozen windows rattled violently, and two boxes of bricks, one near each chimney, were heard rattling with a terrifying din down the old tin roof and falling on the pavement fifty feet below. John awoke with a start; Jack had risen to his knees in the middle of the bed and was wildly shouting that a storm had come, and the house was falling down and for all to flee for safety. John tried vainly to spring from the bed, but Jack's knees were mysteriously planted on the twisted skirts of his night-gown, and he only floundered in his frantic efforts. The wind continued to howl and screech; the lightning and thunder came at more frequent intervals; the bricks continued to fall; a spray of water from the long college hose began to gush intermittently against the window, sending, through the narrow opening at the top, an icy spray into the very face of the terrified lad. To the fearful rattling of the windows was added the occasional sound of breaking glass. Suddenly the bed rose high on one side and began •to slide across the room as if the floor at one side had suddenly sunk several feet. At last John managed to tumble from the bed and make a wild rush for the door, that led into the hall. The hall was dark and in his rush for the stairs he smashed into a door that stood half open; he stood dazed for a moment; a fierce gust at the west end of the hall sent a pane of glass crashing to the floor; a flash of lightning showed him the location of the stairs and he made a wild rush down the perilous flight. A box of bricks followed close on his heels and seemed to stimulate him to greater action; a board placed with one end between two beams and the other in the strong hands of a student, gave forth a cracking, splintering sound, as if the lower stair-way were being crushed between heavy falling walls. Another flash of light, fortunately, showed him that, at least the top of the stairs still existed and also the exact place of its location. He quickly made,what he thought to be, the fatal plunge; another box of bricks followed closely after his flying feet. Before he reached the outside door it blew violently open and, insanely terrified, he rushed wildly out into the stormy night and fled frantically across the campus into the shelter of a grove of trees, while a down-pour of water from the well-aimed hose thoroughly drenched his scanty attire. He clutched fitfully at the trunk of a slender tree in order to keep from sinking helplessly to the ground, for with the feeling of safety came also the feeling of weakness. The sudden stop brought back some of his senses; he looked back to see if the building was entirely wrecked and if any of the other boys had escaped. He stood bewildered;for he heard not a sound and the condemned old dormitory stood motionless in the clear cool night, looking peacefully down upon him; he looked up at the sky and scanned the heavens vainly for signs of the recent storm; not a breath of wind stirred; his gown was fluttering violently, to be sure, but it seemed to be the effect of the rapid motion of his knees from within, rather than from any external source. He heard a smothered laugh quickly followed by another; he began to come to his senses. Suddenly the laughter of fifty boys broke upon the still night air. To John's active mind the whole situation was revealed as by a flash of light. John tried to flee, but fell exhausted; a sense of shame mingled with pride brought back the color to his face and control to his voice, as fifty boys gathered around him and filled the night with deafening peals of laughter. "Well, this is a queer time of night to see you about it," spoke John stoutly, addressing the student manager of the dormitory, "but for the remainder of the four years, that I shall remain at Thurston College, I wish to engage that north-west corner room on the third floor." DEL WICKERHAM. 105
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