The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-10-02
THE SILENCE OF JIMMY DERMoTT


minded weak-memoried Jimmy Dermott was fire.
quently the victim of this irritability
Why will Professor Pardee insist upon turning
my room into veritable hospitalH thought Miss
Blake, rebelhously. Every defective piece of hui
manly he sends up to Room IA, but that Dermott
boy Is the most aggravating."
Jimmy Dermott, must tell you again to fas-
len your eyes upon your book, and stop looking at
me? J1mmys dreamy, admiring eyes reluctantly
pulled themselves away from their object of ado
ration and rested the printed page
The restlenssness and nervousness of the teacher
was soon reflected in the uneasiness of the roomful
OF children. All sorts of unexpected, unexpainabe
wants made themselves evident, and hands were
continually raised from every section of the room
until Miss Blake's remnant of patience was quite
frayed out.
Children, this must be stopped. Every hand
must go down Immediately. Don't let me SEQ an
other hand raised for hour and attend to your
work"
For fully ten minutes sixty-three little heads
bent obedently over their DESKS sixty-three pairs
of eager mischef-flled eyes tried to see only the
black unlnteresting figures upon the open page,
sixtythree pairs of restless feet longing dance
and jump and play, twisted and UNFINISHED them
selves In nervous effort to keep them under
troll sixty-three little brains actively at work at
problems quite other than the their eyes gazed
upon, wondered why the hands of the clock moved
so slowly.
Of all the sixty-three not one tried as hard to
obey the strict letter of the order Jimmy Der
mott; yet on one failed so lamentaby. Try as he
might to sit quietly, his nervous pain-racked body,
never meant to sit in the uncomfortable seats,
writhed and turned to find easier position. More
often than to any other corner did Miss Blakes
stern, reproving eyes turn and fix themselves
the boy.
Jimmy sat in the back seat of the third row,
and as he shifted in his seat in one last vain
deavor to be comfortable, his eyes fell upon the
ventilator 1ue. The ventilator hue might suddenly
hava Dpd into ld-fa OH
could imagine from. the look upon Jimmy's face.
With an effort he turned his eyes to Miss Blakes
face. Quite evidently she had failed to see what
Jimmy saw Her thoughts were conferred upon the
aching TOOTH and with cheek resting upon her hand
she pressed handkerchief to her face. of
frowns and wrinkles marring her pretty forehead
Jinmy's lips opened to give cry, and then he
remembered. The brain slow to read the printed
words old in common sense. Jlmmys lips were
tightly closed and sealed with the seal of herols.
Then Jimmy's hand weighted it seemed TO the
boy by leaden weights, was raised high above the
heads of the children. Miss Blake looked over it.
looked under It, looked to the left and to the right
of it. looked straight through it, it seemed to jim
nv but never deigned to see it-had she not said
only ten minutes before that no hands were to be
raised for an hour. Jimmy took side glance at
the ventilator 1ue. No, there could be mis-
take. Jimmy's weak, defective eyes had seen
Alright The blue-vened hand climbed little high
er-Miss Blake must be made to see tit waved
franticaIly almost Historically in the air like a
flag of distress of a shipwrecked mariner.
Still Miss Blake persisted In remaining quite
oblivious to the hand. The tense straining mem
ber with its bony outlines, grew more agonlslngly
eloquent In its effort to say what was forbidden the
tongue until at last even Miss Blake's Useeing
eyes were forced to recognize it
Jimmy Dermott, what did l say about raising
hands 2" The perspiration stood Jimmy's pale
face now growing gray with apprehension OF his
beloved teachers dispeasure and fearful of i'm
he's
the victim of the sharp warning from teacher, and
even the children saw IN the appealing hand some
thing quite out of the ordinary. Miss Blake was
puzzled.
~Jim1nv Der1nott" she tried to make her voice
as stern as possible; why VIII you persist IN dis
obeying me? What do you want Z"
ITO speak to you" cried the child e1citedIy, the
words tu1nbling from feverish lips
Miss Blake nodded her consent uncertainty
If was clear breach of authority. As fast as his
crutches would allow, Jimmy hobbled down the |
aisle and with mouth close to Miss Blake's ear, |
said just three words
Miss BIake's eyes sought the ventilator Aue
Miss Blakes face grew many shades paler, |
strange shadow crossed her eyes, and her voice
he'd in it bit of tremor as she said: Jimmy, take
your seat"
Jimmy had controlled his voice. he had now TIE
still more difficult task of controlling his eyes. he
turned his face away from the tongue
f yellow fame he knew was creeping up through
he smoke. and walked qulelly 10 lIS SoaC'
aEverv face this way" commanded Miss Blake
very syllable even and calm now-she knew they
must be-for the lives of hundreds Of children de-
ended unon her. "Let every child fix attention
non the nicture of the sheep over my desk and
ee # thew can hold it there until l return"
Stepping quickly out into the long corridor,
iIent save for the dull sound of classes recting be-
ind closed doors, she reached up to the fire gong
nd sounded four sharp strokes. Shufhng 1eef
n the floor above and in the room adjoining told
or that the alesJn had been Needed and that in
49, 10 fhe oft-repeated precepts of the fire
riiI hundreds of children and their teachers were
seaping gravest peril. In another, moment the
biidren in her room, responsive to her command
! fall into line and follow her, marched quietly
~ of the room. unconscious of their escape from
Excited groups Of pupils, teachers, and prin-
inal stood outside the grounds watching the heroic
= e 10 4rernen TO save the building. "a good