CHAPTER XXIII.
A CHALLENGE FROM WARWICK.
"They are making a great deal of fuss about nothing," said David, theday after the fire. "I'm sure it wasn't half as hard as it would havebeen to climb a rope that distance. The vines gave me a great grip."
David and Frank had just come across the yard from luncheon, andeverywhere they were greeted with friendly nods from the members ofall classes.
"That lame fellow is the one who saved Patterson last night," spokenin low tones, was frequently heard as the two went along. In theclass-room, the boys and the teachers themselves applauded David'saction until he felt like running away and hiding.
"I did nothing much anyway," he would say, blushing.
That morning old Doctor Hobart sent for David, and David wasembarrassed by his praise.
"You did a fine thing, young man, a noble thing. We will not forgetit. You do not look strong enough to perform the feat. I myselfsaw you when you were half way up the wall. I'm not sure I shouldhave allowed you to go up had I seen you when you began yourattempt. Where did you get that strength, for it must have taken agreat deal?" and the old gentleman bent forward in his chair andscrutinized kindly the slender boy.
"I wanted to be able to do something for the school besides mylessons and the only thing I could do was something for my hands andarms. I've been working mornings at the gymnasium, rope climbing andtaking exercise on the parallel bars."
"O, I see," said the Doctor. "Well, the good Lord just brought youhere. It is most fortunate that you had developed yourself as youdid, for I doubt if anyone else could have had the strength, to saynothing of the courage, to do it."
"But he was my friend, and I had to do it when the ladder broke."
"Well, it was a brave thing and we will remember it. I will takepleasure in giving the facts of your action to your father, ColonelPowers."
The only one who did not credit David with anything extraordinary wasDixon. He made light of the whole thing.
"No wonder he could climb, he has no legs to speak of. Pattersonwouldn't have jumped or fallen anyway." This argument was meant toend it, but although he was with his cronies, he had not much supportin this view.
The fire and rescue were the talk of the school for several days,but the ice was good and the river sports took the attention ofthe active-minded boys, much to David's rejoicing. Afternoons weredevoted to hockey, racing, fancy skating and just plain skating.
Warwick had sent down her best seven with Channing at its head, andchallenged Dixon's team to a game. A temporary rink of boards washastily put up with the assistance of the school carpenter. Postswere let through the ice and firmly driven into the mud at intervalsof every eight feet, and on these were nailed boards to the height ofnearly three feet. The boards made a firm barrier for the puck. Dixonand his team-mates had practiced every minute, but when the testwith Warwick came the latter wily individuals carried away the honors.
It was a sharp game, but the team work which had been shown in thefootball game the previous month was again apparent in the game onthe ice, and it bore down all obstacles. And Dixon's team was notreally as strong in opposing Warwick as in football. They were nottogether. Twice, by sheer force and rough tactics, they got the puckpast the Warwick goal-tender, but this was all. Warwick scored seventimes by pretty passing and elusive dodging. As the game began to goagainst Queen's the latter tried rougher and rougher tactics, butthey only opened their defence more and more, and Warwick piled upthe tallies.
"Is that the best hockey team you can get in Queen's?" asked aWarwick boy who was watching the game. "We have at least three teamsthat could take that aggregation into camp."
The Wee One, who was standing with Frank, Jimmy and a group ofFreshmen just at that point, answered him: "No, we have at least halfa dozen that could trim it."
"Well, why on earth don't you have them play? Those fellows, with theexception of your left forward, and Dixon there, can hardly stand ontheir skates, let alone play the game of hockey."
"You see the captain has lots of friends, and he plays whoever hewants to on his team. The good players don't happen to be friends ofhis, so they don't play. See the point?"
The Wee One had recovered from his scare at the fire, and while hehad been very friendly with Frank and David from the very first, hewas with them most of the time now. He hadn't said much to David, buthis eyes spoke volumes of regard and affection for his rescuer.
"Well," said the Warwick boy, "it's no fun to win a game like that.Since hockey is a closed sport to the best players down here, I'mgoing to try to get Channing to challenge Queen's to a series ofraces before this good ice gets away from us or a big snow stormcomes on. Dixon couldn't keep the good skaters out of such races,could he?"
"No," said the Wee One, "not if the challenge came to all the school.He probably wouldn't go into it at all since he couldn't run it."
"Good--then I'll get after Channing. The way to do it would be tohave tryouts in both schools and let the fastest skaters meet."
The boys agreed that it would be a great plan, and promised their aid.
"You'll enter, won't you, Jimmy, and you, Frank?" said Patterson.
"Sure," was the answer.
"Get Channing to send a challenge to the whole school," continuedPatterson. "Have him send it to Mr. Parks, who is a friend of theschool athletics and always willing to help."
The hockey game had ended by this time, and the triumphantWarwickites went back up the river shouting a song of victory whichdid not strike pleasantly on the ears of the defeated Queen's team.It had been customary for the teams to cheer each other, but Dixonand his players had climbed out of the rink without a word, taken offtheir skates and gone sullenly to the gymnasium.
True to his word, the Warwick boy, who had proposed the ice carnivalon the afternoon of the hockey game, took the matter to Channing, andthat young man was eager for it.
"We've beaten Queen's in baseball this year, football and hockey, andwe'd beat them if they had basket-ball, and we'll clean them up onthe ice races. We can beat them at anything from tiddle-de-winks upto throwing the javelin. They have a society down there which runsathletics, and until they get over that disease the best fellows inthe school are not allowed to play. That hockey game this afternoonwas a joke."
Channing got to work at once and spread the proposed plan aboutWarwick. It was eagerly taken up, and the result was the followingchallenge in the morning's mail:
"To Queen's School:
"Warwick School challenges you to a series of ice races on the Wampaug river on Saturday of this week. We propose a half-mile race, a hundred-yard race, and a mile race,--all to be skated straightaway, without turns--each school to hold its trials and present only its best skaters in these events. The racing to be open to everyone in each school, and the entrants are to be chosen only on merit.
"(Signed) ROBERT CHANNING, "For Warwick School."
Mr. Parks, thoroughly in sympathy with anything which was in thenature of a good, clean contest, particularly when it was on such abroad basis, was heartily in favor of the movement for a competition,and posted the letter conspicuously on the bulletin board in thegymnasium vestibule.
The letter attracted much attention, and every boy in Queen's whocould skate, or thought he could, entered his name on a long sheet ofpaper which Mr. Parks put there for that purpose. Of course, Frank,Jimmy and Lewis were entered. Their names were among the first to godown in their class.
On the shining ice just below Queen's a measured course was laid offby Mr. Parks, and the boys who intended to skate did their practisingthere. The course for the contest was to be laid equi-distant fromeach school so that there would be no favor to either, and where theice was not so much cut up as it was near the schools.
That evening Jimmy and Lewis dropped into Frank's room to talk itover. They had all been out on the ice trying the various distances.Lewis thought his distance was the hundred yards.
"All you have t
o do in that," he said, "is to take one big breath andlet 'er go. I think I made the best time over that distance."
"You did like fun," said Jimmy. "You were half way down the coursewhen I started and I passed you before we got to the finish. IfChanning had suggested a ten-yard dash, I'd have bet on you, Lewis.As it is, I don't think you'll do better than tenth in the hundred."
"I wish I had a decent pair of skates," said Frank. "These old onesof mine are too small for me, and when I get to going fast they don'trun well. I guess it's because they haven't enough bearing surface onthe ice."
"What are you going to enter, Frank?" asked David.
"Seems to me," said Frank, "that the half mile is my best distance. Ican't get going in the hundred. Jimmy goes the hundred like a breeze.And the whole mile is too much for me. If I had a longer pair ofskates I could do better, but there's no time to get any so I'll haveto do with these."
"Wheeler has entered in the half mile, I see," said Jimmy, "and he'sa terror. Not particularly graceful, but he's as strong as a bull.Have you noticed that Dixon hasn't entered any of the races?"
"I was looking for his name, but it isn't on the list. Just the same,he was out practising this afternoon."
"I didn't see him," said Frank. "What was he working at?"
"The half mile," said Lewis. "He didn't come out till after you leftthe ice, and I think he's down there now. I met him and some of hiscronies when I was coming over here, and they had their skates. Ithink he's after your scalp. And he's mighty fast on his skates, too."
"Well, I wouldn't be afraid of him the least little bit if I hadskates that fitted me. Maybe I can borrow a pair, but it's notlikely, as every one who can stand on skates will be out on the dayof the races. I'll do the best I can with what I've got. But maybehe won't enter since he can't run it to suit himself. Mr. Parks, youknow, has taken charge of the whole thing, and he, with a WarwickSchool teacher, is going to be judge at the finish line."
"That sounds good to me," said Jimmy; "there will be no monkeybusiness about it now. It will be a fair race and no favors toanyone, and the fastest wins. I sent my skates to the grinder to-day,and they are as sharp as a razor--too sharp for the best skating.I'll have to take the edge off a little with emery cloth. Whenthey're too sharp they grab the ice too hard, and don't slip easily."
On Thursday came the trial for Queen's School. Mr. Parks was incharge, and saw to it that everything was fair and square. Ten boyslined up for the hundred yards. At half the distance four went outin front. Jimmy was second and going well. Hillard, of the eleven,led by a yard or two, but coming to the very end Jimmy put on a greatburst of speed and overhauled him. The two crossed the mark together,breast and breast. A fellow named Robbins was third. The other sevenwere strung along over a distance of ten or fifteen yards. Lewis waslast. He crossed, grumbling because his "old skate" was loose.
"If it hadn't been for that I'd been second at least," he told Jimmy,as they skated back to the starting line. Lewis always had excuses,and most of the time he believed them himself.
Next came the half mile race, which brought out seven fellows, amongthem Frank. Just as the skaters were getting set for the start, ChipDixon glided over to Mr. Parks. "I've entered," he said, "and want tostart."
"When did you enter?" said Mr. Parks. "I didn't notice your name."
"I put my name down this afternoon; didn't think I could skate tilljust now because I had a bad knee where a puck hit me."
Mr. Parks looked undecided. He did not like Dixon, and was convincedthat he had held off till the last moment deliberately so as tospring himself as something of a surprise, and maybe gain someadvantage in it. So he turned to the row of skaters, who werestanding on the mark and put the question to them:
"Are you willing he should enter the race, boys?"
Chip's unpopularity showed itself in the hesitation of the fellows inspeaking up. They shuffled from one foot to the other. Finally Frankspoke up:
"I have no objection. I'd like to have him in."
It was a challenge to Chip, and Chip knew it, for he shot a quickglance at Frank and his black eyes snapped. The others now agreed,following Frank's lead, and Mr. Parks ordered Dixon into line. Hejumped into place and at a signal they were off. It was something ofa rush at first as the fellows were a little too close together.
Whether it was accident or not, Dixon jostled the fellow next tohim, who, in turn, got in Frank's way and almost threw him. Hoppinwent down in a heap and Frank had to skate outside of him to avoida tumble. When he was clear of Hoppin he was the tail of the bunch.But he settled down to work determinedly, and at half the distancehad overhauled three of the stragglers. Dixon, Wheeler, and a ladnamed Tompkins were still leading, with the former well ahead ofthe others. Slowly Frank crept up, still reserving a little for thesprint at the end. He passed Tompkins, and was even with Wheeler ahundred yards from the finish. Then he began to put his best speedinto it. He passed Wheeler, but, despite everything, he could notquite reach Chip, who shot across the finish line six feet aheadof him. As they snubbed themselves with the heels of their skates,Frank and Chip came close together and Frank caught Chip's triumphantglance which had a sneer in it as well.
"Never mind, old fellow, you get in the heat to represent the schoolanyway," said the Wee One to Frank a little later. "Second place isjust as good as first place. That lets Dixon, you, and Wheeler in torepresent Queen's in the half-mile."
"How did Chip come to get so far ahead of you? We were up at thecurve waiting for you, and we thought you had surely dropped througha hole in the ice. There was nothing to it but Dixon. And then youbegan to come, but it was a close squeeze. What was the matter?"
"Oh, some one got in Dixon's way and Dixon ran into him and knockedhim into my way, and I nearly fell over him and lost ten yards onaccount of it."
"I'll bet a pair of my best socks it wasn't an accident. Hoppin andChip are great friends. I'll bet it was all cooked up to throw you."
"I don't believe it," said Frank. "He wouldn't be as mean as that. Ihaven't hurt him." But the Wee One held his own opinion.
The mile heat trial brought out some good racing, and Hasbrook wasthe victor. Connor and Day finished second and third. They were twoJuniors who were not identified with any athletics, but they showedthemselves capable of making a good race.
At the gymnasium, after the trials, the names of the candidates wereposted prominently as follows:
100 yards--Turner, Hillard, Robbins.
Half-mile--Dixon, Wheeler, Armstrong.
Mile--Hasbrook, Connor, Day.
"And now," said the master, "I have a little announcement to make.I have just sent this information to Warwick, also. You will bepleased to learn that there are to be three very handsome cups forthe winners of these three events. They are to be suitably engravedand awarded after the races. I assure you they are very handsometrophies, and the winners will not only bring honor to the school,but will have something to remember the event by. The giver of thecups is our young friend, David Powers."
There was a spontaneous cheer for David, and all turned to look forthe individual just named, but he had beaten a hasty retreat when Mr.Parks began his remarks, and was even now cutting for his room asfast as he could go.
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