"The Cardiff sled left the beaten road, and plunged into the almost unbroken snow of the fields"
The way was full of perils, for the field through which the straight path lay was not as level as the road. Fortunately the snow had melted and frozen again very hard, so that the surface was almost like a sheet of ice.
My, but how that sled did glide along! The runners rang in the cold air as they rubbed along the snow and ice, which flew up on both sides of the boys like a miniature storm of white flakes. On and on went the Cardiff bob, like a big bird skimming along. In less than a minute it had approached the dangerous turn, around which it was necessary to swing to get back into the road. Could Adrian make it?
"All ready, Tom!" sung out Adrian. "Look out for the turn!" and Tom Baker tightened his grip on the rear steering-wheel.
"I'm ready," he called back.
The next instant they were at the curve. If the bob, heavy with the load of boys, kept straight on, it would hit the huge rock with a terrible crash. Could Adrian pass it safely?
It was a second of intense expectation on the part of the crew. Then they felt a sudden swerve, and instinctively leaned to the left, to bring all the weight possible on the runners on that side, to keep them from skidding. There was a shrill screeching and squeaking of the snow and a shower of white flakes. Adrian tugged with all his might at his wheel. And then the wisdom and the great necessity of having the rear sled movable and steerable was apparent. For, had it not been, the sudden and short sweep could never have been made.
A second after Adrian twisted his wheel Tom Baker did likewise. The rear end of the bob swung as if a giant hand had sent it around. It almost grazed the big boulder, missing it by a few inches. The sled hung and quivered for an instant on the very edge of the turn, and suddenly, with a motion that almost upset it, the bob righted and swept into the main road.
The great feat had been accomplished safely, and Adrian felt his heart thrill.
Once fairly in the road, every one looked for a sign of the other sleds. Was the Cardiff bob too late? Was their racer ahead or behind the others? These were questions that tugged anxiously at the hearts of the boys. But there was little time for Adrian to think of this, for the control of the bob, moving like a locomotive, needed all his attention, and Tom Baker's as well. There was another sharp turn to make, and it took all of the two steersmen's strength to twist the wheels. Then the sled shot into a straight incline, the last quarter mile of the course.
As the Cardiff sled was speeding on there came a shout of dismay from behind it, for the Lafayette racer, and that of Onativia, on a line with it, whizzed around the curve. Well might they shout, for they were distanced, and with no chance to regain the intervening ground which Adrian had so daringly and so skilfully covered.
In another minute the race was over. The Cardiff sled glided down the last declivity, and into the main street of the town, through the crowd of admiring people who had gathered. Adrian steered to a patch of ashes that had been sprinkled to retard the speed of the bobs at the end. As the Cardiff boys leaped from their still slowly moving racer, to be greeted with hearty hand clasps and shouts of victory, the Lafayette sled came along, with that of Onativia behind it. It was a clean-cut, decisive victory for Cardiff, and even the vanquished ones had to admit it. Adrian's plan had worked out exactly as he hoped, and had saved the day; and to him the credit of the race was due, as all Cardiff joyfully admitted.
For a few minutes Adrian, Roger, and the other members of the crew could not break away from the admiring crowd.
"Three cheers for the Cardiff boys!" called some one, and they were given with a will.
"And three cheers for Adrian Kimball!" shouted Captain Smather of the Lafayette bob.
The shouts rang out louder than before, and Adrian got even redder in the face than the biting wind had made him.
It was a great day for Cardiff.