CHAPTER XV—A BOXING MATCH
That afternoon, the Yale lads were invited down to the combined clubhouse and boathouse of the Blue Cove boys. They went along in a body, Browning having recovered sufficiently to make one of the party.
The boathouse was built over the edge of the water, and a wing of it served as a clubroom. The regular eight-oar racing boat lay high and dry on her brackets, and the visitors inspected her with interest.
“What do you think of her, Merriwell?” asked Kent Spencer, rather anxiously.
“She’s all right,” nodded Frank. “It is plain she is a new boat, and made from an up-to-date model.”
“We bought her last season. She is the first really good boat we ever owned, and that is how we happened to win the championship from Alexandria. She cost us a pretty sum, but we more than made it up on the race.”
The final words were murmured into Frank’s ear, and Merriwell understood that, although betting on the races was forbidden, the Blue Cove lads had found a way to win some of the money Alexandria was so willing to stake on her crew.
“Our old boat was too wide in the waist,” Spencer explained. “She could not slip through the water as easily as this one. I presume this may be improved upon, but I can’t see how.”
“Nor can I,” confessed Frank. “If you do not win the race this season, it is certain the boat will not be the cause of your defeat.”
Besides the large boat, there was a four-oared shell, also new and handsome. This attracted no little attention and admiration from the Yale lads.