There was some further delay about getting all the canoes in line, and then the starter stood up in his boat and lifted his pistol in the air.
“Ready!” he cried.
The paddles were poised.
Crack!
When the pistol spoke, they were off in a bunch.
Almost immediately, however, Jack Diamond began to forge ahead, fairly sending his canoe flying over the surface of the lake. He handled his paddle with strength and skill, and he proved a surprise at the very start.
There was a cheer from shore and the fluttering of handkerchiefs and waving of hats. The band played its liveliest air.
Merriwell paddled steadily and easily from the start, keeping well up with the body of the contestants, but not making any great effort to gain thus early in the race.
Hodge worked steadily, but was not particularly graceful in his movements. He was a stout, sturdy fellow, but no one had picked him out as a possible winner.
The Greenville man paddled in a style that was the poetry of motion, and sent his canoe darting along without any apparent trouble. There seemed every reason why he should be regarded as an almost certain victor.