“Sure.”
“And you prevented it, although I don’t know how you did it, for you were on the other side of him a few moments before. I was paying attention strictly to business, and supposed I was passing with Welch between us. How did you get in there?”
“I will tell you,” said Hodge, in a low tone. “I saw you were coming up at wonderful speed, for I took the chance of looking round. I realized that you would be a winner if not interfered with, and that you were going to pass on the other side of Welch. The moment I realized that, into my mind flashed the conviction that he would try to keep you from winning. The man from Greenville was hanging close to you, and there was a chance that he would beat all of us, unless you had a free course to the finish. I felt that I had a slim show of winning, so I permitted my canoe to drop back till I could cross behind Welch just when you were forging alongside of him. I reserved a certain amount of strength for a great spurt, and I needed it the moment I got into position. When I saw him try to foul you, I used every ounce of energy and drove my canoe into his. That’s all.”
“Well, you did a good job, old man; but I don’t know what the judges will say about it.”
“I don’t care what they say about it. What I want to know is what you say about Mr. Jim Welch now. Yesterday he tried to hammer you, to-day he tried to shoot you, and now, although you saved him from drowning this morning, he did his best to knock you out of this race. Is he thoroughly bad or not?”
“He is a rascal, that I will admit, but I do not believe him thoroughly bad, Bart.”
“Well, you are hard to convince!” cried Hodge, in disgust. “I think you are stubborn—you will not give up when you know you are wrong.”
“You do not think that, Hodge,” said Merry, reproachfully; “you must know better.”
Not another word would Bart say about it. He paddled along in sulky silence, not even giving heed when Frank thanked him for his act in preventing Welch from fouling.
From their boat the judges announced that Frank Merriwell was the winner. When Welch protested, they told him he deliberately turned his canoe in front of Hodge. The fellow could have claimed that Bart was off his course, but he was cautioned to let it drop, being told that it would be better to do that, as his attempt at crooked play would be shown up if he made a fuss about it. So the report went out that the collision came about because Welch got in Hodge’s course; but those who saw everything plainly knew this was not the real cause.