Beth gave Dollie a cut with the switch. She was bound to win that box of candy.
Dollie, surprised by the sudden blow, leaped forward, almost unseating Beth who, however, managed in some way not to fall.
The young man had a fine horse which also started forward at a good fast pace, and soon nosed ahead of his rival.
Dollie, not to be outdone, quickened her gait. Both horses began to feel the contagion of the race, especially Dollie who had been, as January said, a race horse in her day. Her mouth tightened on the bit.
Beth's blood quickened too. After she found she could cling on, she was not a particle frightened but began to enjoy the sport.
The young man turned to Lulu, saying:
"She does well for such a little thing, doesn't she?"
He touched his horse with the whip. It went faster. Whereupon Dollie took the bit so completely that Beth had no control over her. Her racing blood was thoroughly aroused, and it would have taken an extremely strong hold to quiet her. She simply flew, and Beth began to be scared. The words of January flashed through her mind: "She'll go so fast, you'll wish you hadn't got on her."
Nose to nose the horses sped over the hard shell road. The situation grew critical for Beth.
She wondered what her mother would say if she were thrown and her lifeless body were carried home.