“Great! By Jove!”
“Yes—but for one thing: Marj Wilkinson is the most expert canoeist we have. She’ll win everything!”
“The deuce she will!” cried Harold, bringing his foot down to the floor with a bang. “It’s absurd, Ruth, for a girl like you to let an ordinary, wishy-washy, bum-sport of a Scout like her beat you to everything. It’s just her dumb luck that does it, that’s all. Why, she hasn’t any more spirit than a snail!”
Ruth smiled at Jack’s enthusiasm. She knew that she had him just where she wanted him. He would go to almost any length to do something to please her.
“Can’t you work hard on the way up, and beat her?” he suggested.
“I might, but I’m doubtful. I really think it’s a practice, Harold. And then, I’ve got to admit it, Marj is better at most sports than I am.”
“I don’t believe it! It’s just that she’s a diplomat—getting in right with the gym teacher—and all that. It makes me sick!”
“Well, I’ll do the best I can,” observed Ruth; “for I’d rather have that silver cup, and the distinction that it would carry with it, to have won a meet at Silvertown, than anything else I know of. Why, all the other prizes we’ve worked for so far seem like mere child’s play compared to this one! And besides, I think it would mean a good deal to mother,” she added, as an afterthought.
Harold was silent for a few minutes, lost in thought. He looked across the porch to the lawn, where only the very brightest colored flowers were still apparent in the deepening twilight. Ruth watched his regular profile, noting the beauty of it, and a feeling of pride swelled within her at the thought of the young man’s staunch allegiance to her cause. She was fond of Harold, and she meant to use him whenever she could; nevertheless, she realized even now that if she met some wealthy young man at Silvertown, she would never give her neighbor another thought. For it had always been Ruth Henry’s habit to dispose of old friends as one might of old clothing—when they seemed worn out, and new ones are desirable.
Harold turned his head slowly towards her.