With the finishing line but a hundred feet away, Phil, Roger, and Gus Plum shot to the front. Then Ben followed. Nat Poole tried to keep up, but could not. Then of a sudden Dave went ahead also.
"Nat is dropping behind!"
"He put on too much steam at the start!"
"There goes Porter ahead of him!"
"See, Morr, Lawrence, and Plum are even!"
"Yes, and there comes Ben Basswood up to them!"
"Here they come! Clear the way, everybody!"
With a rush the skaters came on. For one brief instant Roger was ahead, but then the others put on a burst of speed, and over the line they came, amid a great yelling and cheering.
"A tie between Morr, Plum, and Lawrence!"
"And Basswood and Porter tied for second place!"