“I made them save their strength for the final quarter,” answered Walt Baxter, in reply to a question from several persons. “I knew Longley couldn’t keep up the pace they set.”
“Oh, this is glorious!” burst out Alice Strobell, as she and Annie Larkins came up and shook hands with the twins.
Then May came forward to congratulate Spouter, and Dan Soppinger and Walt Baxter were not forgotten. There was a general hubbub and a general handshaking which lasted for fully ten minutes.
In the meantime the Longley crew had returned to their dock. Here they found a number of cadets and others to sympathize with them. Tommy Flanders looked “mad enough to chew nails,” as one of the Colby cadets reported later on.
“It wasn’t a fair race,” growled Flanders. “They tried to foul us going around the island.”
“Of course they tried to foul us,” put in Billy Sands.
This report, however, was not true. In fact, it was proved by a number of eye witnesses that if there had been any fault at all in rounding the island it lay with the Longley crew and not with the cadets from Colby Hall. Otherwise the race had been a perfectly fair one from start to finish.
“I guess Tommy Flanders will sing in a little lower tone of voice after this,” was Fred’s comment, when the excitement had subsided a little. “My, but I bet he feels sick!”
“He made a mistake by blowing so hard beforehand,” answered Jack. “Now our crew can blow and have something to blow about.”
There was no doubt but that the Longley following was very much disappointed at the showing so far made. Of course, two of their cadets had won the singles, but the four-oared race was considered much more important. Even the blaring out of the brass band did not dispel their gloom. However, a little later it was time to get ready for the eight-oared race, and then the spirits of the Longley boys seemed to recover.