The sight of the boy, safe and sound, brought a reaction from the terror, and wildly the scholars cheered, while Paul, Jerry and Longback ducked under the guard-rail and slipped and slid down to meet the hero.
“Hurt?” asked Jerry, anxiously.
“Nowhere, except in my clothes,” returned Harry—and again prolonged cheers greeted his ears.
Many were the willing hands that were extended to help draw him up into the road, and when they had succeeded, he became immediately the centre of an excited, admiring group.
“I think that was just perfectly splendid of him!” exclaimed Viola. “Some of you boys introduce me to him, won’t you?”
As she spoke, the girl, whose beauty and wealth made her the favorite of the school, looked straight at Elmer—but he gave no sign that he noticed her.
Their leader having thus given the stamp of approval to Harry, the other girls quickly pressed forward, all talking and chatting at once.
But no one responded to Viola’s request and, flushing, she turned away while the new student grew very red, as he looked from one to another of the boys who had invited him to steer the double-runner.
The situation was awkward in the extreme and Harry, diffident and sensitive as he was, felt it keenly. Yet he was the one to relieve it.
“Hey, you Snooks, you’d better go down and get your sled—or do you want me to do that?” he called.