“Come on, we girls will have a race, and the one who wins we’ll crown queen of the ice at the bonfire to-night!” cried Nettie.
“Fine! Dandy!” chorused a dozen or so of the girls, and one of them added:
“Let’s have a regular carnival, and we’ll make the boy who wins king.”
“Will you start it, Prof. Schmidt?” asked Viola, and again the genial old German complied, sending the girls off in short order.
During the preliminaries Viola had kept her eyes on the boys ahead, and it seemed to her as if Harry cut down the lead of Elmer and Longback. Instantly the thought occurred to her that if no one would introduce her to the new student, by winning the girl’s race, she would surely be able to meet him at the mock coronation ceremony planned for the carnival. And, gritting her teeth, she bent forward, skating with all the speed she could summon.
After the start of the girls, the interest of the spectators had again turned to the boys and, that they might the better see the finish, everyone skated in the direction of the brush-pile.
When Snooks saw Harry taking the lead he grew furious.
“I’ll get him! If I can’t win, he certainly shan’t,” he growled to himself, and his anger at the boy who had so humiliated him on two occasions giving him increased strength, he quickly cut down Watson’s lead, although in doing so, he swerved his course from the extreme opposite end of the line of racers close over to that of the boy for whom he had conceived such hatred.
“What’s Pud up to?” exclaimed several of those who were following. But not long was the bully’s purpose in doubt. Tiring from his burst of speed when he was almost abreast of Harry, realizing that if he were to carry out his mean scheme he must act immediately, he lunged viciously towards the new student.
“Watch out, Watson! Snooks is trying to foul you!” shouted Jerry.