“Wait until I talk with the boys who are going to race,” announced Dawson.
“We’ll make it two miles!” he finally exclaimed, after a brief consultation.
This announcement met with varied exclamations from the Rivertown students.
“Paul and Jerry never can stand that distance in the world,” shouted several of their mates.
“Never mind, that’s Watson’s pet race, and all we want to do is win it,” declared Misery. “This isn’t a meet where we have to have points to win.”
But despite his confident announcement, there were many of the scholars who scoffed at the thought that the boy who had so lately come to Rivertown would be able to defeat the man who had twice won the race for Springtown.
Realizing what was in their minds, several of the seniors skated about among the Rivertown students.
“Don’t sulk!” they exclaimed. “Show some life! We chose the two miles, and it’s up to you people to give some support to the boys who are going to race! Don’t act as though you thought we were beaten already. Come on now, rip out a cheer!”
Under the lash of the words, the boys and girls of Rivertown let out cheer after cheer, winding up the various school cries with the names of the boys who were to represent it’s honor.
Valiantly, Springtown came back, but not enough scholars had come down the river to produce a volume as great as that of the home town, and they finally abandoned their efforts to out-cheer their rivals.