The boys nodded and said they were. Thompson raised his gun. “Ready!” he called.
The boys crouched, each in his lane. “Get set!”
There was silence everywhere. The boys brought back their arms ready to dive. But half a second before the pistol went off, Mac, anticipating the signal, dived. The boys relaxed and waited for Mac to come out of the water and take the start over.
“Ready!” called Thompson. Pause. “Get set!” Half a second later the gun went off and five young men, their arms stretched out in front of them, flung themselves through space, cut into the water and—they were off. Ted, tall and lanky, was out front, an inch or two in the lead. Their legs kicked rhythmically, their arms moved gracefully and with precision. They skimmed the water like fish.
The length of the pool was twenty yards and each man had to swim the pool five times. At the first turn, Ted and Nuthin’ were neck and neck. Both boys were encouraged and urged on by their comrades and friends. Paul was only an inch or two behind, followed very closely by Mac and Joe. That position was maintained throughout the second lap. In the third lap Paul and Mac started creeping up steadily on the leaders while Nuthin,’ shot out into the lead, with Ted only an inch behind. At the turn, a deep sigh went up from the spectators—Nuthin’ missed his hold and lost enough time in the turn to place him behind with Joe. It seemed that the race was now to be decided between Ted and Paul. Ted, however, seemed to manage quite well in keeping his lead and Paul didn’t seem as though he were gaining any. Nuthin’, though, was in the meanwhile, gaining with every stroke. At the turn he was neck and neck with Paul.
On shore, some people had set up a chant—“Nuthin’! Nuthin’! come on Nuthin’!” They kept up the chant until the very end of the race. And Nuthin’ seemed to be responding very well to their call. He was edging up closer and closer. He was straining every muscle in his body. His arms and feet were like a well oiled, well regulated machine. Within five yards to the goal Nuthin’ was neck and neck with Ted. The latter strained very hard to reach out further. Two yards from the edge of the pool and Nuthin’ had already crept into the lead. The judges were bending over, watching very closely for the first touch. The spectators held their breaths and watched. In an instant the race was over and the judges were rising to their feet. Somebody shouted, “Ted! Ted, the winner!”
Both judges shook their heads and pointed to Nuthin’. William, at the other end of the pool, screamed, “Nuthin’! Hooray for Nuthin’!”
Somebody nudged him and remarked, “Stop shouting for nothing; shout for something.”
William laughed and roared. “Nuthin’ is something and how!”