"You'll have to go last on the list," nodded Ben, as Greg came skating up.
Greg merely nodded, though inwardly he grinned. "That just suits me," he told himself. "The fellow who skates last will be freshest in the minds of the judges."
When it came Greg's turn he avoided most of the fancy figures that the other fellows had shown off amid much applause. Still, Greg showed a bewildering assortment of "eights," "double-eights" and some magnificent work along the "turn promenade" order that Ripley had been doing before the accident.
Then Greg came in, promenading backward on his skates.
"I'm going to fall," he called to the judges, "but it will be intentional."
"Fall it is, then," nodded Sam Edgeworth, one of the judges.
Greg was moving jauntily along, still doing the backward promenade.
Suddenly one of his skates appeared to catch against the other.
Down went Greg, backwards. Despite his announcement the moment
before, a sympathetic murmur went up from many of the onlookers.
But Greg, sitting down suddenly as he did, pivoted around like a streak. Throwing his hands back of his head, he sprang to his feet. At the first he was doing the forward promenade. The whole manoeuvre, including the fall, had occupied barely four seconds. Now, wheeling into the back promenade Greg glided before the judges.
"Time," called the holder of the watch.
"I'm willing," nodded Greg. "And I'm willing any contestant who wants should try my stunt before the verdict is given."