"There's a Sunday-school picnic next Thursday afternoon. Both churches unite in it. All the young people will be there. You would have heard of it if you hadn't been absent at school."
"I will certainly go. There are so few amusements in Arden that I can't afford to miss any. I suppose there will be the usual attractions?"
"Yes, and an extra one besides. There's a gentleman from the city staying at the hotel, who has offered a prize of ten dollars to the boy who will row across the pond in the shortest time."
"The distance is about half a mile, isn't it?"
"Yes; a little more."
"I suppose you will go in for the prize, Val. You have a nice boat to practice in."
"No amount of practice would give me the prize. I don't excel as a rower."
"Who is expected to win?"
"Conrad Carter confidently counts on securing the prize. There is no boy in Arden that can compete with him, except—"
"Well, except whom?"