“Once more!” cried the shouter to his crowd. “This time we’ll give ’em ‘Over the hurdles and far away,’ composed especially for this occasion.”
The singing began.
“Mercy! What howling!” cried Madge, in pretended horror.
“It’ll sound sweeter when they sing Randall’s praises,” suggested Tom.
“Now, just for that I won’t speak to you to-morrow,” she said, with a pretended pout.
There was laughter and jollity among the youths and maidens. Tom and his chums greeted old friends and athletic foes from Fairview and Boxer Hall, until Holly Cross, coming along, sarcastically suggested that if there was going to be a hurdle race that day it was time to dress for it.
There were to be four heats, and Tom and Phil found themselves drawn in the first one. Of course in the finals the best men from each college would participate.
The hurdles had been set up, and carefully looked to. Last measurements were taken, and the rules announced once more. It was to be a quarter mile race final, instead of the usual one hundred and twenty yards, for the reason that there were no other big events that day; but the preliminary heats were the regulation distance.
“Get ready!” called the starter, as he raised his pistol and looked at his stop-watch. Tom found himself getting nervous, and he wished that Bean and his crowd would sing, but this could not be done while the start was being made.
“Ready!” shouted the starter.