The words were scarcely out of his mouth when Sanders made a feint to cross directly in front of his competitor and Harding lost a length in consequence.
“Confound him!” growled Frank, “the judges oughtn’t to stand for that!”
Chicken Little stood fascinated, gazing at the advancing figures.
Her small fists clenched as she saw Harding drop the few paces behind. Suddenly an idea popped into her head. Forgetful of her own uncertain feet, and both ignorant and reckless of any danger, she darted forward, a small red danger signal directly in front of Mr. Sanders as he came opposite. The annoyed racer swerved quickly to the right, but poor Jane once started could not stop, and would have fallen a scarlet heap in Dick Harding’s path had not Pat, divining her intention, followed swiftly and grabbing her by the shoulder steered her in a sharp curve out of the way. She got a good scolding from both Frank and Marian when Pat brought her back to them.
“You might have been hurt—you almost spoiled the race—don’t you ever do anything so foolhardy again, Jane.” This from Marian.
Frank was still more severe. “I’m ashamed of you, Sis. Did you suppose Dick Harding would be willing to win the race by a trick—besides you nearly tripped him. If Pat hadn’t been so quick there would have been a bad mix-up.”
Chicken Little scarcely heeded at first because from the far end of the pond a shout went up, and looking with wide eyes, she saw the dark stranger and Mr. Harding slip over the line together—it was a tie!
Then Frank’s words began to sink in. The idea that she might have hurt or disgraced her beloved Mr. Harding frightened her much more than the possible danger to herself. Her eyes filled with tears and though she tried valiantly to wink them away, they soon overflowed.
Katy and Gertie eyed her curiously, and Frank and Marian though they felt sorry for the child, felt that she needed a lesson. Ernest returning from the finish, felt called upon to rub it in still further.
“What in the dickens were you trying to do, Jane Morton, were you crazy?”