GUSTAVUS VASA (STOCKHOLM)
Wandering farther and farther from the boat, the boys talked of their hero.
"I heard," said Erik, "that once Gustavus Vasa dressed himself as a peasant and went from village to village, trying to raise an army with which to fight the Danish King."
Johan gave him a look which plainly said, "Everybody knows that," and added, "He had to give up, though. He started to leave the country, hungry and discouraged, when the people of Dalecarlia sent ski-runners after him and brought him back."
"There is a ski competition every year," barked Erik, "and the ski-runners cover the same ground that Gustavus Vasa traveled that day!" He'd show Johan!
But Johan calmly returned, "I've been there. I've seen his statue at Mora, which is the finish of the race."
Erik glared. Then suddenly and for no reason, except that he had nothing more to say, he cried, "I'll race you!"
They ran off in the opposite direction from the river and their boat. Like two wild creatures, they dashed across a road, where bicycles, like metal flies in swarms, rang bells of fury at them. An old gentleman, carrying a basket on the handlebars of his bicycle, became so flustered that he wobbled from side to side and nearly toppled over.
The boys ran on. At last, breathless, they stopped. The race was a tie. They were now at the other end of the village and, all at once, they both remembered.
"The boat!" they gasped. Back they started, dizzy and tired, stumbling wearily. "It won't wait!"