Well aware that the Cubs of Den 2 were watching, Ross swam another length, finishing off with a snappy turn at the wall.
Then he pulled himself from the pool, stretching out on the tile floor to relax.
“See, I told you!” Brad muttered. “As soon as the going gets hard, he quits.”
“To win the 25-yard and the 50-yard dash, he won’t need too much reserve,” Dan sighed. “Well, I’ll sure do my best to win, but I’ve got a dark brown feeling.”
On Saturday, the day set for the swimming meet, enthusiasm had mounted to high pitch. By two o’clock, all the Cubs, their parents and many other spectators had gathered at the “Y” to witness the contest.
Five events had been scheduled, fancy diving, the 25-yard free style race, the 50-yard swim, a 100-yard relay, and a back stroke event.
Points were to be awarded on the basis of five for first place, three for second, and one for third place. According to the rules, each team was allowed to enter two contestants in an event.
Den 2 swung off to a good start with Brad taking top honors and Midge Holloway coming in third. This lead of six to three brought enthusiastic cheers from the gallery.
The second event, the racing back crawl, proved discouraging to Den 2. Though Chips Davis swam an excellent race, he lost to one of the Den 1 boys. Den 2, however, managed to snare both second and third places, giving them a total score of 10 to 8.
“From now on it will be nip and tuck,” Brad said grimly as the 25-yard free style was called. “So far Ross Langdon hasn’t had a chance to swim.”