Tom and Alf and Dan and Paul Rand had been among the fortunate ones, and had started out at the head of the procession, almost side by side. It was a hard race between them the whole distance, with two other crews proving dangerous until almost the end. Dan had been fortunate in his choice of a partner, for Rand was a fine paddler, and from his place in the stern he kept the canoe headed as straight as a die all the way. In spite of his pessimistic opinion of the craft’s condition it showed no symptoms of dissolution, and proved a very good goer. Near the finish the rival crews were only two lengths distant from each other, Dan and Rand leading. Along the bank raced the crowd, shouting and cheering.
“Dig, Rand, dig, you old Indian!”
“Come on, you Dyer! Come on, Loring!”.
“Keep it up, Dan, you’ve got ’em beat!”
Tom and Alf did their best to cut down the lead, but Rand and Dan pushed their canoe across a good length and a half ahead, receiving a salvo of applause and, later, a pair of pewter mugs. While the applause was at its height, Tom and Alf, trying to turn their defeated canoe around toward the float, collided with a tub occupied by a small Prep boy, and added a sensational anticlimax to the event by going heels-over-head into the river!
More swimming races followed, keeping up the interest and excitement until what Alf called “the piece of resistance” was announced. This was the obstacle race for canoes manned by two boys. Tom and Alf were entered, and so were Roeder and Norcross; and there were four other crews besides. The start was at the boat-house, and the finish was above the railroad bridge, downstream. Between start and finish were the obstacles. First of all, there was a thirty-foot ladder placed across the course, roped at each end to stakes driven in the bank in such a way that it formed a low fence. A little way below the ladder Mr. Bendix had gathered the barrels together, end to end, and these, too, formed a river-wide barrier. At Loon Island, farther downstream, the contestants were to pull up their canoes on the farther side, carry them across the narrow strip of land, and re-embark. Beyond the island poles were lashed together to form the final obstacle. The audience anticipated a good deal of fun, and was not disappointed.
As the river was wider at the boat-house than farther upstream, there was no difficulty in lining the six canoes up abreast. From the float and the banks came a fusillade of advice as the crews awaited the word.
“Whatever happens, Jim, don’t give up the ship!”