A moment later Grant and George came to the surface puffing and shaking the water from their eyes and hair. Both boys were laughing.
“Nice work,” said Grant to their two opponents, who sat in their canoe nearby.
“We were lucky,” protested Thomas.
“Lucky, nothing,” exclaimed Grant. “You knew more about the game than we did and you deserved to win.”
The canoe belonging to the defeated boys floated close at hand, bottom side up. The pole and the paddle were a short distance away. These were soon rescued and the canoe being righted, the contestants made their way to shore. John and Fred were the first to congratulate the winners.
“We’ll have to win this canoe race,” exclaimed Fred. “You fellows have two points to our one as it is now, and we can’t afford to let you get twice as many again this time.”
“We’re going to do our best to get twice as many though, you may be sure of that,” laughed Hugh McNeale. “We want that big flag.”
“If you win it, you’ll certainly be welcome to it,” exclaimed John. “We want it ourselves though, I can tell you.”
The best of feeling existed between the two camps, but this fact did not serve to lessen the competition and rivalry. Good sportsmanship adds zest to every game.
“Where are the first pairs for this canoe race?” cried Mr. Maxwell. “We mustn’t let these events lag, you know.”