"No! Really!" exclaimed Frank in delight.
"Sure. Of course I'm not certain that they were rowing their best, but that's the time."
"Well, we haven't hit up the pace to our own limit yet," declared Andy.
"No indeed!" exclaimed Jack.
There was more practice, hard, grueling work, and at the end of another week Frank announced that he was satisfied. By mutual consent he had been made captain.
"I'm going to write a challenge to Waterside to-night," he said.
"Hurray!" cried his chums.
The challenge was couched in rather mild terms as befitted a school that had been out of the running for several years. But a chance to show what they could do was respectfully asked, and it was intimated that an early reply would be appreciated.
"There, now I'll go down to the post-office and drop this in," said Frank, when it had been finished to the satisfaction of all.
As he dropped in the box the missive, which meant so much to Riverview, Frank was aware of two girls hastening up the street toward the post-office. As they came under a gas lamp he recognized them as Gertrude Morton and Grace Knox.