Lazar’s name was in but one list, that for the 100-yard run, and Phil wondered whether the latter had withdrawn because he had entered. The next minute Marshall came rushing up to him.
“Lazar is running only in the 100-yard. I suppose you noticed his name is not in the others. I have just seen him and he seems confident of being able to win the race. Now, if you can win the others and run second in this short dash, we shall win the pennant hands down.”
Phil immediately bristled.
“Did he say I might run second?” he asked quickly.
Marshall hesitated.
“You know what I mean, Perry,” he answered knowingly; “after your other races you can hardly expect to beat Lazar, but if you try for second, you can get it. Don’t you see?”
“Is that his suggestion?” Phil asked, his anger rising.
“To be frank with you, yes, it is,” confessed Marshall. “He found that the three races were being run too close together, so he scratched in the others and thinks he is sure for the shorter run. It’s all perfectly square.”
“H’m, maybe so,” Phil answered shortly, as he turned toward the dressing-tent to be ready for the first race in which he was entered.
“‘Second,’ eh?” he soliloquized. “I’ll give him the race of his life for first.”