“I think this is the 120 yards’ hurdles; the high hurdles, they call it. We won’t do much in this because we have only two fellows entered and neither of them is much good. That’s Kirby, the tall one. He’s one of the pitchers on the base-ball team.”
“I see. He’s a fine looking boy, Miss Harriet. Here they come! Hello, some one’s taken a tumble!”
“It’s Glidden,” said Harry disappointedly. “We won’t get a single point out of this, I’ll-- Oh, yes we will! Go it, Kirb! Go it! There! He was second, wasn’t he?”
But when the megaphone was pointed in their direction, Baxter, official announcer, gave Hammond first, second and fourth places and Ferry Hill third.
“That makes Hammond 9 and Ferry Hill 2,” said Harry. “Well, we didn’t expect anything in the high hurdles, so we’re really two points ahead, aren’t we?”
“Half-milers this way!” called the clerk.
Ferry Hill had three candidates for this event, Porter, Pryor and Kirby, to Hammond’s six. But both Roy and Pryor were expected to win places, and Ferry Hill’s supporters cheered confidently. Then the nine runners were poised on the mark, the pistol barked, and there was a little struggle for the pole. As they swept by the stand Holmes of Hammond was making the pace, with Pryor close behind him and Roy well back in the bunch. At the first turn they strung out along the inner rim of the track, the pace-maker taking it very easy indeed. Into the back-stretch they went, nine white-clad bodies agleam in the sunlight, and a cheer arose from where the brown-and-white flags fluttered as Pryor stepped around Holmes and took the lead, setting a pace that opened up several yards between them. After the next turn the runners were well stretched out along the track, and as they swept into the home-stretch and finished the first lap and the first half of the distance it was evident that only five of the nine would dispute the points. These were Porter and Pryor of Ferry Hill and Holmes, James and Garrison of Hammond. Kirby apparently had not recovered from the high hurdles and was running next to last, quite out of the race.
As the runners passed the stand the flags waved and the cheers urged them on. It was Pryor, Holmes, James, Porter and Garrison now, and this order was maintained until they were once more in the back-stretch. Then Roy passed James and Holmes took the lead from Pryor. An eighth of a mile from the finish the pace increased. Garrison dropped farther and farther behind and Roy crept past Pryor. At the turn the latter, run out, dropped behind James and finally was overhauled by Garrison. Into the home-stretch sped the first three runners with scarce two yards dividing first man from last. The stand was on its feet, flags waving and voices straining. Then, twenty yards from the tape, James of Hammond spurted magnificently and had passed the two ahead of him before they knew it. Roy with a final effort worked loose from Holmes and crossed the line a bare two yards back of James. Hammond 8, Ferry Hill 3.