The Go Ahead Boys in the Island Camp Part 27

"Sprint, John! Sprint!" Grant urged the moment they had started. "Catch up to them and hang right on to them all the way around."

Paddling with all their strength Grant and John succeeded in catching up with their opponents. When the bow of their canoe was within a few feet of the stern of the other they eased up a bit and contenting themselves with allowing their rivals to set the pace, they kept their position with bulldog determination.

Thomas and Hugh sprinted. Grant and John followed suit. If the leading canoe slackened its pace the one behind did the same. Like a shadow the two Go Ahead boys dogged their opponents' course.

Such a proceeding always worries the leader. To know that a step behind him is some one who follows him like grim death and who cannot be shaken off by any means whatsoever, is bound to have its effect in the long run. The pace-maker is irritated and bewildered and sometimes demoralization follows as a result.

Grant was aware of this and he intended to make the most of it. He knew that if Thomas and Hugh discovered that it was out of the question to pull away from the pursuing canoe their confidence would be shaken and once this quality is lost, a great a.s.set is gone.

It is easier to follow the pace than to make it. Another advantage is that the one behind can watch his opponent and note everything that he does. The leader, on the other hand, cannot tell what his rival intends to do and must always be on his guard lest he be taken by surprise.

Thomas and Hugh worked desperately. Evidently they had decided that their best chance was to tire out the boys in the canoe that followed them so relentlessly. With this object in view they started a sprint when they had covered about one-third of the course and they kept it up.

Their team-mates had tried to sprint the entire distance, and failed.

Could these two do it? George and Fred had been content to allow their rivals to gain on them, but not so Grant and John. Their one idea was to hang on and hang on and hang on, until the time should come when an opportunity offered itself for a quick dash into the lead. This chance had not yet presented itself.

The four boys worked like demons. Down the whole length of the island they raced, neck and neck. The same amount of open water showed between the two canoes all the way along. It almost looked as if the first canoe was towing the other. Maintaining these same positions they approached the last turn.

"Now, String!" said Grant in a low voice. "When they take this curve, I'm going to shoot in between them and the sh.o.r.e. Be ready."

"All right," replied John, without looking up from his task for an instant.

The leading canoe now turned and began to round the point of the island.

Close behind them followed Grant and John. Thomas and Hugh were not far from sh.o.r.e, so that Grant would not have much room to pa.s.s, if indeed such a thing was possible. Just before the canoes entered the straightaway leading to the finish line, the two Go Ahead boys made their bid for the lead.

Grant in the stern swung the canoe in between the other and the sh.o.r.e.

The s.p.a.ce was limited but their chance had come. It was now or never.

"Now, String!" cried Grant. "Let 'em have it!"

It seemed impossible that the two boys could work any harder than they had been. Every one seems to have some reserve strength, however, no matter how much he may have used before, and it was this store that Grant and John called upon now.

Inch by inch they crept up. Soon Thomas from the stern of his canoe could see out of the corner of his eye the bow of the blue team's canoe.

"Paddle, Hugh!" he cried. "Paddle for all you're worth!"

It was a desperate contest, but Grant and John were not to be denied.

The difference that setting the pace or following it made, was just enough to give them a slight advantage. As far as skill and strength were concerned, the four boys were remarkably well matched.

Down the home stretch they dashed, and little by little Grant and John gained. They gained steadily also, and it was evident that if the course were long enough they would be returned winners. But could they catch and pa.s.s their rivals before the finish line was reached? That was what worried Fred and George, who screamed themselves hoa.r.s.e in their eagerness to spur their comrades on.

No open water showed between the boats now. A few yards more and the red team was but three-quarters of a length ahead. Soon this was reduced to half a length and still Grant and John gained. The line was but a few yards distant now however. Could they do it?

The veins stood out on their foreheads. Between their clenched teeth their breath came in gasps. Still they struggled on, still they gained slowly, almost imperceptibly and nearer and nearer they came to the finish.

"If the course was only a few yards longer," groaned George as he watched the stirring finish from the canoe.

A moment later and the two racers were almost on even terms. It was nearly impossible to tell which one was in the lead now, so evenly were they matched. The tape was only a few feet away. With one final effort the four young racers urged their canoes forward; they broke the tape and shot on past. The race was over.

CHAPTER XIX-A CLOSE SHAVE

"Well!" exclaimed George. "I never saw anything to beat that!"

"Who won?" demanded Fred.

"Don't ask me. I'm not the judge."

The boys turned and looked at Mr. Maxwell who was seated in the other canoe with Franklin and Herbert. His face was turned towards the two canoes which had just flashed across the finish line. He wore a puzzled expression and was evidently at a loss what to say.

"Who won?" called George.

Mr. Maxwell turned and looked at the speaker sorrowfully. "No one," he said.

"No one," exclaimed George. "Why, how can that be?"

"Couldn't it be a tie?" asked Fred quietly.

"Why, yes, of course. I hadn't planned for a tie though."

"I declare the race a tie," announced the judge solemnly. "If either boat was ahead of the other, I'm sure I didn't see it, and I wouldn't dare call it anything else."

The racers had turned around and were now making their way slowly back.

All four of the boys were well nigh exhausted, but they were smiling nevertheless.

"Who won?" called Thomas, for they had not heard the judge's verdict.

"It was a tie," said George.

"A tie?" exclaimed Grant, his face falling. "That's bad."

"Why is it?" demanded George.

"Because we needed the points."

"By the way," exclaimed Hugh, "how do we award the points?"

"Split them, don't we?" said Fred readily, appealing to Mr. Maxwell.

"Each team gets one and a half. Two for first and one for second makes a total of three, and a half of three is one and a half."

"Whew!" whistled George. "You certainly are quick at figures."

A general laugh went up at Fred's expense but he did not seem to mind.

"That's the way it's figured out anyway," said Mr. Maxwell. "That makes the total points three and a half for the red team and two and a half for the blue."