Harry Watson's High School Days Part 26

All this while Harry had been studying his chances. He had purposely come up from behind, and had chosen the leeward side of the boat in advance. This was done with a distinct purpose. If, as he expected, Elmer altered the course of the _Glider_, and attempted to block their way, Harry meant to suddenly s.h.i.+ft his helm and shoot up on the windward side.

This movement he calculated to make so suddenly as to momentarily confuse the opposing pilot. And when Elmer could collect his senses enough to follow suit he would be just so many seconds too late; for by that time possibly the _Lightning_ might be on even terms; and the big sail would blanket the _Glider_, shutting off the wind that was so essential to her forward progress.

Then perhaps, before she could recover from this staggering blow, the _Lightning_, which would not have lost her headway for even a second, might be out of reach, and rapidly leaving her outwitted rival in the lurch.

At such a time as this it requires an active brain to hatch up a scheme that carries with it a chance of success. Fortunately Harry was built that way. He saw his opportunity, and grasped it without hesitation.

Paul, as yet, had not the remotest idea just how his chum meant to work the deal. He recognized the fact that those on the other boat would try to get in the way, regardless of accidents, and block their pa.s.sage.

Thus Elmer would always claim that he had never been pa.s.sed by any other iceboat, and if both craft were reduced to kindling wood by the collision, little he cared in his present reckless frame of mind.

But Paul had the utmost confidence in his comrade. He had seen Harry in action before now, and recognized the fact that he was gifted with a bright mind, capable of grasping the situation, and turning even a little thing to advantage.

And so he just lay there, holding on for dear life, ready to "take his medicine," as he termed it, should there be a spill; and also keeping himself in readiness to do his little part should the skipper give a quick order; for it was Paul's duty to look after the sail, and handle the sheet if they had to tack during their run, with the wind heading them off.

Now they were nosing up, so that the fore part of the _Lightning_ seemed but a yard or two behind the rudder of the opposing craft, once called the "Queen of the Conoque," but apparently destined to yield up that proud t.i.tle to the later model owned by Paul Martin.

"Ha!"

It was Paul himself who gave utterance to this exclamation. Apparently he had been holding his breath for half a minute past, in antic.i.p.ation of what was to come; and this signified that the startling event was being put into play.

Elmer had s.h.i.+fted his tiller just enough to change the course of his boat, and veer slightly to leeward. Of course this necessitated a change in the running of the pursuing craft, otherwise the _Lightning_ must immediately strike the stern of the leader.

Harry followed suit, and for a moment both boats continued on that slant. But it could not last, of course. The sh.o.r.e was too close by; and if they continued to veer to leeward both must go aground, to the utter demoralization of the delicate craft.

Paul could see that leering face of Pud almost within reach of his hand.

It seemed as though the bully might be asking what he was going to do about it; and giving him to understand that he might as well cut his halyards, and let his sail drop, because he and Elmer were grimly determined that no iceboat should ever sail past the _Glider_, come what might.

So Paul set his teeth hard, expecting a spill of some sort when the bow of his boat struck the stern of the other, while going at this amazing speed. Perhaps his face was white, which fact could hardly be wondered at under the circ.u.mstances. But there was no sign of fear there. Paul proved game when the test came, just as Harry had known would be the case.

A foot-why the distance between the two boats must be measured by inches now, so rapidly had it been cut down by the rush of the pursuing craft.

Just as Paul gave a gasp, expecting to feel the shock of the collision, and perhaps be tumbled headlong over the smooth ice, he felt Harry make a sudden move.

The skipper of the _Lightning_ had waited until the very last second, and then swung the tiller around!

Instantly obeying the rudder, the able boat changed her course. She no longer headed to leeward, but swung in the other direction, aiming for the windward bank of the river.

"Oh! bully! bully! bully!" cried Paul, as the plan of his chum flashed across his mind; and at the same time he occupied himself in tugging at the sheet in order to shape the bellying sail to the new course of the rapidly-driven boat.

Apparently Elmer was taken quite by surprise by this movement on the part of his rival. His mind was not quite equal to grasping the full significance of it, and responding so rapidly that he might still have a chance of bringing about a disastrous collision.

When he swung around, Pud was also slow to do his duty with the rope governing the sail. He had been altogether wrapped up in setting himself for the antic.i.p.ated shock of an upset; so that it took him several seconds to grasp the new conditions.

When they did succeed in changing their course, just before bringing up on the lee sh.o.r.e, it seemed as though it might be too late, for the able _Lightning_ had improved her opportunity in a glorious manner.

Elmer was seized with a fit of blind fury. He realized that he had been beaten at his own game, and by the boy whom he had always felt that sense of unjust hatred ever since the day Harry Watson first came to the Rivertown High School, and carried off the honors of that bob-sled dash down the hill.

The one thing he wanted to do now was to smash into the _Lightning_, regardless of consequences. Elmer believed in the "rule or ruin" policy.

If his boat was no longer to be the fastest on the Conoque, he would at least never allow another to carry off the honors.

And so the reckless boy deliberately headed for the rival craft, his aim being to come down upon the port quarter of the frail _Lightning_ with such an impetus that the other boat must be utterly demolished.

Paul saw what was impending. His quivering words of delight ceased to flow; for again he feared that this implacable and unscrupulous foe was in a position to carry out his quickly-conceived scheme of revenge.

But Harry knew better. His quick and experienced eye judged distances better than that of his chum. True, he edged in a bit closer toward the nearby sh.o.r.e; but that may have been for a double purpose. It gave him a trifle longer to make the pull; and at the same time rendered the possibility of Elmer and Pud coming to grief a _certainty_.

Five seconds is not a very long stretch of time; and yet there may be times in the experiences of some people when it seems next door to an eternity. And Paul was now feeling something that way.

He saw the oncoming _Glider_ rus.h.i.+ng down at them-he could mark the strained faces of the two desperate fellows who sprawled there on the thin planking that served as a deck to the runners-and he caught his breath with a queer little click as he wondered whether after all Harry was going to carry his clever game through to a successful end; or if the new boat was destined to be smashed then and there on its first glorious cruise.

Then the crisis came.

In changing his course so much, in order to strike the _Lightning_ squarely in the port quarter, Elmer had failed to realize that he was heading up in the teeth of the wind more than his rival. And in this way he was handicapped so far as keeping up his pace was concerned.

So the _Glider_ swept to the rear of the new boat, just comfortably missing her. The victory had been won, since the _Lightning_ had thus forged ahead, and pa.s.sed her rival!

Paul started to give a whoop of delight. Then he stopped, for there was heard a sudden loud smash as the boat of the baffled plotters struck the sh.o.r.e.

"She's done for! Gone to flinders, Harry! Oh, what a race, and they've got just what they deserve. But I hope neither of them has been badly hurt!" exclaimed Paul, who, even in the excitement of victory could think of the defeated foe.

"I feel the same way as you do about it, Paul," replied the pilot at the tiller of the now undisputed champion of the Conoque, as he headed straight up the narrows toward the wide reach above; "but I don't think that cuts much figure in it, for I'm sure I saw Pud jump to his feet out of the wreck; while Elmer was crawling out, and limping around as we turned that bend just below."

"Well, if ever a sly schemer got caught in his own trap that fellow was," remarked Paul, his indignation now getting the better of his sympathy. "And he sure deserves all he's got. We'll go on a way further, and then turn back. Perhaps we'll overtake our two friends, the enemy, limping along the ice on the way home; and they may even accept a lift back."

But after all, Paul's good intentions were fated never to be put to the test, for although they saw the wrecked _Glider_ piled up in a shattered heap on the sh.o.r.e in the narrows, nothing of the two unlucky skippers was discovered on the way down the river; and they concluded the boys had made their way ash.o.r.e, to hire some farmer to drive them all the way back to Rivertown.

When the story of the eventful race was told to the boys of Rivertown most of them declared that Elmer and Pud had been paid in their own coin; and few sympathized with them when they appeared on the streets with sundry strips of court plaster decorating their faces, and with decided limps.

"At any rate," said Paul, as he separated from his chum at the Watson gate, "we _did_ have a great time of it; and I reckon it's done you a heap of good, Harry," in which opinion the other certainly shared; and declared that he was glad he had accepted the invitation to try the new iceboat.

CHAPTER XXV-"ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL"

Keeping more and more to himself, Harry finally gave up the pleasure of skating with his friends after school, preferring to go on long runs alone.

As he was gliding over the ice on one of these occasions, he saw a girl and a boy skating well out toward the middle of the river, so far from him that he could not recognize them.

For two days before, there had been a decided thaw and the ice in the middle of the river was not considered safe by the majority of the skaters. Accordingly, when Harry beheld the two figures, he was amazed.

"Must be from Lumberport or Cardell," he told himself. "None of our people would be foolish enough to go out there. Guess I'll see who it is."

And without delay, he started toward the couple.

"Good gracious! It's Viola and Craven!" he gasped, when he was near enough to get a good look at them. For a moment, the boy was uncertain what to do. The girl had been keeping more and more aloof from him, and correspondingly more and more in the company of the rich student; and well he knew that Elmer would resent his advice in some insulting manner.

To his relief, however, the couple seemed to be so engrossed in one another that they did not see him, and after watching them for several minutes he was on the point of turning away when he saw them both sink, and then heard terrified screams for help.