CHAPTER XXVI
THE SKATING RACE
For nearly half a mile Peter Slade kept the lead with ease, but then hisbreath began to fail him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw both Larryand Dick crawling up.
"No, you don't!" he muttered, and put on a fresh burst of speed thatincreased his lead by two yards.
"Peter Slade is going to win!"
"See how he is running away from the others!"
So the cries arose and it certainly looked as if the youth mentionedcould not possibly be defeated.
But now both Larry and Dick "dug in for all they were worth," as theythemselves expressed it. While there was yet a quarter of a mile to becovered Dick made a spurt and ranged up alongside of his chum.
"Sorry, but I've got to go ahead!" he cried, gaily.
"Come on, we'll both go!" yelled Larry, good naturedly, and then thepair put on a fresh effort and in a moment ranged up on either side ofPeter Slade.
"Hullo, they are in a line!"
"There goes Larry Colby ahead!"
"Dick Rover is going with him!"
"Say, but that is skating, eh? Just look at Dick strike out!"
"Sandwick is coming up, too!"
"And so is Marley!"
The last reports were true. The fourth and fifth boy were now directlybehind Slade. As Dick and Larry shot ahead, still side by side, Sandwickovertook Slade and so did Marley. In the meantime the sixth boy had losta skate and dropped out.
With a final desperate effort Peter Slade tried to gain first place. Buthis wind was gone and his strength also, and he dropped back further andfurther.
"Hurrah, here they come!"
"It's a tie race between Dick and Larry!"
"Marley is third!"
"Yes, and Sandwick fourth."
"Peter Slade is fifth."
"Humph! And Peter said he was bound to win!"
Then over the line shot the skaters, Dick and Larry side by side andlaughing merrily. As soon as the race was ended they locked arms to showtheir good feeling. Then Marley came in with Sandwick at his heels. Indeep disgust Peter Slade refused to finish, but circled to one side andhurried to the boathouse, there to take off his skates and disappear.
"It was a well-skated race," declared George Strong. Then he asked Dickand Larry if they wanted to skate off the tie.
"We won't bother," said Dick, after consulting his chum. "We aresatisfied to let it stand as it is, considering that there was no prizeto be awarded."
The fact that he had lost the skating race made Peter Slade more sourthan ever, and after that, whenever he met Dick, he glared at the eldestRover boy defiantly.
"He acts as if he had a personal grudge against me," said Dick to hisbrothers.
"Well, he acts that way to me, too," answered Tom.
"He ought to have his head punched well," was Sam's comment.
Peter Slade did not seem to care that Larry had beaten him--his enmitywas directed mainly at Dick.
Slade was in one of the lower classes, but one day one of the teachersannounced a lecture on the battleships of the American navy, and a largenumber of boys came in to listen and to take notes.
In the midst of the lecture Dick had occasion to pass down one of theaisles. As he went by Peter Slade the latter put out his hand and hithim in the knee. Slade's hand had ink on it and the ink went on Dick'sclean uniform.
"What did you do that for?" demanded Dick, halting.
"Shut up!" whispered Slade, uglily.
"I've a good mind to box your ears," went on Dick.
"Will you?" roared the bully, leaping up. "Just try it!" And so speakinghe made a pass at Dick's head.
The blow landed on Dick's shoulder, leaving an ink mark behind it. Theeldest Rover boy had leaped to one side. But now he leaped forward, anda well-directed blow from his fist sent Slade reeling backward over adesk.
"Stop that!" cried the teacher, in alarm, and brought his lecture to anabrupt end.
"A fight! A fight!" cried several of the boys, and left their seats tosurround Dick and the bully.
Slade was dazed for a moment, but on recovering he sprang at Dick andtried to force him to the floor. Around and around went the pair,bumping against the desks and sending some books to the floor. Theteacher tried to get at them, but before he could do so they hadseparated. Then Dick hit Slade a telling blow in the left eye whichcaused the bully to fall into a nearby seat.
"Stop, this instant!" cried the teacher, and then turning to some of theboys added: "Summon Captain Putnam at once."
The room was in an uproar, and many wanted Dick and Slade to continuethe battle. But the punch in the eye had taken away the bully's courageand he did not get up to continue the contest.
"What does this mean?" demanded Captain Putnam, as he came in, and hefaced Dick and Slade sternly.
"It means that that fellow ought to have a good thrashing, sir,"answered Dick, boldly, and pointed at the bully.
"It's his fault, it ain't mine," put in Peter Slade, hastily. "Hestarted it."
"That is not true, Captain Putnam. I was passing his seat when hereached out and smeared ink on my knee," and Dick pointed down to hissoiled trousers. "I wasn't going to stand for that and told him so. Thenhe jumped up and hit me in the shoulder, leaving more ink on me. Afterthat I hit him."
"It ain't so!" roared Peter Slade.
"That's the truth," said several. "Peter's hand is full of ink."
"He knocked over an inkwell just before Dick came along," said Fred. "Isaw him do it."
"So did I," added Songbird.
"Did you see it?" questioned Captain Putnam of the instructor.
"I saw nothing until the boys were fighting in the aisle," answered theteacher who had been delivering the lecture.
"Captain Putnam, I am sure Dick Rover is not to blame," said a veryquiet student named Rames. "Slade put the ink on Rover and struck thefirst blow--of that I am positive."
"It was my inkwell he knocked over," came from another lad. "I told himto leave it alone, but he wouldn't mind me."
"Oh, you are all against me!" roared Peter Slade.
"Evidently you are guilty," said the master of the Hall, sternly. "Iwant both you and Richard Rover to come to my office. Rames, you cancome, too, and you also, Brocton."
In the office a thorough investigation was held. Several other cadetswere called upon to testify, and it was proved that Peter Slade wasentirely to blame for what had occurred.
"You should not have attacked him, Richard," said the captain to Dick."But under the circumstances I cannot blame you. You may go."
For his misconduct Peter Slade was confined in the "guardhouse" forthree days. The black eye Dick had given him did not go away very fastand when he came out and resumed his place among the students he was asight to behold. That he was very angry at the eldest Rover boy iseasily imagined.
"I'll fix him some day," he muttered.
"Dick, you want to watch Slade," said Tom, one day, on passing the bullyin the hallway.
"I guess you had better watch him yourself, Tom."
"I am going to do that, don't fear. What did the captain do about yourmussed-up uniform?"
"Made Slade pay for having it cleaned."
"Did he do it?"
"He had to do it--Captain Putnam put it on the bill to his folks."
"That was right."
"Of course it was. But I understand it made Slade as mad as hops. Oh, hesurely has it in for us," went on Dick, and there the subject wasdropped.