hard, owing to the pain he suffered,
and also the bitter disappointment that wrung his boyish and
ambitious heart.

Hugh had but one thought now, which was to speed along at such a clip
as to allow him to finally overtake and pass the treacherous Nick,
and leave him in the lurch. The spur of punishing the other for such
dastardly conduct was apt to prove an incentive calculated to add
considerably to Hugh's running.

Nick had the advantage, since he must be well on the way to the main
thoroughfare by now; and once that was gained there was a clear field
ahead of him. But one more registering station remained, and that
was at a certain turn on the way home. Then would come the final
three miles, with the pace increasing constantly, as those in the
lead vied with each other to get ahead, or to retain that proud
position.

Hugh quickly regained the mastery over his aroused feelings. He must
stay cool and collected so as to do exactly the right thing at the
right time. A little slip in the way of judgment was likely to lose
him the race, for he now learned as he gained the main road, that
there were not only one but two competitors ahead of him.

Yes, the fleet-footed Whipple had somehow managed to spin along over
the ground, and was now not far behind Nick Lang. Possibly the
fellow from Allandale had also secretly examined the course and
discovered a cut-off on his own account, through means of which he
anticipated gaining a great advantage over all the other runners in
the Marathon.

Hugh now set out to make steady gains. He must be within a certain
distance of those two fellows by the time the last stretch was
reached, or else all his hope of overtaking and passing them would be
lost.

He found that his powers of endurance and speed had not been
misjudged, for they responded nobly when called upon for a further
spurt. Now, he was greatly lessening the distance separating him
from Whipple; who, in turn, seemed able to hold his own with Nick.

The latter began to show the first signs of distress when they were
at the beginning of the last two miles. He looked over his shoulder,
and no runner ever is guilty of such an unwise proceeding unless his
heart has commenced to be filled with grave doubts as to his being a
winner.

Again did Hugh notice Nick doing this, and he took fresh courage from
the circumstance. Yes, and looking more closely he also saw that
Nick was not running true to form any longer;