the next
half mile the boats maintained the same relative positions.

Frank was still unmoved, and there was some inward grumbling among his
crew. An expression of deep anxiety had begun to supplant the look of
hope and confidence they had worn, and some of them were provoked to a
doubt whether Frank, in the generosity of his nature, was not intending
to let Tony bear off the honors.

"Come, Frank, let her have, now!" said Tim, who could no longer restrain
his impatience.

"Silence! Not a word!" said the self-possessed coxswain.

It was in the "order of the day" that no member should speak during the
race; and none did, except Tim, and he could easily have been pardoned
under the circumstances.

Not yet did Frank quicken the stroke of the Zephyr, though at the end of
the next half mile she was only two boats' lengths astern of her
competitor, which had lost this distance by the exhaustion of her crew.
They had pulled three miles with the expenditure of all their strength.
They lacked the power of endurance, which could only be obtained by long
practice. "It is the last pound that breaks the camel's back;" and it
was so with them. With a little less exertion they might have preserved
some portion of their vigor for the final struggle, which was yet to
come.

They had begun upon the last mile. The crew of the Butterfly were as
confident of winning the race as though the laurel of victory had
already been awarded to them; and though their backs ached and their
arms were nearly numb, a smile of triumph rested on their faces.

"Now for the tug of war," said Frank, in a low, subdued tone, loud
enough to be heard by all his crew, but so gentle as not to create any
of that dangerous excitement which is sometimes the ruin of the best
laid plans.

As he spoke the motions of his body became a little quicker, and
gradually increased in rapidity till the stroke was as quick as was
consistent with perfect precision. The result of this greater
expenditure of power was instantly observed, and at the end of the next
quarter of a mile the boats were side by side again.

"They are beating us!" said Tony, in a whisper. "Dip a little
deeper--pull strong!"

The exciting moment of the race had come. The spectators on the shore
gazed with breathless interest upon the spectacle, unable, though
"Zephyr stock was up," to determine the result.

Not a muscle in Frank's face moved, and steadily and anxiously his crew
watched and foll