here was a general shoving and pushing
for places of observation on the up-stream side of the structure, while
along the banks the crowds began to move about again.

It was Joel's first sight of a boat race, and he found himself becoming
very excited, while West, veteran though he was, breathed a deal faster,
and talked in disjointed monosyllables.

"Side by side!... No, Hillton's ahead!... Isn't she?... Eh ... You
can't... see from here ... which is ... leading.... Get another hold on
my ... arm, ... Joel; that one's black ... and blue! ... Hillton's
ahead! Hillton's ahead by a half length!"

But she wasn't. Side by side the two shells swept on toward the first
half-mile mark. They were both rowing steadily, with no endeavor to draw
away, Hillton at thirty strokes, St. Eustace at thirty-two. The course
was two miles, almost straight away down the river. The half-mile buoy
was not distinguishable from where Joel stood, but the mile was plainly
in sight. Some one who held a stop-watch behind Joel uttered an
impatient growl at the slow time the crews were making.

"There'll be no record broken to-day," he said. "They're eight seconds
behind already for the first quarter."

But Joel didn't care about that. If only those eight swaying forms might
pass first beyond the finish line he cared but little what the time
might be. The cheering, which had ceased as the boats left the start,
now began again as they approached the finish of the first quarter of
the course.

"Rah-rah-rah; rah-rah-rah; rah-rah-rah, Hillton!" rang out from the
right bank.

"S, E, A; S, E, A; S, E, A; Saint Eustace!" replied the left bank with a
defiant roar of sound that was caught by the hills and flung back in
echoes across the water. "Saint Eustace! Saint Eustace! Saint Eustace!"
"Hillton! Hillton! Hillton!"

Then the cheering grew louder and more frenzied as, boat to boat, the
rival eights passed the half-mile buoy, swinging along with no
perceptible effort over the blue, dancing water.

"Anybody's race," said Outfield West, as he lowered his glasses. "But
Hillton's got the outside course on the turn." The turn was no more than
a slight divergence from the straight line at the one-mile mark, but it
might mean from a half to three quarters of a length to the outside
boat should they maintain their present relative positions. For the next
half mile the same moderate strokes were used until the half-course buoy
was almost reached, when Hillto