Now, giving way to one's temper never helps in a contest of strength or
skill. Agnes herself was trying to prove that axiom; but Trix had never
tried to restrain herself.

Ere this Miss Shipman had changed Agnes' seat in the class-room, seeing
plainly that Trix continued her annoying actions; Agnes had striven to
be patient because she loved Miss Shipman and did not want to make
trouble in her grade.

Agnes took her place now as far from Trix as she could get. Ruth, and
another of the older girls were at the line, and one of the high school
boys who owned a stop-watch timed the race.

"Ready!" he shouted. "Set!"

The race was from a dead start. The girls bent forward, their left feet
upon the mark.

"Go!" shouted the starter.

The smoothest stretch of ice was right down the center of the Parade. It
was still so cold that none of the trees had begun to drip. Some
employees of the town Highway Department were trying to knock the ice
off the trees, so as to save the overweighted branches.

But thus far these workmen had kept away from the impromptu race-course.
Down the middle of the park the girls glided toward the clump of spruce
trees, around which they must skate before returning.

Trix, Eva, Myra, Pearl Harrod and Lucy Poole all shot ahead at the
start. Agnes "got off on the wrong foot," as the saying is, and found
herself outdistanced at first.

But she was soon all right. She had a splendid stroke for a girl, and
she possessed pluck and endurance.

She crept steadily up on the leading contestants, passing Eva, Myra, and
Lucy before half the length of the Parade Ground was behind them.

Trix was in the lead and Pearl Harrod was fighting her for first place.

Agnes kept to one side and just before the trio reached the spruce clump
at Willow Street, she shot in, rounded the clump alone, and started up
the course like the wind upon the return trip!

Trix fairly screamed after her, she was so vexed. Trix, too, had
endurance. She left Pearl behind and skated hard after Agnes Kenway.

She never would have caught her, however, had it not been for an odd
accident that happened to the Corner House girl.

As Agnes shot up the course, one of the workmen came with a long pole
with a hook on the end of it, and began to shake the bent branches of a
tree near the skating course. Off rattled a lot of ice, falling to the
hard surface below and breaking into thousands of small bits.

Agnes was in the midst of this r