ny-sacks, and all laughing, and joining in
the cheers of the crowd.

Of course everybody thought it was only a boyish prank, but when they saw
the old wagon draw up in front of the Flanders home, and then those four
boys start to gently lift a figure out from the bed of the vehicle, the
noise ceased as if by magic.

"Why, it's sure enough Tom Flanders come back home, after his folks had
given him up for lost!" one good woman told a new arrival. "They do say
Fred and the running boys found him up-country, where he'd broke his leg.
Poor fellow, he looks that peaked and pale I reckon he's had a terrible
time. And see how his maw hangs over him, like she was the happiest
woman in all Riverport this day. And we all hope that Tom'll turn over a
new leaf after this, and make his folks proud of him. But wasn't it fine
of Fred and his friends to bring him home that way?"

And certainly, when those four lads witnessed the wild delight of that
mother and father at having their only son restored to them again, as
well as noted how the erring boy cried when he allowed himself to be
carried into the house, none of them had the slightest reason to regret
that circumstances had caused them to take refuge from the storm in that
old barn standing near the trail through the woods.

CHAPTER XXI

THE GREATEST OF DAYS

When the day set for the great Marathon race came around, everybody in
Riverport agreed that the weather clerk had certainly outdone himself in
order to give the runners an ideal occasion. There was not a cloud in
the sky. Then, while the air was sparkling and inclined to be cool, the
breeze was not so strong that it would make running difficult.

Early in the day crowds began to arrive from the two neighboring towns.
They came in all manner of conveyances, from farm wagons to the finest of
automobiles. Music could be heard in the air, for the Riverport Brass
Band had decided to honor the great occasion by playing at intervals all
day long.

Ample preparations had been made for seeing the grand finish, which, as
with the start, was to take place on the great level commons bordering
the town, and alongside of which the main road ran.

Here a grand stand had been erected for the use of the honored guests
from Mechanicsburg and Paulding, as well as several other smaller places,
each of which was also sending its quota of eager eyed strong-lunged boys
to root for their favorite team.

The race was schedu