y to wait for his chum. If Colon's
wind and endurance stood the severe test, he would have the chance of
overtaking any who might be ahead of him, during that run home.
Otherwise he must "take his medicine;" but it would be the utmost folly
for the leader to waste even five seconds for the privilege of exchanging
a few sentences with his chum.

They had arranged all this in advance, and meant to keep strictly to the
line of action laid out. Should Fred falter in the last mile, and the
wonderful Ackers begin to overhaul him, Colon hoped to be within striking
distance. If he were in fit trim, he could then outstrip the
Mechanicsburg contestant by a display of some of that queer jumping style
of running that had been likened to the progress of a kangaroo.

A shout told Fred that the old farmer and his wife were on the watch, and
had recognized him. They were standing in the doorway of their humble
cottage, and waved to him as he flitted past.

He only turned to answer their greeting, and having by then reached the
private road which connected the farm with the main thoroughfare, started
along it. Now it was possible for Fred to increase his pace to a regular
run, though there was still a necessity for keeping his eyes about him,
since the way was far from being smooth.

As he reached a point where a turn would shut out a view of what lay
behind, Fred glanced back over his shoulder, wondering if Colon might be
in sight. There was no sign of the long-legged runner, however. Fred
whipped around the curve.

He was wondering how Ackers was running, and he really hoped that the
Mechanicsburg runner might not lose himself, in his eagerness to shorten
the distance across lots. That would take all the snap out of the race,
making it a dead sure thing for Riverport, with two of their entries
leading on the home stretch. Fred thought of those thousands of eager
spectators, and how bitterly many of them were sure to be disappointed if
there was no hot finish to the grand Marathon, with the winner just
nosing in as it were, amidst the most intense suspense.

All at once Fred became conscious of a new sound nearby. This time it
did not have any connection with the voices of the woods. On the
contrary he believed it to be the agonized cry of a child.

It grew louder as he ran along, proving that he must be rapidly
approaching the spot where something was going on. Fred remembered that
stirring event on the frozen river