too bad, May, that your Cousin Dick couldn't have kept up,"
answered Ruth Stevenson.

Closer and closer to the finishing line crept the four leading skaters,
Jack and Randy in the middle, with Dan Soppinger on their left and Walt
Baxter on their right. Now Spouter Powell had fallen back to the second
group of racers.

"Here they come!"

"It's Dan Soppinger's race!"

"Not much! Here comes Walt Baxter! Gee, see him strike out!"

"It's the Rovers who are coming to the front!" exclaimed Ned Lowe.

"I knew they couldn't hold those Rover boys back," was Frank Newberry's
comment. "Now then, boys, for a final dash!" he shouted.

All four of the leading contestants were bending forward and striking
out as powerfully as possible, their arms swinging from side to side
like pendulums and their skates ringing clearly on the smooth ice.

For an instant all were in a line, then, by a tremendous effort, Walter
Baxter forged a foot ahead. But almost instantly Dan Soppinger overtook
the other cadet. An instant later Randy Rover came up beside the others,
followed by his Cousin Jack.

The finishing line was now less than fifty yards away, and the crowd was
yelling all sorts of words of encouragement and cheering wildly, even
the girls and older folks present being much excited. Then, of a sudden,
an exclamation of wonder rent the air.

"Look at that, will you? Did you ever see such striking out in your
life?"

"He's coming forward like a cannon ball!"

These exclamations had been brought forth by the sudden change of
tactics on the part of Jack Rover. Coming back from the blasted pine he
had managed to hang close to his opponents, but without using up all his
reserve force. Now he let out "for all he was worth," as he afterwards
declared, and, with strokes that could hardly be seen for their
rapidity, he forged in front of Soppinger and Baxter.

"It's Jack Rover's race!"

"Look! Look! Here comes his Cousin Randy!" yelled Ned Lowe.

"No use in talking--you can't hold those Rover boys back," was Fatty
Hendry's comment.

What the cadets had said was true. Following the extraordinary spurt
made by Jack, Randy let himself out, and in a twinkling had passed
Baxter. Then he found himself neck-and-neck with Dan Soppinger, who was
struggling with might and main to catch up to Jack, just two feet ahead.

"Make room for the winners!"

"Jack Rover wins the race!"

"Yes, and Randy Rover is second!"

"Who takes third place?"