The White Crystals: Being an Account of the Adventures of Two Boys
Page 14
CHAPTER XIV
A DESPERATE RACE
"Well, boys, take your places," called the starting-judge to the threecrews.
The lads all scrambled to their seats on the rival bobs, to which theyhad been assigned. Roger found himself placed second from Adrian, andthough this gave him a fine view of the road stretching before him, hewould gladly have changed his position for one farther back. It looked alittle too much like taking a ride on the front end of a comet.
It did not take long for the three cargoes of human freight to beloaded. Adrian braced his feet against the cleats he had nailed on thefirst bob and grasped the steering-wheel firmly. Tom Baker did the sameat his rear end, and, between them, came the eleven sturdy youngsters,all from Cardiff, save Roger, though he considered himself at least atemporary resident of that village now.
On the other two bobs the arrangements were just the same, save thatthere was only one steersman on each, and twelve boys in all instead ofthirteen. The significance of the so-called unlucky number was noted bysome of the Lafayette crew.
"Ain't you fellers Jonah enough without goin' out of your way to lookfor a hoodoo?" asked Jim Smather as he glanced at Adrian and laughed.
"This will be the luckiest thirteen you ever saw," rejoined the Cardiffcaptain, and that was the only prediction of victory he allowed himself.
"I s'pose ye all know th' conditions of th' race well 'nuff by thistime," remarked the chief starter, Abe Crownheart. "Ye'll all git shovedat th' same time, 'n' th' bob that gits t' th' bottom a' th' hill fustwins, no matter how it gits thar, pervided it ain't upside down ordownside up."
There were nods of assent from the captains, and those detailed for thepurpose pulled the three big sleds to within a short distance of the topof the hill. Adrian, having had the choice, had selected the positionfarthest to the right. Next to him was Lafayette, and at the extremeleft the Onativia bob.
"You starters are t' begin t' shove when ye hear th' pistol crack, 'n'not afore," cautioned Mr. Crownheart. "Anybody that tries t' git a falsestart so 's t' go ahead'll be fined half a minute headway. So becareful. Are ye all ready, captains?"
"Yes," answered Adrian, shortly, the light of battle coming into hiseyes. He meant to win!
"All ready," announced Jim Smather.
"Shove away!" called Ed Johnson.
There was a moment of silence and hesitation.
"One!" counted Mr. Crownheart, raising the revolver slowly.
"Two!" and he extended his hand, holding the weapon high in the air.
"Three! Crack!"
The word and the report of the blank cartridge came together. There wasa straining of backs and legs, a bending forward, and a mighty shovefrom the starters. They were as eager as colts tugging at the harness,for on the first shove or impetus depended much of the early speed ofthe bobs.
The steel runners squeaked on the snow, the big sleds moved forward,slowly at first, but then more easily and quickly. Now they had reachedthe very brow of the hill and poised for an instant.
The next second they started down the slope, with a whizz and plunge,amid a roar of cheers.
It was a perfect beginning, and the sharp points of the runners of thethree foremost sleds of the bobs were almost in a line. It was to be afair race. From one single cheer at the successful start the shoutsbroke up into cries for the different village crews, each one doinghonor to his native town. Anxiously did the crowd watch the sledsshooting down the hill. In a few minutes those who had sleighs wouldcoast down also, to find out how the race ended.
The rival bobs were skimming along like birds. At first Roger coulddistinguish nothing, for a mist came into his eyes, caused by therushing wind that surged past him. Then he began to see more clearly. Heglanced across to the left and was surprised to see no sign of the othersleds. Could they have passed the Cardiff boys? His heart gave a mightythump at this fear. Then he was reassured, as he heard a bumping andscraping behind him and saw the other two bobs plunge into the line ofhis vision. They had hung back a little, owing to an unevenness in theroad.
The three racers were once more in line and were gathering speed withevery foot they swayed forward. That the Cardiff boys had a good chancewas early seen as they noted their sled fairly lift itself from theground under the momentum which increased each second. Roger held ontightly for fear of being pitched off. The wind was whistling loudly inhis ears, and his face was bitten by the cold. He had never ridden sofast in his life before.
Lafayette hill consisted of a series of little slopes and ascents, withsmall level stretches in between. The road curved in and out, now to theleft, now to the right, and every once in a while would come a"thank-ye-ma'am." Over these bumps the bob flew, and when it came down,after taking the leap, it jolted every member of the Cardiff crew.
The pace was comparatively slow for the first quarter of a mile. Thenthe hill, which had not curved yet, became steeper. When the bobsreached this point the speed really became very swift, and the heavysleds seemed to merely glide over the frozen ice and snow.
It was now a race in earnest, with the three contesting crews on eventerms. They were about ten feet apart from side to side. The captains,with tense muscles, were guiding their easily swerved bobs, their eyesfastened on the slope before them.
Up to this time there had been no use for the stern wheel on the Cardiffsled, Tom Baker merely holding the rear bob rigid with it and keeping itstraight in place, while Adrian did all the guiding necessary, which sofar had been little, as the hill was without a turn. The wind was sostrong, as the bobs skimmed through it, that talking was hardlypossible. If a boy opened his mouth, not thinking, he was liable to findhimself gasping for breath.
From somewhere behind him Roger heard an exclamation coming from amember of the Cardiff crew. He turned his head and was startled to seethat instead of the Lafayette and Onativia sleds being in line with him,both bobs were now ahead of Cardiff, the Lafayette boys being half alength in advance and the other a quarter. It began to look as thoughthe happenings of past years were to be repeated and Cardiff beaten. ButAdrian showed no evidence of fear that he might be defeated again.Indeed he smiled a bit as he noted the two other bobs leaving himbehind. He kept on smiling as they drew ahead, urged on by greaterweight, better runners, or a smoother condition of the snowy roadbed.
The first turn of the hill was now reached and the three bobs took it ata speed that caused them to careen to one side and skim along on singlerunners for a time, while the boys momentarily feared an upset.
The big sleds righted, however, and whizzed along, covering a half milein about two minutes, and thus being about a quarter way over thecourse.
After the first turn of the road the Cardiff sled caught up somewhat onits competitors, so that when the second curve in the hill came thethree bobs were almost in line again. Thus seesawing, one losing andanother gaining a slight advantage, a fourth quarter mile was passed inquicker speed, leaving about half the two-mile journey to finish.
The contestants were now approaching the biggest turn in the hill, along swing to the left, around a very steep part, the most dangerousplace in the race, and one that all the captains dreaded. They grippedthe steering-wheels more strongly, and every member of the crews clungto their seats and braced their feet.
Once again did the Cardiff sled seem to lag behind, and its crew notedwith dismay that the two other coasters had passed them. As they wereabout to round the turn Adrian's bob was two lengths in the rear, andhis comrades feared the race was lost to them, as there was littlechance of catching up, once the Lafayette and Onativia sleds began towhizz down the steep incline.
Then something unexpected happened,--something that made Roger and theother members of the Cardiff crew catch their breaths--something thatAdrian had planned and had been waiting anxiously for.
Just for one brief instant Roger noted that the turn of the road now hidthe other two sleds. Had the road kept straight on, instead of curvingto the left as it did, it would have crossed a
wide field, and thenjoined itself, so to speak, farther on. It was as if the curve was a bigbent bow, and the road, if continued straight, would be represented bythe bowstring. Though there was a path which cut off the curve andshortened the road for pedestrians, it was considered too steep andrisky for teams, hence the curve. And it was down this incline, thiscut-off, that Adrian proposed to guide his sled.
By so doing he would save a quarter of a mile, and if all went well hewould come out into the main road again ahead of his rivals. But the waywas dangerous, inasmuch as at the end it was necessary to make a suddenturn to the left to avoid a huge rock and to get back into the mainthoroughfare.
With a whizz and a scraping of snow and ice the Cardiff sled left thebeaten road and plunged into the almost unbroken snow of the fields. Afence lined the highway, but when Adrian steered the bob toward it thebars were down. The captain had seen to that. Before Roger and the otherboys knew what was happening, they found themselves skimming across thefield that stretched white and untrampled before them. Some thought itwas an accident and cried out in alarm, but a shout from Adrianreassured every one.
"The Cardiff sled left the beaten road, and plunged intothe almost unbroken snow of the fields"]
The way was full of perils, for the field through which the straightpath lay was not as level as the road. Fortunately the snow had meltedand frozen again very hard, so that the surface was almost like a sheetof ice.
My, but how that sled did glide along! The runners rang in the cold airas they rubbed along the snow and ice, which flew up on both sides ofthe boys like a miniature storm of white flakes. On and on went theCardiff bob, like a big bird skimming along. In less than a minute ithad approached the dangerous turn, around which it was necessary toswing to get back into the road. Could Adrian make it?
"All ready, Tom!" sung out Adrian. "Look out for the turn!" and TomBaker tightened his grip on the rear steering-wheel.
"I'm ready," he called back.
The next instant they were at the curve. If the bob, heavy with the loadof boys, kept straight on, it would hit the huge rock with a terriblecrash. Could Adrian pass it safely?
It was a second of intense expectation on the part of the crew. Thenthey felt a sudden swerve, and instinctively leaned to the left, tobring all the weight possible on the runners on that side, to keep themfrom skidding. There was a shrill screeching and squeaking of the snowand a shower of white flakes. Adrian tugged with all his might at hiswheel. And then the wisdom and the great necessity of having the rearsled movable and steerable was apparent. For, had it not been, thesudden and short sweep could never have been made.
A second after Adrian twisted his wheel Tom Baker did likewise. The rearend of the bob swung as if a giant hand had sent it around. It almostgrazed the big boulder, missing it by a few inches. The sled hung andquivered for an instant on the very edge of the turn, and suddenly,with a motion that almost upset it, the bob righted and swept into themain road.
The great feat had been accomplished safely, and Adrian felt his heartthrill.
Once fairly in the road, every one looked for a sign of the other sleds.Was the Cardiff bob too late? Was their racer ahead or behind theothers? These were questions that tugged anxiously at the hearts of theboys. But there was little time for Adrian to think of this, for thecontrol of the bob, moving like a locomotive, needed all his attention,and Tom Baker's as well. There was another sharp turn to make, and ittook all of the two steersmen's strength to twist the wheels. Then thesled shot into a straight incline, the last quarter mile of the course.
As the Cardiff sled was speeding on there came a shout of dismay frombehind it, for the Lafayette racer, and that of Onativia, on a line withit, whizzed around the curve. Well might they shout, for they weredistanced, and with no chance to regain the intervening ground whichAdrian had so daringly and so skilfully covered.
In another minute the race was over. The Cardiff sled glided down thelast declivity, and into the main street of the town, through the crowdof admiring people who had gathered. Adrian steered to a patch of ashesthat had been sprinkled to retard the speed of the bobs at the end. Asthe Cardiff boys leaped from their still slowly moving racer, to begreeted with hearty hand clasps and shouts of victory, the Lafayettesled came along, with that of Onativia behind it. It was a clean-cut,decisive victory for Cardiff, and even the vanquished ones had to admitit. Adrian's plan had worked out exactly as he hoped, and had saved theday; and to him the credit of the race was due, as all Cardiff joyfullyadmitted.
For a few minutes Adrian, Roger, and the other members of the crew couldnot break away from the admiring crowd.
"Three cheers for the Cardiff boys!" called some one, and they weregiven with a will.
"And three cheers for Adrian Kimball!" shouted Captain Smather of theLafayette bob.
The shouts rang out louder than before, and Adrian got even redder inthe face than the biting wind had made him.
It was a great day for Cardiff.