CHAPTER XI
THE SKATING RACE
There were nearly thirty girls who lined up for the second heat. Manywho had tried the first time dropped out, having been distanced sogreatly by the leaders.
"But that is no way to do!" laughed Agnes, ignoring Trix Severn and hergibes. "It is anybody's race yet. One never knows what may happen in afree-for-all like this. Trix, or Eva, or I, may turn an ankle----"
"Or break another strap," broke in Eva, laughing openly at Trix.
"Just you wait!" muttered Trix Severn, in a temper.
Now, giving way to one's temper never helps in a contest of strength orskill. Agnes herself was trying to prove that axiom; but Trix had nevertried to restrain herself.
Ere this Miss Shipman had changed Agnes' seat in the class-room, seeingplainly that Trix continued her annoying actions; Agnes had striven tobe patient because she loved Miss Shipman and did not want to maketrouble in her grade.
Agnes took her place now as far from Trix as she could get. Ruth, andanother of the older girls were at the line, and one of the high schoolboys 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 feetupon the mark.
"Go!" shouted the starter.
The smoothest stretch of ice was right down the center of the Parade. Itwas still so cold that none of the trees had begun to drip. Someemployees of the town Highway Department were trying to knock the iceoff 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 sprucetrees, around which they must skate before returning.
Trix, Eva, Myra, Pearl Harrod and Lucy Poole all shot ahead at thestart. Agnes "got off on the wrong foot," as the saying is, and foundherself outdistanced at first.
But she was soon all right. She had a splendid stroke for a girl, andshe possessed pluck and endurance.
She crept steadily up on the leading contestants, passing Eva, Myra, andLucy 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 clumpat Willow Street, she shot in, rounded the clump alone, and started upthe course like the wind upon the return trip!
Trix fairly screamed after her, she was so vexed. Trix, too, hadendurance. She left Pearl behind and skated hard after Agnes Kenway.
She never would have caught her, however, had it not been for an oddaccident that happened to the Corner House girl.
As Agnes shot up the course, one of the workmen came with a long polewith a hook on the end of it, and began to shake the bent branches of atree near the skating course. Off rattled a lot of ice, falling to thehard surface below and breaking into thousands of small bits.
Agnes was in the midst of this rubbish before she knew it. Oneskate-runner got entangled in some pieces and down she went--first toher knees and then full length upon her face!
Some of the other girls shrieked with laughter. But it might have been aserious accident, Agnes was skating so fast.
Trix saved her breath to taunt her rival later, and, skating around thebits of ice, won the heat before Agnes, much shaken and bruised, hadclimbed to her feet.
"Oh, Aggie! you're not really hurt, are you?" cried Ruth, hurrying toher sister.
"My goodness! I don't know," gasped Agnes. "I saw stars."
"You have a bump on your forehead," said one girl.
"I feel as though I had them all over me," groaned Agnes.
"I know that will turn black and blue," said Lucy, pointing to the lumpon Agnes' forehead.
"And yellow and green, too," admitted Agnes. Then she giggled and addedin a whisper to Ruth: "It will be as brilliant as Neale's hair was whenhe dyed it!"
"Well, you showed us what you could do in the first heat, Aggie," saidPearl, cheerfully. "I believe that you can easily beat Trix."
"Oh, yes!" snarled the latter girl, who over-heard this. "A poor excusefor not racing is better than none."
"Well! I declare, Trix, if _you'd_ fallen down," began Eva; but Agnesinterrupted:
"I haven't said I wasn't going to skate the third heat."
"Oh! you can't, Aggie," Ruth said.
"I'd skate it if I'd broken both legs and all my promises!" declaredAgnes, sharply. "That girl isn't going to put it all over me without afight!"
"Great!" cried Eva. "Show her."
"I admire your pluck, but not your language, Aggie," said her oldersister. "And if you _can_ show her----"
Agnes did show them all. She had been badly shaken up by her fall, andher head began to throb painfully, but the color had come back into hercheeks and she took her place in the line of contestants again with abigger determination than ever to win.
She got off on the right foot this time! Only eighteen girls started andall of them were grimly determined to do their best.
The boys had left off their hockey games and crowded along the startingline and the upper end of the track, to watch the girls race. People hadcome out from their houses to get a closer view of the excitement, andsome of the teachers--including Mr. Marks and the physicalinstructors--were in the crowd. The boys began to root for theirfavorites, and Agnes heard Neale leading the cheers for her.
Trix Severn was not much of a favorite with the boys; she wasn't "a goodsport." But the second Kenway girl had showed herself to be good funright from the start.
"Got it, Agnes! Hurrah for the Corner House girl!" shrieked oneyoungster who belonged in the sixth grade, grammar.
"Eva Larry for mine," declared another. "She's some little skater, anddon't you forget it."
Some of the boys started down the track after the flying contestants,but Ruth darted after them and begged them to keep out of the way so asnot to confuse the racers when they should come back up the ParadeGround.
Meanwhile Agnes was taking no chances of being left behind this time.She had gotten off right and was in the lead within the first few yards.Putting forth all her strength at first, she easily distanced most ofthe eighteen. It was, after all, a short race, and she knew that shemust win it "under the whip," if at all.
Her fall would soon stiffen and lame her; Agnes knew that very well.Ordinarily she would have given in to the pain she felt and owned thatshe had been hurt. But Trix's taunts were hard to bear--harder than thepain in her knee and in her head.
Once she glanced over her shoulder and saw Trix right behind--thenearest girl to her in the race. The glance inspired her to put on moresteam. She managed to lead the crowd to the foot of the Parade.
She turned the clump of spruce trees on the "long roll" and found adozen girls right at her heels as she faced up the Parade again. Trixwas in the midst of them.
There was some confusion, but Agnes kept out of it. She had her witsvery much about her, too; and she saw that Trix cut the spruce clumpaltogether--turning just before reaching the place, and so saving manyyards.
In the excitement none of the other racers, save Agnes, noticed thistrick. "Cheat!" thought Agnes. But the very fact that her enemy wasdishonest made Agnes the more determined to beat her.
Agnes' breath was growing short, however; _how_ her head throbbed! Andher right knee felt as though the skin was all abrased and the capfairly cracked. Of course, she knew this last could not be true, or shewould not be skating at all; but she was in more pain than she had eversuffered in her life before without "giving in" to it.
She gritted her teeth and held grimly to her course. Trix suddenlypulled up even with her. Agnes knew the girl never would have done sohad she not cheated at the bottom of the course.
"I'll win without playing baby, or I won't win at all!" the Corner Housegirl promised herself. "If she can win after cheating, let her!"
And it looked at the moment as though Trix had the better chance. Shedr
ew ahead and was evidently putting forth all her strength to keep thelead.
Right ahead was the spot where the broken ice covered the course. Agnesbore well away from it; Trix swept out, too, and almost collided withher antagonist.
"Look where you're going! Don't you dare foul me!" screamed the Severngirl at Agnes.
That flash of rage cost Trix something. Agnes made no reply--not evenwhen Trix flung back another taunt, believing that the race was alreadywon.
But it was not. "I will! _I will!_" thought Agnes, and she stooped lowerand shot up the course passing Trix not three yards from the line, andwinning by only an arm's length.
"I beat her! I beat her!" cried Trix, blinded with tears, and almostfalling to the ice. "Don't you dare say I didn't."
"It doesn't take much courage to say that, Beatrice," said Miss Shipman,right at her elbow. "We all saw the race. It was fairly won by Agnes."
"It wasn't either! She's a cheat!" gasped the enraged girl, withoutrealizing that she was speaking to her teacher instead of to anothergirl.
This was almost too much for Agnes' self-possession. She was in pain andalmost hysterical herself. She darted forward and demanded:
"Where did _I_ cheat, Miss? You can't say _I_ didn't skate around thespruce clump down there."
"That's right, Aggie," said the high school girl who had been on watchwith Ruth. "I saw Trix cut that clump, and if she'd gotten in first,she'd have lost on that foul."
"That's a story!" exclaimed Trix; but she turned pale.
"Say no more about it, girls. The race is won by Agnes--and wonhonestly," Miss Georgiana said.
But Trix Severn considered she had been very ill-used by Agnes. Sheburied _that_ bone and carefully marked the spot where it lay.