[Illustration: “LANKY WALLACE LEADS!”
_Boys of Columbia High in Track Athletics._
_Frontispiece_ (_Page 119._)]
The
Boys of Columbia High in
Track Athletics
OR
A Long Run That Won
BY
GRAHAM B. FORBES
AUTHOR OF “THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH,” “THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA
HIGH ON THE DIAMOND,” ETC.
_ILLUSTRATED_
NEW YORK
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS
The Boys of Columbia High Series
By GRAHAM B. FORBES
_12mo. Cloth. Illustrated._
THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH
Or The All Around Rivals of the School
THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE DIAMOND
Or Winning Out by Pluck
THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE RIVER
Or The Boat Race Plot That Failed
THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE GRIDIRON
Or The Struggle for the Silver Cup
THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH ON THE ICE
Or Out for the Hockey Championship
THE BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH IN TRACK ATHLETICS
Or A Long Run That Won
GROSSET & DUNLAP
PUBLISHERS NEW YORK
COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
GROSSET & DUNLAP
_The Boys of Columbia High in Track Athletics_
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I DISTANCE RUNNERS 1
II HELD BY THE ENEMY 11
III THE GYPSY CARAVAN 22
IV A MYSTERY OF THE WAGON 33
V ON THE CAMPUS GREEN 44
VI MAKING PLANS 53
VII THE BENEFITS OF DISCIPLINE 62
VIII LANKY’S PRIDE CONQUERS 71
IX AMONG THE NOMADS OF THE ROAD 80
X THE BUNCH FROM BELLPORT 89
XI ALMOST A RIOT 98
XII A POPULAR BOY 106
XIII ON THE HARRAPIN 115
XIV LANKY FINDS HIS CHANCE 124
XV AN ACCIDENT BETRAYS RUFUS 133
XVI LANKY BECOMES A “BARKER” 144
XVII THE GYPSY QUEEN’S MOVE 153
XVIII FINDING OUT 162
XIX THE GREAT DAY 171
XX CLIFFORD’S NEW HOPE 180
XXI WHAT HAPPENED TO BONES 189
XXII COLUMBIA’S LAST CHANCE 198
XXIII THE END OF THE LONG RUN 207
XXIV WHEN THE MESSAGE CAME 215
XXV THE STOLEN CHILD 224
THE
BOYS OF COLUMBIA HIGH IN TRACK ATHLETICS
CHAPTER I
DISTANCE RUNNERS
“Our last year at good old Columbia High, fellows!”
“I just hate to think of it, Lanky!”
“We’ve had some great times during these four years, for a fact; and
college can never take the place of this school. And what fierce
battles we’ve had on the diamond and gridiron with our rivals of
Clifford and Bellport! I’ll be mighty sorry to leave the old school
behind.”
“Perhaps you miss your guess about me, boys. I may stick to Columbia
for another year.”
“Shucks! expect us to believe that kind of talk, Frank Allen; when
everybody knows you’re bound to graduate with the highest honors ever
given at Columbia High?”
“Listen, then; and while we hold up here to get a breathing spell on
our practice cross country run. I’ll tell you how it is.”
“Wish you would, Frank,” said the tall, thin lad, who was known
as Lanky Wallace; though it was said that at home they called him
Clarence. “Here’s our chum, Bones Shadduck, staring at you as if he
reckoned he was up against the great Chinese puzzle. Open up and tell
us!”
The three boys were in running costume, and had been swinging steadily
along country roads, and across fields and farms, within five miles
of the town of Columbia, for an hour or more. They were, with others,
engaged in a cross country run; but as it was only intended to be a
“bracer” for great events in the near future, these three contestants,
all of whom had splendid records in past school races, had for
company’s sake kept close together.
Columbia lay upon the bank of the Harrapin river, upon which stream the
boys found great enjoyment, winter and summer. Not many miles below
was Bellport, more of a manufacturing town; while Clifford lay up the
river, and on the other bank.
As both of these enterprising towns had high schools, it was only
natural that the pupils should feel a certain amount of rivalry in
their various sports. And as a rule these were entered upon with
that fine spirit of fairness that adds zest to any game where the
competition is keen, and victory cheered to the echo.
In the first volume of this series, “The Boys of Columbia High; Or, The
All Around Rivals of the School,” the reader is given an account of the
school life of many of the characters; together with some of the indoor
sports suitable to the season.
In the spring it was natural that baseball should be the leading topic
in their minds; and some of the thrilling battles which they had with
the neighboring teams of Clifford and Bellport will be found in the
book, “The Boys of Columbia High on the Diamond; Or, Winning Out by
Pluck.”
With the coming of summer and hot weather, baseball was almost
forgotten; but a new source of amusement, as well as competition,
arose, when an eight-oared shell came for the boys of Columbia High. Of
course, not to be outdone, the rival schools must also embark in the
same line. So a tournament was arranged on the Harrapin by some of the
enterprising citizens of the three towns, who believed in giving their
boys all the healthy outdoor sport they could. Many of the remarkable
happenings that accompanied that summer carnival on the water you will
find in the third volume, called “The Boys of Columbia High on the
River; Or, The Boat Race Plot that Failed.”
Another school term found the rivals of the Harrapin just as eager to
try conclusions with each other as ever. And as the tang of frost was
in the air, naturally they could think of nothing but football. And so
again they met and fought it out to a finish for the prize. An account
of the fiercely contested games, where brawn and sinew were often
outwitted by a little gray matter in the brain of a clever dodger, is
given in “The Boys of Columbia High on the Gridiron; Or, The Struggle
for the Silver Cup.”
Then came winter, with a sheet of ice covering the Northern river, and
scores of boys were fairly wild to spend every spare hour upon it. They
had glorious times that year along the Harrapin, as you will admit
after finishing the fifth volume of the series, just preceding this
story, and which bears the name of “The Boys of Columbia High on the
Ice; Or, Out for the Hockey Championship.”
And now, with spring at hand, the talk was all of the great athletic
event of the year, which had been arranged as a fitting wind-up of the
finest class Columbia had ever turned out at a graduation time.
It was to be an open competition, and the pupils of Clifford and
Bellport had received a special invitation to enter for the various
field and track events on the long program.
Every fine day, when school was not in session, boys in running costume
could be met, jogging steadily along the country roads. In the fields
where the schools played all their outdoor games, groups of students
were to be seen engaged in practicing putting the shot, high jumping,
wrestling, sprinting short distances, each and every one filled with
the spirit of the hour.
Indeed, Columbia was bubbling over with excitement, since the great day
was now close at hand when all these tests to prove superiority were to
be brought about before a record-breaking throng.
Columbia, in the past, had been very fortunate in downing her river
rivals; but the boys of Clifford and Bellport were possessed of the
true grit animating all lovers of clean sport, and they always came up
smiling for a new test. Forgetting the bitterness of previous defeats,
they were ever ready to affirm their belief in their ability to wrest
the prize from the athletes of Columbia.
And as there had come many rumors of astonishing progress being made
by these rival schools, many in Columbia went about with sober faces;
and even hinted that they feared it was going to be a bad year for the
famous school.
Frank Allen always bore a leading part in all these athletic doings;
as did his particular chum, Lanky. And they were out on this Saturday,
with another well-known long-distance runner, Bones Shadduck, to get
their muscles in good trim for the grind of the Marathon that was to
be the crowning event of the great meet so soon to come about.
They were the hope of Columbia High. No other boys ventured to compete
with these long-distance runners when they took a notion to do their
best. On this occasion they were not thinking of trying to break
records, but meant to cover the ground, so as to become familiar with
all its features.
The course had been plainly mapped out, and in several places the
runners were allowed to exercise their discretion about choosing
between several methods of arriving at one of the many stations where
they were to be registered. That is, if a lad thought he could make
better time by crossing the country between two roads, he was given
that privilege; though warned that he might get bogged, held up by a
marshy stretch of ground, or even lost in the big woods, if not fully
familiar with the district.
Consequently it was not likely that anyone would take advantage of this
choice, but all of them were apt to stick to the main roads, where the
going was good.
Seeing that his two fellow runners were growing quite curious about
the explanation of his assertion, Frank laughed good-naturedly, and
remarked:
“Well, just wait till I wash the dust down my throat with a good drink
at this spring here, and then I’ll tell you what I meant by saying I
might stick to Columbia High another year.”
“Well, I want to say right now,” remarked Bones Shadduck, as he
sucked at a long scratch on his hand, which he had received from a
hanging vine in the brush they had just broken through, “that this
thing of cutting across country to save a little time doesn’t strike
me favorably. In the race I wager I keep close to the roads, and let
others take chances of getting mired, or lost, if they want to.”
Three minutes later, having refreshed themselves at the cool gurgling
spring, the trio of high-school boys stood for a minute or two before
starting off again on their jogging run in the direction of the next
road.
“Now, Frank, keep your promise,” warned Bones.
“Yes, I’ll be badgered if I can get head or tail of what he means,”
Lanky Wallace declared, shaking his head in a way he had when in doubt.
“My folks seem to have an idea that they’d rather I was a year older
before I went to college,” Frank began.
“Why, that’s funny, but I’ve been hearing a lot along the same line
myself at home,” broke in Lanky.
“Ditto here,” affirmed Bones Shadduck.
“And so they had me talk with Professor Tyson Parke about it,” Frank
continued; “and he said that he could arrange a post-graduate course
that would take up the better part of the year, and put me in fine
fettle for going into the freshman class at college.”
“Great scheme!” exclaimed Bones, “and just you see if I don’t put it up
to my people at home.”
“Count on me to do the same,” remarked Lanky, enthusiastically. “Why,
it would sort of break the school ties piecemeal, you see; and,
besides, when you take a post-graduate course, you only go for an
hour or so a day. That gives a fellow loads of time to take exercise
outdoors. And I need a heap of that, believe me.”
“What do you say about starting on again?” asked Frank.
“How far do you think it is to that road?” Bones queried, sucking again
at his bleeding hand, so that he might extract the last atom of poison
that had come from the scratch of the creeper.
“Oh! about a mile, I reckon,” Frank made answer, as they began to run.
“Only hope it’s better going than the last one, then; that was fierce,”
Bones went on to say, as he fell into his regular jogging pace, which
the boys declared he could keep up for an unlimited number of hours;
very much after the style of the Indian runners from Carlisle School,
who got it from their ancestors, those dusky messengers who would
journey hundreds of miles through dense forests, over mountains and
deserts, with little or no rest.
“Looks like we might have a snap here for a change,” remarked Lanky, as
they arrived on the border of what seemed to be a large pasture, which
told that they were now on some farm where stock were kept.
So they mounted the rail fence. Frank remembered noticing at the time
that this was built especially strong, and seemed to be even higher
than usual; but then, as his mind was upon other subjects, he paid
little attention to the fact.
They had about half crossed the field when Lanky suddenly came to a
stop.
“Go on, fellows!” he called out; “I’ve got to tie my shoe again; I’ll
catch up with you in a jiffy, before you get to the fence yonder.”
“Put a knot in that shoelace, Lanky,” said Bones, laughingly, over his
shoulder; “that makes the fourth time you’ve dropped down to tie it.
Try that game in the race and it might lose you your chance. It often
hangs on a small thing; doesn’t it, Frank?”
Receiving no reply to his question Bones glanced up at the face of his
chum. He found that Frank, while running steadily on, seemed to be
apparently listening intently, for his head was cocked to one side.
“What did you hear, Frank; the halloo of some other runner who’s bogged
over in that swamp?” demanded Bones.
“No; I thought I heard a snort, and it made me think of cattle,”
replied Frank.
“Well, that wouldn’t surprise me a whit,” declared the other,
immediately; “for I’ve seen signs of ’em all along, and I reckon this
field is used for--oh! now I heard it, too, Frank! A snort, you said;
well, I guess it was more than that. I’d call it a bellow, and an ugly
one at that. There’s something moving over back of Lanky. I guess he
sees it, for he’s on his feet now, looking. Wow, there comes a cow,
streaking it out from those bushes, and heading straight for Lanky!”
“A cow!” ejaculated Frank; “that’s a bull, Bones, and the worst-looking
one I ever remember seeing! We must be at the Hobson farm, and that’s
the fierce old bull Jack was telling me about. He’ll get Lanky if our
chum doesn’t do some tall sprinting right soon. Run, Lanky, run for all
you’re worth! Make for that tree near the fence, and if he gets too
close, climb up.”
Neither Frank nor Bones dared stand still, for the bull was heading in
their direction, even while chasing the tall boy from Columbia High.
And just then there were some “lively doings” in that pasture.