“Well, I guess we’ll do ’em to-day, Will,” exclaimed Peter John as he approached the group of which his friend was a member.

“I guess we will,” remarked Mott soberly.

“I’m going to do my prettiest,” continued Peter John.

“If you let anybody once get ahead of you, Schenck,” said Mott, “you’ll never catch him.  If he sees you after him he’ll run for his life.”

“He’ll have to!”

“What are you entered for?” inquired Mott, glancing at his program as he spoke.

“The half-mile run.”

“Ever do it before?”

“Once or twice.”

“What time did you make?”

“I don’t just recollect.”

“Never mind.  You’ll make a new record to-day.”

“That’s what I want to do,” replied Peter John, sublimely unconscious that he was being made sport of by the sophomore.

The conversation was interrupted by the call, “All out for the hundred-yard dash!” and, as Will was to run in the first heat, he drew off his bath robe and tossing it to Foster, turned at once for the starting-place.  He had already been indulging in a few trials of starting, but his feeling of confidence was by no means strong as he glanced at those who were to be his competitors.  There were four runners in his heat, and one of them was Ogden, the sophomore of whose reputation as a “sprinter” Will already was aware.  The other two were freshmen and therefore unknown quantities, but Will’s chief interest was in Ogden.  He could see the knots of muscles in his arms and back and legs, and his own feeling of confidence was in nowise strengthened by the sight.  Certainly Ogden was a muscular fellow, and a competitor as dangerous as he was striking in his appearance.

The call, “On your marks,” was given, and Will, with the other three, advanced and took his place on the line.  Every nerve in his body seemed to be tingling with excitement and his heart was beating furiously.

“Get set!” called the starter, and then in a moment there followed the sharp report of the pistol and the runners were speeding down the course.  Will felt that he had secured a good start, and but a few yards had been covered when he realized that he and Ogden were running almost side by side and had left the other two contestants behind them.  Nor were their relative positions changed as they sped on down the track except that the distance between Will and Ogden and the two freshmen behind them was steadily increased.  Will was dimly aware as he drew near the line that the entire sophomore body had risen and was noisily calling to their classmate to increase his speed.  There was silence from the seats occupied by the freshman class, but Will was hardly mindful of the lack of support.  Glancing neither to the right nor the left, he could almost instinctively feel that Ogden was a few inches in advance of him and all his efforts were centered upon cutting down the intervening distance.