Middletown transcript., 1892-09-01

: slVely at clayton.
e Eyes, answered he. anything"
. every well, then we'll swim down
8 from the ice house, and whoever
: reaches the two mile crossing, now
, Hacks wharf, first, wins"
Gall right" said Clayton, "I'm
: suited. When will this be?"
"Thursday-day after to morrow, +"
was the reply, "at nine o'clock in the
morning"
every we'll" said Clayton. "I'll be
! there" And as early hours were the
rule then. he bade Ruth good night,
and strolled away in the dusk. James
followed soon after.
The intervening day was spent by
Ruth in state of'extreme mental ex-
citement. Repeatedly she tried to de-
eide in her own mind as to which of
the young men was her favorite, but
failure met her at every attempt.
When at last Thursday morning
dawned, warm and clear, Ruth arose
from a well-nigh sleepless couch, and
prepared to dispose of the morning
duties, that she r.ight be present
promptly at the scene of the contest
In the meantime, the news of the race
had become noised abroad, and several
hours before 9 o'clock the farmer folks
began to assemble along the wooded
edge of the Rancocas Greek, which ran
then, as now, between banks of wild
and picturesque beauty. just beyond
what is now Hacks wharf, the spot
selected as the finish, stood long, low
boat house, resting half upon the land
and half upon piles in the water. 1t
belonged to Clayton, and had been
built by himself. Besides acting as
shelter for his boat, also homemade,
that part of the shed resting on solid
ground was utilized as a workshop.
On one end Clayton had carved, in his
idle moments, two monstrous initials
&C. NJ"
At about half past 8 the two young
men appeared, bringing with them
homemade swimming trunks. Step
ping into Clayton's boat they were
rowed up the stream toward the start
ing point, distance OF perhaps one
and half miles. The faces of both
we're set and determined, and the flow
of light talk and badinage from among
the crowd did not move them.
The throng watched the boat out of
sight, and until 9 o'clock, when they
knew the swimmers must have start
ed. But one man of the many
possessed watch, and numerous were
the occasions upon which he was forced
to produce it for the benefit of those
less fortunate.
One quarter of an hour after
another passed, but the group of
watchers showed no waning of interest. |
Ruth stood at little distance apart,
silent and pale.
Suddenly a small boy, who had
never moved his eyes from the point |
where the swimmers would be first |
seen, cried eagerly, "here they |
Gomez" At this the spectators crowd
ed close upon one another to secure a
better view, and the stragglers came
hurrying up. As the two heads came
rising and falling around the bend of
the stream, the large crowd stood
motionless and silent, every eye fixed
upon them When both were in full
sight, however, closely followed by /
the boat, the spell was broken, and
one of the men shouted excitedly,
Monroe's ahead !"
"No! No James is ahead !" con-
tradicted half score of his friends.
But as the swimmers forged slowly
but steadily forward, coming nearer
and nearer the finish, it was seen that
hardly an inch intervened between
James and Clayton. The faces Of
both were purple with their terrible
exertion, and the breath came from
between their parted lips in quick.
strong gaspe. Clayton's face especial
ly, was livid, and his strained, blood
shot eyes rolled as he tried to secure
the least advantage over his opponent.
Down they came, neck and neck,
until fifteen feet more would see the
race ended. So closely were their
heads to the line that they might
have been swimming together. The
difference, if any, was not perceptible.
All cries had by this time subsided,
and in breathless eagerness the on
lockers stood, awaiting the result, and
ready and eager to cheer the victor,
without regard to who that might be.
Slowly, almost imperceptibly, few
inches grew between the swimmers.
Both were exhausted now, and NOV
ed very slowly But that it was Clay
ton who was in the lead could easily
be seen by all. He was making
almost superhuman efforts, and was
putting forth his last remaining
strength in final squirt. With dis
torted face and clinched teeth he con-
tinued to gain slowly. (
As Ruth, too, saw this she was con-