Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1910-07-08

oppOhehlS' ndVlnB turned the stake
boat behind us, made squirt and over
hauled us. Then down again we got
to work and had gained three lengths
quite enough considering there was
but quarter of mile remaining-to
give us the race. when"-
The narrator stopped. a pallor came
over his face, and be gasped. Several
of US started toward him, but he waved
us back.
-"something In me gave way. fell
over into the arms of No. Z. Our com.
petitors shot by us and won the race"
l have never experienced. such de-
pressing. not to say thrilling. sensation
as when the narrative ended. While
the narrator was describing the race
It seemed as II I could see the boats
dashing onward and hear the cheering.
When he spoke of the disaster some
how my Imagination pictured blood
spouting from his mouth and nose.
Not a man among us but appeared to
be similarly shocked
"Come." said one of our number.
Tets adjourn to the - and get some
supper"
"Agreedv' cried the rest, glad to
break the spell and eager for some
thing to brace US after listening to the
weird narrative.
We went out into the darkness, the
stranger with us. When we reached
the - some one asked, where's Mr..
Mr.. StrokeY'
Don't know" replied one behind.
81 thought he was ahead with you fel.
lows"
Every one thought he was with some
one else.
Mr.. Stroke, as we called him, had evil
IDENTIFY taken advantage Of the dark
ness to steal away unobserved. We
were quite relieved at his doing so.
The effect Of his story was, to say the
least, depressing, and we were glad to
get rid of him. We ordered some
supper and while waiting for it talked
about him. wondering who he could
have been and what race 1t was that
he had lost for his crew. Since he had
not given us his name, we did not feel
that we possessed sufficient data upon
which to make inquiries.
AS the season advanced we forgot
all about Mr.. Stroke and his story. l
was much interested in the coming re-
gatta and the preparations for it,
though | was not a member of the
university crew. Our college had been
doing bad work at boating for a long
In hod
beaten our principal adversary but
twice. This year we hoped for and ex-
pected better things. All went well
till the day of the race, when one Of
the crew fell suddenly i'll and could
not row. Unfortunately all the avail
able material had been utilized There
were substitutes galore. but the man
who had dropped out was one of the
two most important men Of the crew.
To put any one in his place would be
to surely lose the race.
A few minutes before the crews
went out to the water | asked about
the substitute and was told that q
freshman was to row. l could not
learn how or why he had been chosen,
but, wishing to have a look at him.
went down on to the float. The men
were getting into the boat. The sub
stitute's face was familiar to me, but
could not tell where had seen him.
Then suddenly 1t rushed upon me that
he was the man we had called Mr..
Stroke.
Had a freshman been smart enough
to sell US all out as a graduate Of ten
years standing with a marvellous story
of which he was the central figure?
took a position where l could see
the race all the way and had with me
q powerful fieldglass. Our crew took
the lead almost Immediately after the
start. noticed when the crew got into
the boat the substitute took the place
Of No. 6. All through the race could
see that. while he did not appear to be
making herculean effort, he was do
ing splendid work. Our crew kept the
lead they had taken, gradually but
slowly drawing away from their com
petitors. From length 1t grew to two
lengths. then three lengths, and at the
finish the race was won by five and @
half lengths.
Never had we been beaten by such
odds. questioned the crew as to how
1t happened, for our adversaries had
made better time than ever before. and
was told that it was all on account OF
the substitute. Every time he put his
oar in the water the boat seemed tc
move forward whether the rest of the
crew exerted themselves or not.
became interested in the freshman
substitute. Determined to find out
more about him. made inquiries. But
it was at the close of the term, with
the summer vacation ahead. and dis
covered nothing. Returning in the au
tumn. | looked for him among the
sophomores. He was not to be found
Some said he had not returned to col
lege. The singular feature Of the case
was that / couldn't learn his name.
went tO tha man who was reSDOnsihle