ht craned
their necks and glared at the men in the boat.

Something like a groan escaped the lips of Tom Thornton, and Willis
Paulding declared:

"I don't see Flemming, but Merriwell is there!"

"Yes!" grates Tom; "he has managed to keep his place somehow! Well, that
settles it! Harvard will win!"

Orders were shouted, and then it was seen that both crews were "set."
The men, their brown backs gleaming in the afternoon sunshine, were
reaching forward at arm's length, ready for the first stroke.

A voice was heard commanding them to make ready, then came the cry:
"Go!"

There was a pistol shot, and both boats darted forward. The four-mile
race to the railway bridge piers of New London had begun.

In an instant the great crowd set up a wild cheering, and colors
fluttered everywhere. Away went the boats, side by side. Harvard's style
of rowing had changed completely from that of the previous year, when
her boat had jumped at every stroke. Now her crew bent with a long
sweep that sent the boat through the water with a steady motion.

Yale used a shorter and more snappy stroke. The men seemed to have more
life at the start, but it was the kind of a stroke that was sure to pump
away their energy to a great extent in a long race.

But Collingwood was crafty. He knew that it would be an easy thing to
take the life out of his men by steep work at the beginning, and he
doubted if the advantage thus gained could be held. To a certain extent,
he regulated Yale's speed by that of its rival.

In his heart Collingwood feared Harvard's new style of rowing. He was
not willing to acknowledge that anything English could be superior to
anything American, and yet he remembered how the freshmen of
'Umpty-eight, coached by Merriwell, had adopted something like the
Oxford stroke, and had won the race from the sophomores at Lake
Saltonstall. He also remembered Merriwell's hand, and he feared the
fellow must give out before the finish.

If Yale could hold her own till near the end Collingwood hoped to win by
a spurt. Outside of Merriwell, he felt that the crew was in perfect
condition. He was sure the men were superior to those in the Harvard
boat.

Harvard begins to gain. That strong, steady stroke is telling. It looks
as if the crimson lads were going to pull away from the blue with ease.

Collingwood does not allow himself to get excited in the least. He keeps
his men steadily at work, husbanding their strength as far as possi