he evening had seemed to put the right temper
into her muscles. Having been relieved by Miss Etching of the two
girls--her own classmates--who had attempted to retard her progress,
Nancy kept on and on, seeing the distance between herself and the
leaders in the race diminishing--by no effort of her own, it seemed--and
just enjoying herself.

She skated past Judy Craig, and saw that that eager sophomore was
sobbing for breath, and could hardly stand. Nancy felt little weariness
and still enjoyed the pace. She had not spurted in the beginning and
waited for that wonderful "second wind" that is the help of all
long-distance racers, before increasing her first easy pace.

Now she increased her stroke for a second time, and almost at once
flashed past two of the older girls. One of them was a senior.

The crowd began to shout for her when Nancy came around the home stake
now. Jennie Bruce led the freshmen rooters, and the volume of sound they
made showed that there were few "dyed-in-the-wool" Montgomeryites, after
all.

Nancy Nelson, the single remaining freshman on the ice, was the hope of
the class. Corinne and Carrie and one of the juniors were still
struggling far ahead; but the school as a whole soon began to be more
deeply interested in the progress of Nancy than in the struggle of the
leading girls.

"That little Nelson is making them all look sick," declared the stout
soph, Belle Macdonald. "I hated to see our Judy drop out; but I'd rather
see a freshman win over those juniors and seniors, if a sophomore can't
do it."

"Pah!" exclaimed Cora Rathmore, "Nelson hasn't a chance with that
Canuck. None of us had."

"Nancy is skating easier than all of them," observed one of the other
girls.

"Wouldn't it be odd if a freshman _should_ win?" cried Sally.

"It wouldn't be funny at all if that Nancy Nelson won," snapped Cora.
"That nobody!"

"There'd be no living with her at all, then," added Grace Montgomery.

"Hurrah for Nance!" shouted Jennie Bruce, when the contestants swung
past the home stake again. "She's going to win!"

The racers began their eighth lap. Not until now had Jennie really
believed her own statement--that Nancy had a chance to win. But it
actually began to look so.

They came around again. Carrie had dropped far behind Corinne and the
junior. Nancy was swinging along, hands clasped behind her back, taking
each stroke firmly--rolling just a little, indeed--and seemingly almost
as fresh as