"All right, we'll do that," said Major Ralph Mason, and then ordered all the cadets he could collect to station themselves on each side of the slide from the top to where it ran out on the lake.
"Oh, Jack, I hope you do win again!" said Ruth anxiously.
"You have got to win, Jack Rover!" cried his sister Martha. "If you don't beat that great big clumsy Glutts, I'll never speak to you again."
With so many cadets stationed along the course, Bill Glutts felt that his chances of winning the race were diminishing. He had thought that he could crowd Jack as he had done before, but now Walt Baxter laid down the law in such a manner that it could not be misunderstood.
"I will toss up a coin," said Walt, "and if you guess right, Glutts, you can take your choice of sides, and whichever side you or Jack Rover select, that side you must stick to from start to finish."
The coin was tossed up, and Bill Glutts called out "tails" and won. Then he said he would take the right side of the slide, that which Jack Rover and his chums had previously used.
"All right, then, Glutts," announced Walt. "Now then, remember that you have got to keep to the right all the way down; and you, Jack Rover, must keep to the left. If either of you crosses the middle of the course, that one will be disqualified and the race will be given to the other."
"All right, Walt, I will stick to the left from start to finish; just watch me and see," declared Jack.
"And I'll stick to the right," announced Bill Glutts. But his face showed anything but a happy expression as he spoke.
Jack had the same crowd on board that he had before, but Glutts made several changes. He retained Nick Carncross and Codfish, but for the other three cadets substituted youths who were slightly built, and consequently rather light in weight.
"He's saving all the pounds he can," whispered Randy.
"Jack, do you think the right side of the course is better than the left?" questioned Gif.
"I don't know. One looks about as good as the other to me," was the young captain's reply.
Professor Frank Grawson had come up and was quite interested in the proposed contest.
"I used to do a lot of bobsledding myself," said the professor, who was well liked by nearly all the cadets. "I used to have a home-made sled which was my pride for several seasons. Now, to make this more interesting, I'll put up a prize for the winner."