"There! She's picked up her first apple!"
"If she only goes on at this rate, St. Chad's may begin to hope."
"No, she isn't! She's saving herself for a spurt. There! I told you so! She's passed Christina now!"
"I can hardly believe it's Janie Henderson who's running. It doesn't seem possible!"
"Well, of course, she's extremely light; that gives her a great pull over most of the others."
"But I didn't know she could run at all!"
"Perhaps she didn't either, until she tried."
"And Alice Marsh has nearly knocked her over, through rushing to the same heap."
"Never mind! it hasn't really hindered her."
"She and Nettie Saville are almost equal now!"
"No, she won't; she's got them quite tight!"
"No--Nettie is spurting, and gaining fast!"
"Hurrah! Nettie has dropped an apple, and she'll have to stop, and pick it up."
"If she wins, it will be a triumph for the orange ribbon!"
Thus the girls, with continuous anxiety, followed the events of the race, all unknowing that Janie was playing for a far higher stake than they realized, and that on the result of that race hung, not only the honour of St. Chad's, but the future of a human soul, capable of infinitely so much more than it had yet achieved.
"They're all putting on steam! Oh, look! Alice Marsh is almost even!"
"And Connie Peters has gained what she lost at first!"
"She won't! She won't! She's making a last dash! She's in front of Nettie! She's gaining--three feet--four feet! Well done, Janie! Go on! Go on! You're safe! Don't flag now!"
"Oh! Hurrah for St. Chad's! She's actually won!"
The wild delight of the Chaddites at this most marvellous and unexpected achievement was beyond all bounds. They cheered themselves nearly hoarse, and waved their handkerchiefs in the exuberance of their joy. To have gained the Atalanta race was a score for their house which, added to their previous cricket successes, would place it on the highest pinnacle of the athletic records of the year.
"And to think that my delicate Janie should be capable of such a feat!" exclaimed Mrs. Henderson, who had watched the contest with hardly less excitement than the Chaddites themselves. "Chessington has been the making of her, and I cannot thank you enough, Miss Cavendish, for your care of her general health. She is another girl from what she was two years ago. The doctor always told me that plenty of exercise would be her salvation, but I could never persuade her to run about at home."