"Are you ready?" asked the judge. They both nodded. "Then—go!" and with half-a-dozen quick steps they pushed their toboggans over the brow of the hill, and flinging themselves on sideways with one leg extended for a rudder, shot down the steep slope like arrows from a bow. For some time they kept side by side. Then Fred was seen to swerve and slew, and the Bridgetown boy to slip ahead. The advantage was not much, but he kept it to the end, and the first heat went against Riverside. The Bridgetown boys cheered lustily, and the Riversiders looked rather glum, until the next heat was run and resulted in a win for the latter, thus making things even. The Riverside entry took the third heat also, and their hopes ran high, but cooled down again when the fourth heat went to Bridgetown. The result of the first round, accordingly, was that two of each side had won their heats, Theo and Ralph being, of course, among the winners. The excitement grew more and more intense as, after a little breathing-space, the second round was called. Curiously enough, Theo and Ralph did not come together in this round either, having each another opponent, whom they vanquished easily. As they stood on the hill together at the conclusion of the round, Ralph turned to Theo with a smile which betokened perfect confidence in himself, and pointing to his new toboggan, said,— "She’s a hummer; there’s nothing on the bluff to touch her." "Do you think it was just the square thing, Ralph, to get that toboggan when it was understood we were to race with what we had already?" asked Theo quietly. "Pooh!" replied Ralph, tossing his head defiantly; "everything’s fair in love and war." As he turned away and swung his toboggan round, it came in contact with Patsey Kehoe’s barrel-stave sled. With a muttered oath Ralph sprang toward the obstruction, and kicking it high into the air, the clumsy little thing fell to the ground shattered into useless fragments. Poor Patsey gave a cry as he saw his plaything demolished, but Ralph’s angry face silenced him again, and with tears running down their cheeks he and Katey proceeded to gather up the pieces. "Get ready for the final heat," called out Judge Masterton. Mrs. Ross pressed forward to Theo’s side and whispered in his ear, "Good luck to you, my boy."