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Show WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR Fourteen - year - old Geoffrey Braemer is sent to a welfare school when a couple of jeivei thieves who had noted as his foster-parents flee from the lav). Running away from school, Geoffrey is brought back by Terry O'Mulvaney, honor student whose part in the affair is misunderstood, mis-understood, costing him his rating. rat-ing. iJie other boys feel that Terry is punished unfairly, and ostracize Geoffrey; but the latter lat-ter makes the post of coxswain of the school crew. rowed fairly and cleanly. Tm sorry-there sorry-there can't be two winners, but I wouldn't be honest if I failed to say, with pardonable pride, that I'm glad our school won." He held the cup out to Geoffrey. "Now, Braemer, as coxswain, I entrust this cup to you, to take to the jewelers and have the name of Russell-Cotes engraved on it." "Thank you, sir," said Geoffrey, choked with emotion, "but I think our captain should have it." Forgetting for the moment that he was being "cut" by the entire school, he thrust the trophy out to Ned. The latter stolidly ignored the gesture, looking blankly into space. After a dramatic pause, Captain Briggs cut short the embarrassing OopjlKbt WM br LotWa, too. Chapter Ten The big day was at hand. The entire student body, in martial formation, for-mation, paraded toward the lake. Let Harvard-Yale and Oxford-Cambridge enjoy their own rivalries; here, in this particular corner of English soil, it was Russell-Cotes versus the Watts Naval School. A temporary stand had been erected for the benefit of townspeople towns-people and friends of the competitors. competi-tors. Several hundred of them had gathered there, making up in volume vol-ume of sound, for their relatively small total numbers. As both crews lined up tensely beside their racing lifeboats. Captain Cap-tain Briggs outlined the rules of the competition. Captain Wilson of the Royal Navy then raised his hand, signalled to the two boats. .. finally blew the whistle that sent them plunging into the water simultaneously. sim-ultaneously. A lifeboat race, involving scrap-piness scrap-piness and endurance more than a polished technique, was the last word in exciting competitive tussles for these youngsters schooled for the sea. Geoffrey, forgetting all his old prejudices and affectations for scene. "That's all!" he cried. "Dismissed! Without a word, all the members of the Russell-Cotes crew executed an about-face and marched away, leaving Geoffrey overwhelmed and alone. First Officer Cartwright seemed about to step forward, and speak to him. But Geoffrey, deeply hurt and wanting more than anything else to escape sympathetic questions, ques-tions, slipped quickly away. For more than two hours he remained re-mained secluded in a wooded retreat re-treat a half-mile down the lake. Once in a while he picked un a handful of pebbles and threw them in the water; but most of the time he was just thinking, going back over every incident that had happened hap-pened in the past few weeks, wondering won-dering about such matters as his vanished sense of self-importance; Making his way finally toward Captain Briggs' office Geoffrey knocked at the door. "Come in!" cried the Captain. Ha was slightly surprised as he saw who the visitor was, but he smiled encouragingly. "Good work, Braemer. rm proud of you." "Thank yon, sir," said Geoffrey wryly. ' t '. "Do you kntfwwhy t I'm I ' ' - ' getting the chill, sir?" , -'-, ) asked Geoffrey abruptly. ' 1 , aiwM i J the moment, was as engrossed in the battle as anyone else on either side. Swinging away toward the buoy, Terry caught a crab and almost lost his seat. The Watts crew took a lead of a length. "Never mind that!" cried Geoffrey, Geof-frey, consumed by a new spirit of fellowship. "All together now! Swing into it! Come on we can beat them!" As the two boats approached the buoy, Geoffrey maneuvered the inside in-side course. The Watt's lead was cut to half a length . . . overcome entirely . . . the Russell-Cotes craft had a lead of a full length! Crusty Jelks, watching exault-antly exault-antly from the shore, thumped First Officer Cartwright on the back. Captan Briggs smiled tolerantly. "Brilliant work! Great steering," he declared. Out on the lake, the endurance of the boys was being tested to the limit. The Watts' boat started to crawl up. Suddenly Ned, the Russell-Cotes captain, doubled up. Convulsed Con-vulsed with pain, he lost control of his oar. "What's wrong, Ned?" cried Geoffrey. Geof-frey. Without pausing another sec-end, sec-end, he added: "Here, change places with me! Quickly!" Ned clambered to the tiller, as Geoffrey leaped forward and took his oar. The entire shift had taken -only a couple of seconds, but the Watts' boat was almost neck and neck by now. The race belonged now to either side. Pulling with tenacious grim-ness, grim-ness, Geoffrey and the rest of his crew refused to concede an inch. As they forced their boat on to the .finish line several feet in advance ;of the Watts' entry, a great cheer went up from the onlookers. Friends :and foes of the victorious group united in a spontaneous tribute that :showed they appreciated gameness and fighting spirit. When the boys had splashed water ;in each other's faces and pulled tthemselves together they went to ithe lockers to change. Then they !hurried ashore for the ceremony of the cup presentation. The emblem of victory gleamed and sparkled, as it stood on a table covered with a silk cloth. "The right name will go on it," iCaptain Briggs told First Officer I Cartwright. "Thanks to Braemer," rejoined -the other. ! "Yes, he steered a heady race," agreed the Captain. "He pulled us 1 through nobly." ' Cartwright faced the two boating J squads, as he took the cup in his hands. I "It was a good race and a hard jooe," he said, "and both crew Captain Briggs came straight to the point. "The disapproval of your fellows Is hard to endure, Geoffrey," he said, "but I admire the way you stood up under it." "Do you know why I'm getting the chill, sir?" asked Geoffrey abruptly. I "No, and I'd rather not" "But I must tell you, sir. I should have, long ago." j "I must warn you," said the Captain Cap-tain with a stern look, "that if you tell me something to your discredit, dis-credit, you are doing it voluntarily. If it is something very serious, I might have to refer you to reform school." "I realize all that, sir," replied Geoffrey, concealing his emotion. "It's not too late to withdraw," suggested the head of the school. Geoffrey pressed his lips together, to-gether, hesitating for only a second. sec-ond. "I want to steer the straight course," he said. "If you don't mind, sir." "Go ahead," responded Captain Briggs. "The morning when Terry was caught climbing into the dormitory, it wasn't his fault." Geoffrey paused, again, continuing with an effort. "He went after me, because I had run away. Then lie made me come back." "I see," answered Captain Briggs, eyes shadowy and expressionless. "He felt responsible for me, sir," added Geoffrey. "As for the school well, they knew that something was being hushed up" "I understand," said the school head. "Youll let Terry go now?" pressed Geoffrey. "I'll reconsider his case, Braemer." Brae-mer." ' "He had been counting so much on the chance for the Queen Mary " Geoffrey halted again. There was! one thing more he wanted to add. "And please, sir " "Yes?" "Don't tell any of the fellows how you found out about it. Please don't tell them." "I'll respect your wishes," replied the Captain. He rose. "Go to your quarters and remain there until youi hear further from me." Geoffrey, feeling that his manner was ominously severe, turned and left with heavy heart. He had done what he felt had to be done. Now! there was nothing1 left but to pay the price, however, difficult thai might be. (To be continued) |