Roger thought Sat.u.r.day would never come. There was little to do about the farm now, so he and Adrian overhauled the big Cardiff bob, which was stored in Mr. Kimball's barn. In this work they were a.s.sisted by such of the crew as could spare time from their duties.

The runners of the sled were filed, and polished bright and smooth.

Several extra braces were put in to stiffen the long board. The carpet, on top of this, was stuffed again, so as to afford a softer seat going over the b.u.mps, and the foot-rests were altered a bit. Adrian also put on a louder sounding gong.

Then he made a change which most of the boys declared was a foolish one.

This was to make the rear as well as the front small sled movable, so that either and both could be steered separately. The front bob was turned from side to side, by means of an iron wheel on an upright rod, just as the regular coasting bob is. But it was rather an innovation to have the rear sled steerable also. This was Adrian's idea, worked out from something he had seen on a recent visit to Syracuse. This was the sight of a long fire ladder truck turning short and sharp around corners because of both front and rear trucks being movable. He reasoned if a long wagon could be handled to advantage this way a long bob-sled might also.

There was a particular reason why Adrian wanted to steer quickly and turn short, as developed later. At first some of the boys who formed the crew of the bob were inclined to protest at the use of the second steering-wheel. But Adrian silenced them.

"Look here," he said, "I'm captain of this shebang and as long as I am I'm going to steer it the way I think best. If anybody don't like it, they needn't ride. I can get plenty to take those fellows' places. And if you don't want me for captain, just sing out," and Adrian paused for an answer.

"Of course we want you for captain," cried several.

"All right, then, just let me manage it. I'm going to have two steering-wheels, and we're going to win the race this time."

"I hope so," commented Thomas Archer, and the others joined him in the wish.

Finally the day of the triple contest came. On Friday the snow melted and thawed on Lafayette hill; but that night it grew colder and froze, until the surface of the slope was one long stretch of ice and snow, making a perfect covering for coasting. Sat.u.r.day dawned clear and cold, but with no biting wind--a rare day for the sport.

All Cardiff seemed to be astir early that morning, though the contest would not begin until two o'clock. An hour before that time, however, crowds began to gather along the hill, a number of the men and boys tramping up the steep slope to the top, that they might witness the start.

The majority of the spectators, however, preferred to remain where they could see the finish, and that was near Hank Mack's store, in the centre of Cardiff, where the road from Lafayette joined with the main thoroughfare leading to Syracuse. This was a vantage point where might be observed the ending of the struggle, which meant so much to the boys, and in a measure to their elders. On the far side of the main road, opposite the end of the hill, was a big bank of snow into which the racers might steer, if, perchance, they found themselves, at the swift completion of the journey, unable to turn to left or right. Thus the chance of accidents was lessened.

The boys of Lafayette and Onativia had one advantage, for they did not have to drag their heavy bob up the hill for the start, as the Cardiff crew did. But for this race, at least, that labor was saved Adrian and his chums, for Mr. Kimball got out his team of horses, hitched them to the big sled, and the animals, which were sharp-shod, easily dragged the racer up the two-mile incline, for which aid the boys were very thankful.

The Cardiff crew, at the head of which marched Adrian and Roger, followed the team, walking leisurely along and keeping a sharp watch that the bob came to no mishap. All but two of the boys would be merely pa.s.sengers, for to manage the affair only a pair of steersmen were needed, the others being there simply to give weight and to make the contest more interesting and exciting.

With the Cardiff crew marched a crowd of youngsters from the village.

They knew they must miss the thrilling finish of the race if they went to the top of the hill, but they wanted to lend the fellowship of their presence to the tail-enders of the series of contests, much the same as a crowd of "rooters" accompany their favorite nine or eleven. Besides, the Cardiff crew was going into a sort of hostile country and would need some support.

When the delegation marching with Adrian reached the top of the hill they found themselves the centre of a throng of perhaps two hundred people, mostly boys, though there were a goodly number of young men, and even some graybeards who still felt the joys of youth in their blood.

The Onativia crew was surrounded by their friends, and the Lafayette contenders by theirs, and though the Cardiff organization was greatly outnumbered, they did not feel at all disheartened when they saw how confident their captain was.

Scores of spectators and several members of the rival crews crowded about Adrian's bob, and the two steering-wheels at once attracted attention. There were dozens of questions about the second wheel, to all of which Adrian, as well as his followers, returned polite but evasive answers.

"Mebby th' Cardiff boys calalate on slidin' back'ards 's well 's for'ards," commented a Lafayette supporter. "Thet seems t' be their fav'rite mode a' locomotion, jedgin' from th' last two trys."

A hot reply for this taunt was on Adrian's lips, but he checked himself.

It would not do to boast of his plan, for it was yet untried, and he could not say what would be the outcome. So he merely motioned for his crew to keep near him, and answered nothing to the laugh that went up at the attempted wit of the Lafayette young man. Adrian took his cousin to one side.

"I haven't said much to you, Roger, about making this trip," he said, "but I want you to go along with me. You're not afraid, are you?"

"Not a bit," replied Roger, stoutly, though in his heart he was a little apprehensive, as he saw the big white stretch sloping steeply before him and thought of the twists, the turns, and b.u.mps in it. "I'll go if you'll let me, but maybe some of the crew won't like it. Besides, it will make thirteen on the sled, and you know--"

"Can't make me believe in bad luck signs of any sort," laughed Adrian.

"As for the crew not wanting you, I've spoken to them about it, and they're all agreeable. There are no regular rules to this race, anyhow.

You can take as many as the bob will carry."

So it was arranged Roger was to go. The preparations were nearly completed, the judges of the start had been selected, and those for the finish named. The latter set off on their ride down the incline ahead of the three big sleds, so as to be at the foot of the hill on time.

There was no danger of any teams coming up the incline, as the custom of the race was well known in the valley, and farmers gave Lafayette hill a wide berth on that day. As Roger watched the sleds of the judges for the finish whizz down the slope, he felt less and less inclined to make the racing trip. But he did not like to back out now, so he nerved himself for the ordeal.

The three captains held a short conversation and drew straws to see which should have the choice of position at the start. This fell to Adrian for the first time in the last three years, and he felt it was the beginning of success.

The preliminaries were soon arranged, and the starters, who were to shove the sleds to the edge of the hill and over the brow, were selected. There was the last look at the bobs on the part of the captains to see that these were in good shape and nothing loose or dangling, and a final trying of the steering-wheels to ascertain if they worked easily. The boys who formed the three crews began to fasten up stray ends of scarfs and clothing, b.u.t.toning their coats tightly, for it would be a fierce and swift journey.

Adrian wore an anxious air, which he tried to shake off, for though he did not need to depend much on his crew, he wanted them to feel there was a good chance for victory, as he honestly believed there was. He tested the two wheels on his bob, made sure that his a.s.sistant helmsman understood his duties, and he was ready. As his aid in guiding the big sled Adrian had selected Thomas Baker, a lad of considerable muscle, quick, and reliable.

"I guess we're in shape," announced Adrian in a low voice to his crew, as he saw the starters coming toward him.

CHAPTER XIV

A DESPERATE RACE

"Well, boys, take your places," called the starting-judge to the three crews.

The lads all scrambled to their seats on the rival bobs, to which they had been a.s.signed. Roger found himself placed second from Adrian, and though this gave him a fine view of the road stretching before him, he would gladly have changed his position for one farther back. It looked a little too much like taking a ride on the front end of a comet.

It did not take long for the three cargoes of human freight to be loaded. Adrian braced his feet against the cleats he had nailed on the first bob and grasped the steering-wheel firmly. Tom Baker did the same at his rear end, and, between them, came the eleven st.u.r.dy youngsters, all from Cardiff, save Roger, though he considered himself at least a temporary resident of that village now.

On the other two bobs the arrangements were just the same, save that there was only one steersman on each, and twelve boys in all instead of thirteen. The significance of the so-called unlucky number was noted by some of the Lafayette crew.

"Ain't you fellers Jonah enough without goin' out of your way to look for a hoodoo?" asked Jim Smather as he glanced at Adrian and laughed.

"This will be the luckiest thirteen you ever saw," rejoined the Cardiff captain, and that was the only prediction of victory he allowed himself.

"I s'pose ye all know th' conditions of th' race well 'nuff by this time," remarked the chief starter, Abe Crownheart. "Ye'll all git shoved at th' same time, 'n' th' bob that gits t' th' bottom a' th' hill fust wins, no matter how it gits thar, pervided it ain't upside down or downside up."

There were nods of a.s.sent from the captains, and those detailed for the purpose pulled the three big sleds to within a short distance of the top of the hill. Adrian, having had the choice, had selected the position farthest to the right. Next to him was Lafayette, and at the extreme left the Onativia bob.

"You starters are t' begin t' shove when ye hear th' pistol crack, 'n'

not afore," cautioned Mr. Crownheart. "Anybody that tries t' git a false start so 's t' go ahead'll be fined half a minute headway. So be careful. Are ye all ready, captains?"

"Yes," answered Adrian, shortly, the light of battle coming into his eyes. He meant to win!

"All ready," announced Jim Smather.

"Shove away!" called Ed Johnson.

There was a moment of silence and hesitation.

"One!" counted Mr. Crownheart, raising the revolver slowly.

"Two!" and he extended his hand, holding the weapon high in the air.