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10 - The Box Car Children - Gertrude Warner · Classic Adventure Books - Daily

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  Speaker 1: Chapter ten, The race. The Cordyce steel mills stood a
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  Speaker 1: little aside from the city of Greenfield, as if they
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  Speaker 1: were a little too good to associate with common factories.
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  Speaker 1: James Henry Cordyce sat in a huge leather chair in
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  Speaker 1: his private office. He was a man nearly sixty years
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  Speaker 1: of age, whose dark brown hair was still untouched by gray.
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  Speaker 1: He had rather hard lines about his mouth, but softer
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  Speaker 1: ones around his eyes. Printed on the ground glass top
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  Speaker 1: of his door were these words in black and gold, J. H. Cordyce,
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  Speaker 1: President Private. Once a year J. H. Cordyce allowed himself
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  Speaker 1: a holiday if he had a weakness. It was for
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  Speaker 1: healthy boys, boys running without their hats, boys jumping, boys,
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  Speaker 1: throwing rings, boys swimming, boy's vaulting with a long pole.
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  Speaker 1: And in company with three other extremely rich men, he
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  Speaker 1: arranged once a year a field day for the town
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  Speaker 1: of Intervale. The men attended it in person and supplied
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  Speaker 1: all the money. This was field day. All through the
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  Speaker 1: spring and early summer months. Boys were in training for
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  Speaker 1: miles around getting ready for Intervale's field day. And not
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  Speaker 1: only boys, but men also old and young, and girls
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  Speaker 1: of all ages into the bargain Prizes were offered for tennis, baseball, rowing, swimming, running,
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  Speaker 1: and every imaginable type of athletic feet, but usually the
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  Speaker 1: interest of the day centered on a free for all
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  Speaker 1: race of one mile, which every one enjoyed and a
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  Speaker 1: great many people entered. A prize of twenty five dollars
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  Speaker 1: was offered to the winner of this race, and also
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  Speaker 1: a silver trophy cup with little wings on its handles.
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  Speaker 1: Sometimes this cup was won by a middle aged man,
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  Speaker 1: sometimes by a girl, and sometimes by a trained athlete.
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  Speaker 1: Mister Cordyce smiled about his eyes as he closed his desk,
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  Speaker 1: ordered his limousine, and went out and locked the door
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  Speaker 1: of his office. The mill had been closed down for
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  Speaker 1: the day everyone attended field day. Henry was washing the
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  Speaker 1: concrete drives at doctor mc allister's at this moment. He
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  Speaker 1: heard the doctor call to him from the road, so
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  Speaker 1: he promptly turned off the hose and ran out to
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  Speaker 1: see what was wanted. Hop In commanded the doctor, not
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  Speaker 1: stopping his engine, you ought to go to see the
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  Speaker 1: stunts at the athletic meet. It's field day. Henry did
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  Speaker 1: not wish to delay the doctor, so he hopped in.
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  Speaker 1: Can't go myself, said doctor mc allister. I'll just drop
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  Speaker 1: you at the grounds. There's no charge for admittance. You
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  Speaker 1: just watch all the events and report to me who wins.
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  Speaker 1: Henry tried to explain to his friend that he ought
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  Speaker 1: to be working, but there was actually no time, and
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  Speaker 1: when he found himself seated on the bleachers and stunts began,
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  Speaker 1: he forgot everything in the world except the exciting events
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  Speaker 1: before his eyes. Henry had no pencil, but he had
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  Speaker 1: an excellent memory. He repeated over and over the name
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  Speaker 1: of each winner as it appeared on the huge signboard.
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  Speaker 1: It was nearly eleven o'clock when the free for all
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  Speaker 1: running race was announced. What do they mean free for all?
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  Speaker 1: Asked Henry of a small boy at his side. Why
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  Speaker 1: just anybody, explained the boy curiously. Didn't you ever see one?
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  Speaker 1: Didn't you see the one last year? No, said Henry.
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  Speaker 1: The boy laughed. Kat was a funny one, he said.
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  Speaker 1: There was a college runner in it, and a couple
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  Speaker 1: of fat men and some girls, lots of people, and
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  Speaker 1: the little colored boy over there won it. You just
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  Speaker 1: ought to have seen that boy run. He went so
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  Speaker 1: fast you couldn't see his legs beat the college runner.
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  Speaker 1: You know, Henry gazed at the winner of last year's race.
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  Speaker 1: He was smaller than Henry, but apparently older. In a
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  Speaker 1: few minutes, Henry had quietly left his place on the bleachers.
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  Speaker 1: When the boy turned to speak to him again, he
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  Speaker 1: was gone. He had gone, in fact, to the dressing room,
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  Speaker 1: where boys of all sizes were putting on sandals and
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  Speaker 1: running trunks. A man stepped up to him quickly want
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  Speaker 1: to enter, he asked, No time to waste, yes, replied Henry.
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  Speaker 1: The man tossed him a pair of white shoes and
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  Speaker 1: some blue trunks. He liked the look of Henry's face
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  Speaker 1: as he paused to ask in an undertone, where did
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  Speaker 1: you train? Never trained, replied Henry. I suppose you know?
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  Speaker 1: These fellows have been training all the year, observed the man.
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  Speaker 1: You don't expect to win? Oh no, replied Henry, apparently
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  Speaker 1: shocked at the idea. But it's lots of fun to run,
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  Speaker 1: you know. He was dressed and ready by this time.
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  Speaker 1: How light he felt, He felt as if he could
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  Speaker 1: almost fly. Presently, the contestants were all marshaled out to
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  Speaker 1: the running track. Henry was number four. Now Henry had
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  Speaker 1: never been trained to run, but the boy possessed an
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  Speaker 1: unusual quantity of common sense. It's a mile race, he
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  Speaker 1: thought to himself, and it's the second half mile that counts.
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  Speaker 1: So it happened that this was the main thought in
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  Speaker 1: his mind. When the starter's gong sounded and the racers
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  Speaker 1: shot away down the track in almost no time, Henry
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  Speaker 1: was far behind the first half of the runners, but
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  Speaker 1: strangely enough, he did not seem to mind this greatly.
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  Speaker 1: It's fun to run, anyhow, he thought. It was fun. Certainly,
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  Speaker 1: he felt as if his limbs were strung together on springs.
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  Speaker 1: He ran easily, without effort, each step bounding into the
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  Speaker 1: next like an elastic After a few minutes of this,
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  Speaker 1: Henry had a new thought. Now you've tried how easy
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  Speaker 1: you can run, Let's see how fast you can run.
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  Speaker 1: And then not only Henry himself, but the enormous crowd
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  Speaker 1: as well began to see how fast he could run. Slowly,
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  Speaker 1: he gained on the fellow ahead of him and passed him.
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  Speaker 1: With the next fellow as a goal, he gradually crept
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  Speaker 1: alongside and passed him with a spurt. The crowd shouted
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  Speaker 1: itself hoarse. The field all along the course was black
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  Speaker 1: with people Henry could hear them cheering for number four
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  Speaker 1: as he pounded by. Six runners remained ahead of him.
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  Speaker 1: Here was the kind of race the crowd loved, not
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  Speaker 1: an easily won affair between two runners, but a gradual
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  Speaker 1: victory between the best runner and overpowering odds. Henry could
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  Speaker 1: see the finish flag now in the distance. He began
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  Speaker 1: to spurt. He passed numbers fourteen and three. He passed
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  Speaker 1: twenty five, six and one, almost in a bunch. Number
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  Speaker 1: sixteen remained ahead. Then Henry began to think of winning.
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  Speaker 1: How much the twenty five dollar prize would mean to
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  Speaker 1: Jess and the rest. Number sixteen must be passed. I'm
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  Speaker 1: going to win this race, he said quietly in his
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  Speaker 1: own mind. I'll bet you I am. The thought lent
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  Speaker 1: him speed Number four. Number four yelled the crowd. Henry
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  Speaker 1: did not know that the fellow ahead had been ahead
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  Speaker 1: all the way, and just because he Henry had slowly
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  Speaker 1: gained over them, all the crowd loved him best. Henry
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  Speaker 1: waited until he could have touched him. He was within
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  Speaker 1: three yards of the wire. He bent double and put
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  Speaker 1: all his energy into the last elastic bound. He passed
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  Speaker 1: number sixteen and shot under the wire. Then the crowd
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  Speaker 1: went wild. It scrambled over and under the fence, cheering
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  Speaker 1: and blowing its horns. Henry felt himself lifted on many
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  Speaker 1: shoulders and carried panting up to the reviewing stand. He bowed,
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  Speaker 1: laughing at the sea of faces, and took the silver
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  Speaker 1: cup with its little wings in a sort of dream.
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  Speaker 1: It is a wonder he did not lose the envelope
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  Speaker 1: containing the prize, for he hardly realized when he took
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  Speaker 1: it what it was. Then some one said, what's your name? Boy?
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  Speaker 1: That called him to earth. He had to think quickly
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  Speaker 1: under cover of getting his breath. Henry James, He replied,
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  Speaker 1: this was perfectly true as far as it went. In
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  Speaker 1: a moment, the enormous sign board flashed out the name
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  Speaker 1: Henry James, No. Four, aged thirteen, winner of Free for All. Meanwhile,
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  Speaker 1: the man of the dressing room was busy locating mister
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  Speaker 1: Cordyce of the Cordyce Mills. He knew that was exactly
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  Speaker 1: the kind of story that old James Henry would like. Yes, sir,
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  Speaker 1: he said, smiling. I says to him, you don't expect
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  Speaker 1: to win, of course, And he says to me, oh, no,
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  Speaker 1: but it's lots of fun to run, you know. Thank you, sir,
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  Speaker 1: returned mister Cordyce. That's a good story. Bring the youngster
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  Speaker 1: over here, if you don't mind. When Henry appeared, a
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  Speaker 1: trifle shaken out of his day and anxious only to
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  Speaker 1: get away, mister Cordyce stretched out his hand. I like
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  Speaker 1: your spirit, my boy, he said. I like your running too,
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  Speaker 1: but it's your spirit that I like best. Don't ever
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  Speaker 1: lose it, Thank you, said Henry, shaking hands. And there
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  Speaker 1: was only one in the whole crowd that knew who
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  Speaker 1: was shaking hands with whom least of all James Henry
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  Speaker 1: and Henry James. End of Chapter ten,