"
"Beating their style of paddling?" echoed Reade. "Why, according
to what you've told us we can't even equal their paddling."
"We're going to equal it," Dick answered, "and we ought to beat
it. At two o'clock, fellows, we're going out for two hours of
drill. Then I'll try to explain what I think I saw of the Preston
superiority in dipping and recovery. If I really observed correctly,
then we ought to be able to do much better, for I also think I
see how to improve on the Preston High School paddle work enough
to make their performance look almost clumsy."
"If you can do that," proclaimed Hazelton ungrudgingly, "then
you're a wonder, Dick."
"We shall see," smiled the big chief.
"And if we don't see straight," mumbled Reade, "then Preston will
hand us such a wallop that we won't even have the nerve to take
up a challenge from Trentville High School."
For the rest of the morning Dick & Co. were much more thoughtful
than usual. They had met defeat---a thing they didn't relish.
Yet they knew, in advance, how much worse they would feel if
they met a defeat when officially entered as a Gridley High School
crew---for the honor of their school was dear to them all.
The noonday meal was over before one o'clock. Dick would not
allow the "Scalp-hunter" to be put in the water a minute before
two. He wanted to be sure that digestion had proceeded far enough
so that they might do their best.
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