Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/119

 her properly, she turned over and let him down into the water again.

Ralph, of course, could have won the race very easily, but he lingered to watch the others, so that they all reached the turning point at the same moment. On the home stretch another upset occurred, and this time Tom and Loren did not waste as many minutes in getting back as they did before. They learned rapidly, and when half a dozen more races had been tried they became so expert that Ralph had little the advantage of them. By this time they began to think they had had enough of the water for one afternoon, so they pulled away for the boat house, Tom easily distancing his cousins, who tried in vain to keep up with him.

"This afternoon's work has opened my eyes to a thing or two," said Ralph, after they had changed their clothes and sponged out their canoes.

"So it has mine, "exclaimed Tom. "Let me talk first, and see how far my conclusions agree with yours. In the first place, you ought to win the upset race."