Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/242



HEN Joe Wayring beached his canoe below the boat-house, he was immediately surrounded by his friends who were impatient to hear all about it. They knew there had been a foul, for some of the laggards in the race had seen it; but they could not tell how it had been brought about, or who was to blame for it.

"It was Noble's fault in the first place, and Tom Bigden's in the second," said Joe, in response to their hurried inquiries. "It seems that there are three 'cliques' in the club, one of which believes in doing things fairly, while the other two do not. Loren Farnsworth was 'booked' by one of the cliques to win the paddle race, while Frank Noble was the choice of the other. Each was determined that his opponent should not win, and the result was most