Page:Stanwood Pier--Crashaw brothers.djvu/156

136 The Corinthian crew filed out and took their seats on the rowing-machines.

“Attention!” cried Cole, the captain, and they all came forward to the full reach and  waited.

“Stroke!” They began to row.

Edward from the stairway watched them critically. Durant was rowing stroke, and Edward admired the way in which he gradually raised the speed until in the last minute of  the exhibition the Corinthian crew were swinging through it just as rhythmically as at the  beginning, yet with a tremendous acceleration  of power.

“I wonder if we’re as smooth a crew as that,” thought Edward. It would be a severe test to go on after such an exhibition.

But when the Pythians rowed, there was at least one person in the audience who was quite  unconscious whether they were doing it well  or not.

Mrs. Crashaw saw but one member of that crew; on him she held her eyes. And when they had finished, and Lawrence said, “They