Page:Stanwood Pier--Harding of St Timothys.djvu/44

24 As an athlete Rupert was of course all very well, but were there not other things to be considered?

Would not Harry be sure to make a much better speech and say the most graceful thing in the most graceful way? After all, Harry had plenty of interest in athletics, and played games pretty well, considering his lack of weight. He was just as good a fellow as Rupert—better, maybe; he was certainly brighter, and then his brother Clark had been such a splendid person—president of the athletic association and everything else. It would be rather a pleasant thing to let Harry fill his brother's place.

That was the line of argument which Harry's friends adopted, and along which they worked with more or less subtlety. At the outset, as they well knew, the odds were against them. It was difficult to demonstrate to the unprejudiced that Harry Harding had better claims to an athletic presidency than Rupert Ormsby. But the Crown expected by organized and consistent effort to overcome this difficulty.