THE BOAT RACE.
The balance of that school year was a season of hard study for Joel. It
was not in his nature to remain long despondent over the loss of the
Goodwin scholarship, and a week after the winter term commenced he was
as cheerful and light-hearted as ever. But his failure served to spur
him on to renewed endeavors, and as a result he soon found himself at
the head of the upper middle. Rightly or wrongly--and there is much to
be said on both sides--he gave up sports almost entirely. Now and then
West persuaded him to an afternoon on the links, but this was
infrequent. The hockey season opened with the first hard ice on the
river, and West joined the team that met and defeated St. Eustace in
January. There was one result of his application to study that Joel had
not looked for. Outfield West, perhaps from a mere desire to be
companionable, took to lessons, and, much to his own pretended dismay,
began to earn the reputation of a diligent student.
"You won't talk," growled West, "you won't play chess, you won't eat
things. You just drive a chap to study!" As spring came in the school
talk turned to baseball and rowing. For the former Joel had little
desire, but rowing attracted him, and he began to allow himself the
unusual pleasure of an hour away from lessons in the afternoon that he
might go down to the boathouse with West, and there, in a sunny angle of
the building, watch the crews at work upon the stream. Hillton was
trying very hard to turn out a winning crew, and Whipple, who was
captain of the first eight, toiled as no captain had toiled before in
the history of Hillton aquatics.
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