By this time the public had become alive to the fact that Dencroft’s were making a great fight for the cup. They had noticed that Dencroft’s colours always seemed to be coming in near the head of the procession, but the School House had made the cup so much their own, that it took some time for the school to realise that another house—especially the late Kay’s—was running them hard for first place. Then, just before the hurdle-race, fellows with “correct cards” hastily totted up the points each house had won up-to-date. To the general amazement it was found that, while the School House had fourteen, Dencroft’s had reached nineteen, and, barring the long run to be decided on the Monday, there was nothing now that the School House must win without dispute.
A house that will persist in winning a cup year after year has to pay for it when challenged by a rival. Dencroft’s instantly became warm favourites. Whenever Dencroft’s brown and gold appeared at the scratch, the school shouted for it wildly till the event was over. By the end of the day the totals were more nearly even, but Dencroft’s were still ahead. They had lost on the long jump, but not unexpectedly. The totals at the finish were, School House twenty-three, Dencroft’s twenty-five. Everything now depended on the long run.
“We might do it,” said Kennedy to Fenn, as they changed. “Milligan’s a cert for three points, of course, but if we can only get two we win the cup.”
“There’s one thing about the long run,” said Fenn; “you never quite know what’s going to happen. Milligan might break down over one of the hedges or the brook. There’s no telling.”
Kennedy felt that such a remote possibility was something of a broken reed to lean on. He had no expectation of beating the School House long distance runner, but he hoped for second place; and second place would mean the cup, for there was nobody to beat either himself or Crake.
The distance of the long run was as nearly as possible five miles. The course was across country to the village of Ledby in a sort of semicircle of three and a half miles, and then back to the school gates by road. Every Eckletonian who ran at all knew the route by heart. It was the recognised training run if you wanted to train particularly hard. If you did not, you took a shorter spin. At the milestone nearest the school—it was about half a mile from the gates—a good number of fellows used to wait to see the first of the runners and pace their men home. But, as a rule, there were few really hot finishes in the long run. The man who got to Ledby first generally kept the advantage, and came in a long way ahead of the field.
On this occasion the close fight Kennedy and Crake had had in the mile and the half, added to the fact that Kennedy had only to get second place to give Dencroft’s the cup, lent a greater interest to the race than usual. The crowd at the milestone was double the size of the one in the previous year, when Milligan had won for the first time. And when, amidst howls of delight from the School House, the same runner ran past the stone with his long, effortless stride, before any of the others were in sight, the crowd settled down breathlessly to watch for the second man.
Then a yell, to which the other had been nothing, burst from the School House as a white figure turned the corner. It was Crake. Waddling rather than running, and breathing in gasps; but still Crake. He toiled past the crowd at the milestone.
“By Jove, he looks bad,” said someone.
And, indeed, he looked very bad. But he was ahead of Kennedy. That was the great thing.
He had passed the stone by thirty yards, when the cheering broke out again. Kennedy this time, in great straits, but in better shape than Crake. Dencroft’s in a body trotted along at the side of the road, shouting as they went. Crake, hearing the shouts, looked round, almost fell, and then pulled himself together and staggered on again. There were only a hundred yards to go now, and the school gates were in sight at the end of a long lane of spectators. They looked to Kennedy like two thick, black hedges. He could not sprint, though a hundred voices were shouting to him to do so. It was as much as he could do to keep moving. Only his will enabled him to run now. He meant to get to the gates, if he had to crawl.
The hundred yards dwindled to fifty, and he had diminished Crake’s lead by a third. Twenty yards from the gates, and he was only half-a-dozen yards behind.
Crake looked round again, and this time did what he had nearly done before. His legs gave way; he rolled over; and there he remained, with the School House watching him in silent dismay, while Kennedy went on and pitched in a heap on the other side of the gates.
“Feeling bad?” said Jimmy Silver, looking in that evening to make inquiries.
“I’m feeling good,” said Kennedy.
“That the cup?” asked Jimmy.
Kennedy took the huge cup from the table.
“That’s it. Milligan has just brought it round. Well, they can’t say they haven’t had their fair share of it. Look here. School House. School House. School House. School House. Daly’s. School House. Denny’s. School House. School House. Ad infinitum.”
They regarded the trophy in silence.
“First pot the house has won,” said Kennedy at length. “The very first.”
“It won’t be the last,” returned Jimmy Silver, with decision.
