Cinder Path Tales

92 CINDER-PATH TALES nasium, makingout some physical develop­ ment charts, — a tedious task which I did not enjoy, andwas anxious to finish. The clock had struck nine, ten, andeleven sinceI had taken my seat atthe desk, and the minute- hand wasswinging roundthe track to twelve, like a tired runner on his last lap. The charts showed the usual small percentage of well-developed bodies, some with no develop­ ment at all, and the larger partentirely out of proportion, as was shown by the lines zig­ zagging in a crazy fashion from the thirty mark to the eighty. Here was a splendid pair of legs carrying around a feeble body, and arms not worth mentioning. Here was a trunk like a coal-heaver's, and with it a pair of legs measuringonly ten inches atthe calf, and fourteen and one-half at the thigh. In some cases the unbalanced proportions approached deformities, as in the chart of a freshman by thename of Mason. His height was but a little over six feet, yet his leg measurement was astonishing, bettering any record in my book by nearly two inches. This extraordinary length.of leg was of course taken from the body, whichwas like that of a boy oftwelve, and upon his first appearance on the track he was given the very appro­ priate alias of "Two Pieces." He certainly had appeared whenrunning as if there was