Cinder Path Tales

78 HOW KITTY Round the trackthey swing again, two men dropping out at the lower turn, alreadyrun off their feet,and one of them the stout fel­ low, as I expected. Indeed, as they pass the posts the secondtime all have come back a bit to Jack but Black, and Kitty's face is touched by grim despair, for that dreadful twenty yards still stretches between theone she wishes to win and the one she tried to put outof the race. On the third quarter Jack lets out a link, picking up one after another, until only Black leads him, and whenthey start on the last lap he is running strongand fairly fresh, only ten yards behind, and the rest trailed badly. Kitty's face is the queerest mixture of hope and fear I ever saw. Black runs with the confidence of repeated victories in trials, and attempts toopen up the gap again; but Jack has a bit up his sleeve still,answers with a little spurt of his own, will not be denied, andis only a bare five yards tothe bad as they straightenout for the last hundred yards. Here Blackglances over his shoulder, and I can see his look of surprise. Jack has never been so close up at this stage of the game. It isevident that both the boys are approaching" Queer Stree t," "Queer Street" with its pounding heart and panting lungs,