The other two ran like the wind; yet
although Henri _appeared_ to be going heavily over the ground, he kept
up with them to the turning-point. As for Dick, it became evident in
the first few minutes that he could outstrip his antagonist with ease,
and was hanging back a little all the time. He shot ahead like an
arrow when they came about half-way back, and it was clear that the
real interest of the race was to lie in the competition between Henri
and Tarwicadia.
Before they were two-thirds of the way back, Dick walked in to the
winning-point, and turned to watch the others. Henri's wind was about
gone, for he exerted himself with such violence that he wasted half
his strength. The Indian, on the contrary, was comparatively fresh,
but he was not so fleet as his antagonist, whose tremendous strides
carried him over the ground at an incredible pace. On they came neck
and neck, till close on the score that marked the winning-point. Here
the value of enthusiasm came out strongly in the case of Henri. He
_felt_ that he could not gain an inch on Tarwicadia to save his life,
but just as he came up he observed the anxious faces of his comrades
and the half-sneering countenances of the savages.
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