It was then that the watchers
noticed the change. Betty lengthened her stroke a trifle and forged
ahead, while Frank still kept the same steady stroke.
Then, when more than half of the remaining distance had been covered,
Frank evidently made up his mind that it was time to show those people
some real speed. Suddenly he dropped the lazy stroke, and it seemed as
though he were imbued with new life. His arms and legs worked together
with the precision of a machine and he shot through the water like a
catapult.
Betty was not prepared for so sudden a transformation, but her surprise
lasted only a minute. Gallantly she gathered all her strength and made a
dash for the goal.
"I see Betty's finish," Will was saying, when Mollie cried excitedly:
"You just watch Betty. Did you ever see a girl like her?"
As Allen came up beside the pair he thought that at last he and Mollie
had found something to agree upon.
They watched Betty with straining eyes.
"She'll do it!" cried Allen. "I never thought it was possible for a girl
to swim like that. Look, she has caught up to him."
It was so.
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