Page:The purple pennant (IA purplepennant00barb).pdf/262

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
THE PURPLE PENNANT

firsts, and he hoped to get placed in the high hurdles. Perry Hull had attempted to show form as a broad-jumper, but after a week of it had convinced Skeet that that was not his forte. In the end he was slated for the sprints only.

Perry had his second time-trial on the seventeenth of the month and Skeet announced the time as 10 3/5 for the hundred and 24 3/5 for the two-twenty. Neither performance was remarkable, but Perry had a strong belief in his ability to better them both; and, in any case, he had performed as well as any of his teammates except Lanny and Kirke in the hundred and Lanny in the two-twenty. Lanny told him he had done finely and assured him that in another fortnight he would be able to cut another fifth of a second from his time. "And if you do," said Lanny, "you'll stand as good a chance for second place as any of the fellows. I don't think that Springdale has a sprinter who can do better than two-fifths this year. It will be a corking race for second place!"

Perry was encouraged and his enthusiasm arose to new heights. For the next week he clamored for another time-trial, but Skeet denied him. Instead, he insisted on Perry working well over his

distance for days after that trial, and neither he

242