Some forty or fifty young persons,
boys and girls, were walking about the grass,
and seemed to be preparing for some interesting
event.
Carl stopped to rest and look on.
"What's going on here?" he asked of a boy
who was sitting on the fence.
"It's a meeting of the athletic association,"
said the boy.
"What are they doing?"
"They try for prizes in jumping, vaulting,
archery and so on."
This interested Carl, who excelled in all
manly exercises.
"I suppose I may stay and look on?" he said, inquiringly.
"Why, of course. Jump over the fence and
I'll go round with you."
It seemed pleasant to Carl to associate once
more with boys of his own age. Thrown
unexpectedly upon his own resources, he had
almost forgotten that he was a boy. Face to
face with a cold and unsympathizing world,
he seemed to himself twenty-five at least.
"Those who wish to compete for the archery
prize will come forward," announced Robert
Gardiner, a young man of nineteen, who, as
Carl learned, was the president of the association.
"You all understand the conditions. The entry fee
to competitors is ten cents. The prize to the most
successful archer is one dollar."
Several boys came forward and paid the entrance fee.
"Would you like to compete?" asked Edward Downie,
the boy whose acquaintance Carl had made.
"I am an outsider," said Carl. "I don't
belong to the association."
"I'll speak to the president, if you like."
"I don't want to intrude."
"It won't be considered an intrusion.
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