His left foot was well forward, the toe of the skate dug well into the ice.

His right arm pointed ahead, his left behind.
Crack! At the sound of the shot Dick let his right foot spring into the air.

As it came down, ahead, he gave a vigorous thrust with his left.

The style of start was his own, but it worked to a charm.

A hearty cheer went up when the spectators saw that Dick was leading by five yards.
At the first turn, however, Prescott's adherents---and they were many this afternoon---felt a thrill of disappointment.