Very likely you are the fastest and strongest swimmer in any Gridley school.

But a race with seven boys on a side will better represent the average abilities of the two schools.

In baseball we tried to find out which school had the average best players.

We didn't try simply to find out which school could boast of the one star player." "That's right," nodded Len Spencer.
"Prescott, you're afraid to race with me, you or any other one fellow in Central Grammar!" exclaimed Hi indignantly.
"No; I'm not afraid to swim against you," Dick declared quietly.
"I won't have the championship between the two schools rest on any such race, but I'll enter a separate race against you---any distance---this in addition to a seven-fellow race between the schools." "Now, I guess you haven't a leg left to stand on, Martin," smiled Spencer.

"Prescott proposes a seven-fellow race between the schools, the school responsible for the last man who comes in to lose the contest.