Bert Wilson, Marathon Winner

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ine of business or amusement, but it's specially bad in anythin' like sport, that in its very nature ought to be kept clean and wholesome. It's a queer thing, though, but true none the less, that there's nothin' much worse than some bra

ert, who was one of the group. "I've been told that wrestling is a

y time, but there's very few that I thought was straight from start to finish. It's a wonder to me how the fight promoters manage to keep on fooling the public. It looks to me as though a babe in arms wou

ork in other lines of sport as in that,

akes a big difference. The hard thing, when you're dealing with amateur meets, is to keep professionals out. Some club will want specially to win a race, and like as not

essional at his own game? There's nothing very wonderful about

man who's running to earn his bread is usually going to run faster than the man who's simply out

asked Bert, who had been listening

remember one time, many a long year ago, when I saw jist the thing you m

a story at once, and assailed Reddy with re

talkative mood, and wi

d to attend ivery track event for miles around the little town where I lived. I used to help around the club hous

et not far from our town, and o' course n

the contestants. They were as fine lookin' a set o' byes as you could wish to see, and they was all jokin' and rough-ho

ount o' his havin' kept apart a little from the others, and havin' been so quiet-like, stood up in his runnin' suit, it flashed across me mind that I'd seen him run some place before. At first I couldn't pl

and it's a cinch he'll cop off the prize.' And, believe me, I felt sorry for the other boys that was goin' to race against him, fe

got laughed at fer my trouble. So I kept me own council, and sat tight, but all interest in t

dney was a game kid, all right, from his toes up. He wasn't very tall, and at first glance you wouldn't think he'd be any great shakes as a runner. But he could get away at the crack o' the pistol about as f

drink o' water, or somethin' like that, he'd grin at me an' give me a plea

s pretty much surprised, naturally. But he was game, clear through, and he says to me, 'Well, kid, I don't care if he is a professional. I'

e wished him all kinds o' luck. Me heart was heavy fer

, as sober as so many deacons. The starter got them in position, and everythin' was ready f

s little pistol up in the air. Crack! she went, and the lads wer

ad a five-foot lead on young Sidney before they'd gone eight yards, and that's an awful lot in a hundred-yard sprint. 'Good-nig

ey, and before I knew it my heart was in me mouth a

e covered ten feet. By the time they'd made half the distance he was righ

ack, and let out every bit o' speed in him. For a second he drew awa

their ears with excitement, and when at the seventy-five-yard mark Sidney drew right abreast of this Smith chap I thought the whole field would

all he was a 'ringer,' the Smith chap was game, and did his best, I'll say that for him. But young Sidney was a regular cyclone that day, and on the last ten yards jumped ahea

pretty nearly split the sky in two. He just crumpled up like a wet r

and he grinned weakly, 'Well, Red, we trimmed the "ringer" good and

the happiest kid in the S

ruminatively out over the ocean, with w

all its details, Bert asked, "But what became o

l knock to the college that put him up to it, and I don't think they tried that trick for many