poor fool! he almost groaned aloud; and reaching back, he gathered jumbos head into chancery. a sigh went up from all kingston, and sawed-off gasped: poor jumbo s gone! but just as ware, chuckling with glee, started to roll jumbo over, the boy swung at right angles across wares back, and brought the trojans arm helplessly to the hammerlock. this was a new trick to ware, one he had never heard of, but one that he understood and respected immediately. he yielded to it judiciously, and managed to spin on his head before jumbo could land on his chest. ware had more respect now for jumbo, and decided to keep him on the defensive, especially as a bystander announced that the time was almost up. ware rushed the contest, and, after many failures, managed to secure a perfect full-nelson. jumbos position was such that there was no way for him to squirm out. he resisted until it seemed that his neck would break. in vain. his head was slowly forced under. and now his shoulders began to follow, and he was rolling over on his back. one shoulder is down. the referee is on all fours, his cheek almost to the ground. he is watching for the meeting of those two shoulders upon the mat. the kingstonians have given up, and the trojans have their cheers all ready. and now the despairing jumbo feels that his last minute has come. but just for the fraction of a second he sees that the cautious ware is slightly changing his hold. with a sudden, a terrific effort, he throws all his soul into his musclescloses his arms like a vise on wares arms. the nelson is broken, or weakened into uselessness. he draws his head into his shoulders as a turtles head is drawn into its shell, whirls like lightning on the top of his head to his other shoulder, and on over, carrying the horrified ware with him, plouncing the trojan flat on his back, and plumping down on top of him. and the excited referee went over on his back also, and kicked his heels foolishly in the air as he cried: down! jumbo had won the match. this brought the score of contests back to a tie, and the result of these olympic games now rested entirely on the victors of the tug of war. xxvi curiously enough, the trojans and the kingstonians had each won a series of firsts, seconds, and thirds that totaled up the same. so the tug of war, which had been intended only for an exhibition, became in a sense the deciding event of the whole contest. the captain of the kingston four was the large sawed-off, who was also the anchor of his team. he came out upon the floor, wearing around his waist a belt that was almost as graceful as a horse-collar, and quite as heavy, made, as it was, of padded leather. it was suspended from his shoulders like a life-belt, and carried a deep groove around the middle of it. the troy captain had a similar contrivance about him, and he looked somewhat contemptuously upon the kingstonians, who had not the beefy, brawny look of his own big four. the eight took their places on the long board, each man with his feet against a cleat. the rope was marked in its exact center with a white cord, and held there by a lever, which the umpire pressed down with his foot. the troy tuggers took a stout hold on the rope and faced the kingstonians gloweringly. the kingston men, however, faced to the rear and straddled the ropeall except sawed-off, who had wrapped it round his belt, and taken a hitch in it for security. he faced the trojans, and hoped that science would defeat beef once more in the history of athletics. when all were ready the umpire shouted go! and at the same instant released the lever and the cable. the trojans threw all their muscle into one terrific jerk; but each of sawed-offs men, gripping the cable in front of him at arms-length, fell forward, face down. by the impact of their full weight, and by relying not merely upon their arms, but on the whole pull of back and legs, the kingstonians gave the rope a yank that would have annoyed an oak-tree, and certainly left the trojans no chance. after this first assault the teams found themselves thus: the kingstonians were stretched prone upon the board with their legs straight against the cleats; sawed-off was braced against his cleat and seated, facing troy. the rival team was seated, but with knees bent; and their captain glared amazed at sawed-off, who was busily taking in over a foot of captured cable. the trojan captain, winthrop by name, gave a signal grunt, to which his men responded with a fury, regaining about two of the lost inches. this lifted sawed-off slightly off the board, and in response to three or four bitter wrenches from troy, he was forced to let them have six inches more cable, lest they cut him in two like a cake of soap. but kingston had learned, by painful experience, the signals of the troy captain; and just as the trojans were reaching confidently forward for a new hold, the alert sawed-off murmured a quick hint, and his men gave a sudden hunch that took the enemy unawares, and brought back home three inches of beautiful rope. the same watchfulness won another three; and there they held the white string, a foot to their side, when the time was up and the lever was clamped down. after a short rest, the men resined their hands anew and prepared for the second pull. the trojan captain had been wise enough to see the advantage of the kingston forward fall, and he was not too modest to adopt it. when the lever was supped the second time both teams fell face downward. but now troys greater bulk told to her advantage, and she carried the white cord six inches to her side. the kingstons lay with their knees bent. now sawed-off tried a preconcerted trick signal. with ominous tone he cried: now, boysall togetherheave! at the word heave the trojans braced like oxen against the expected jerk; but none came, and they relaxed a little, feeling that they had been fooled. but sawed-offs men were slowly and silently counting five, and then, with a mighty heave, they yearned forward, and catching the winthrop team unprepared, got back four inches