Then Silk said, "What a row the fellows are making!" "Yes," said Gilks; "there's a bigger crowd than I ever saw down this year." Another silence.

And then presently in the far distance, at the end of the School Reach, they could see first the smoke of Mr Parrett's launch, then a black moving crowd on the bank, and finally two white specks on the water.
"There they are!" said Gilks.
"Can you tell which is which ?" asked Silk.
"No, not yet." An anxious minute followed.

The doctor and his party on the point opposite left their tent and came down to the water's edge; spectators who had been getting tired of waiting now freshened up and made final and desperate attempts to improve their position, while those who meant to fall in with the runners buttoned their jackets and turned up their trouser ends.
"Schoolhouse inside!" exclaimed Gilks, suddenly, as the sun momentarily caught the blue oars of the inside boat.
This was all that could be ascertained for the moment.

From where they sat the blue and the red flags seemed to be coming towards them exactly abreast.
The crowd advanced with a roar, above which it was impossible to hear the name of the leading crew.

But presently, as the two boats approached the corner, a slight turn inwards enabled them to answer the question for themselves.
"We lead!" exclaimed Silk.
Silk was a Welcher and Gilks a schoolhouse boy, but "we" meant Parrett's.
Yes, the red flag was ahead, though only a little.
"How long before they're at the point ?" "Half a minute.