The Boys of Columbia High in Track Athletics
The Boys of Columbia High in Track Athletics traces the final spring term of Frank Allen and his classmates at Columbia High, as their school prepares for a joint field-and-track meet against arch-rivals Clifford and Bellport. On a training run, Frank, tall Lanky Wallace, and Bones Shadduck are chased by a farmer's bull; Lanky, treed until Frank rigs a rope escape, later spots a gypsy caravan passing through and becomes convinced a small girl in one wagon is being held against her will, dropping hints of a possible kidnapping tied to a newspaper account of a missing child, Effie Elverson. Frank, skeptical but loyal, helps Lanky send an inquiry telegram and later spy on the camp with field glasses, confirming a hidden child is indeed kept there — setting up an unresolved mystery to be settled once a reply arrives. Meanwhile, school life intrudes: a fire breaks out in the high school basement, apparently set accidentally by bully Bill Klemm and his cronies Asa Barnes and Watkins Kline, who then vanish in fear of punishment; Frank organizes a student fire brigade that saves the building, earning him and his fellow "fire-fighters" the town's admiration. Romantic subplots unfold alongside the athletic buildup: Lanky's estrangement from Dora Baxter over her flirtation with newcomer Walter Ackerman is mended after Lanky wins a trial long-distance race and then dives into the river to rescue Dora when their boat capsizes, exposing Walter's inability to swim. Tension between Columbia and Bellport nearly erupts into a brawl when visiting Bellport boys accuse Columbia's meet organizers of favoritism, but Frank defuses the conflict by phoning Bellport's captain, Cuthbert Lee, who arrives to restore goodwill. The climax is the grand track meet itself, drawing huge crowds and see-sawing between the three schools' events until the deciding race — a grueling long-distance run — comes down to Columbia's team. During the run, Frank and Lanky discover their teammate Bones injured after apparently being fouled by Clifford's cunning, cigarette-smoking runner Larry Parker, and press on; deeper in the course they find the fugitive Bill Klemm badly injured from a fall, bleeding and pleading for help. Frank stays behind to save Bill's life using an improvised tourniquet and sends Lanky ahead alone to run for Columbia's honor, sacrificing his own chance at victory for both a hated rival's welfare and his best friend's shot at glory.
By Graham B. Forbes · First published 1913 · Genre: Sports Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, School Fiction · 25 chapters · 60,176 words
First lines
"Our last year at good old Columbia High, fellows!"
"I just hate to think of it, Lanky!"
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Genres
- Sports Fiction — The entire narrative centers on track and field athletics, cross-country runs, marathon races, and athletic competitions between three rival schools, making sports the dominant thematic element.
- Young Adult Fiction — The work is explicitly written for teenage boys, featuring high school protagonists navigating school life, athletics, romance, and personal development with age-appropriate challenges and moral lessons.
- School Fiction — Columbia High School serves as the primary setting and organizing principle, with the narrative structured around academic rivalries, school competitions, and student life.
- Adventure Fiction — Multiple episodic adventures punctuate the narrative, including the bull-chase sequence, river rescue, and the investigative rescue of the kidnapped child, providing exciting, action-driven set pieces.
Tags
sports · track and field · high school · athletics · boys · coming of age · competition · youth · education · teamwork · running · training
What this Textopian page supports
The Boys of Columbia High in Track Athletics is listed on Textopian as a novel by Graham B. Forbes, dated 1913 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Novel
- Author: Graham B. Forbes
- Date: 1913 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Sports Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, School Fiction, Adventure Fiction, Mystery Fiction
- Length: 60,176 words
- Structure: 25 chapters, 1,198 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for The Boys of Columbia High in Track Athletics by Graham B. Forbes
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Contents
- Distance Runners
- Held by the Enemy
- The Gypsy Caravan
- A Mystery of the Wagon
- On the Campus Green
- Making Plans
- The Benefits of Discipline
- Lanky's Pride Conquers
- Among the Nomads of the Road
- The Bunch from Bellport
- Almost a Riot
- A Popular Boy
- On the Harrapin
- Lanky Finds his Chance
- An Accident Betrays Rufus
- Lanky Becomes a "Barker"
- The Gypsy Queen's Move
- Finding Out
- The Great Day
- Clifford's New Hope
- What Happened to Bones
- Columbia's Last Chance
- The End of the Long Run
- When the Message Came
- The Stolen Child