midday
The legs , by reason of heavy work in early life , were a little bent at the brawn , but were as hard as nails ; they showed wonderfully developed muscles , and gave the impression of strength rather than speed . They presented a fine picture of eager , determined young manhood , clean and healthy , and full of life and mettle . Each face betrayed how the mind was concentrated on , the work ahead , every thought directed with great intensity towards the goal , as they bent their bodies in preparation for the start . The pistol cracked and rang out upon the midday air with startling suddenness , and immediately they were off on a fine start to the accompaniment of the cheering of the crowd which lined the whole track in a great circle . The first round ended with the runners much as they had started , the interval between each being fairly equally maintained . Semple , however , dropped out , not caring to overstrain himself as he had some heavy racing next day at another gathering , where a much higher money prize was the allurement . Round the others went , the excitement growing among the crowd , who kept shouting encouraging remarks to the racers as they passed .