Bob, however, had no time to waste upon his unfortunate competitor, and was carefully guiding his own treacherous craft. He could see that some of the desperate men about him were going sidewise or backward, and were striking out wildly with their paddles, striving to change the method as well as the direction of the procedure. Others were whirling and spinning about in a manner to make even an observer dizzy, to say nothing of the struggling paddler himself. Bob was not striving for speed, and was trusting much to the swiftness of the current to bear him on toward the coveted goal, and as he drew near the end, the wisdom of his course became apparent. Those who had been in advance of him were losing the advantage they had gained by some unfortunate stroke of their paddles, which sent their unwieldy tubs to whirling madly, and speed and control were soon both lost.