Dan Carter and the Cub Honor Part 3

Red made a fast pa.s.s, and Midge, not expecting the ball, missed it.

"Gee, you're awkward," Red teased. "If you don't improve, we'll have to get another forward on our Cub team."

"Over my dead body!" Recovering the ball, Midge threw it hard at Red, who also missed.

"It looks to me as if we all need more practice in pa.s.sing," Dan remarked as he put away the rakes. "Taking the ball with you on the hike, Red?"

"Sure. Why not?"

"Maybe we'll get a chance to practice a bit after lunch. Bring it along, Red."

The boys started off for Terry Treuhaft's cottage, only a block from the old Christian Church. Enjoying the soft, balmy air, they scuffed along a river path, between tall trees which rapidly were shedding their bright-hued leaves.

"Swell day for a roast," Chips said, blinking in the bright sun. "I wish we'd brought some weiners."

The boys presently came within view of Terry Treuhaft's white clapboard cottage. The church caretaker, a bent old man with gnarled hands, was building a fence in the back yard. He scarcely glanced up as the boys halted beside him.

Finally as the hammering went on and on, Dan introduced himself and explained the purpose of the call. He told of the organization's need of ice cream freezers.

"What's that?" Mr. Treuhaft asked gruffly. "Ice cream at this time of year? Stuff and nonsense! Fiddle Faddle! Why tell me about it anyhow?"

"The Christian Church has some freezers in the bas.e.m.e.nt," Chips interposed. "Aren't you the caretaker?"

"So that's the angle?" Old Terry hammered a nail which went crooked into the board. He uttered an enraged exclamation. "Drat it! Can't you boys see you're bothering me? I'm busy as all get-out. I want to finish this fence before sun down."

"We do need the freezers," Dan persisted. "Couldn't you let us have them?"

"I'm busy," Old Terry repeated between loud bangs of his hammer. "Busy!

I've no time to go over to the church now. Come back Monday or later in the week and we'll talk about it."

"How about letting us have the key ourselves?" proposed Red. "We could get the freezers and return it."

"No one gets that key," Old Terry said with emphasis. "The trustees hold me responsible for everything that is stored in the church. I'm taking no chances on a bunch of kids."

"We wouldn't touch anything," Red insisted, but the caretaker cut him short.

"Move along, boys," he said crossly. "I said come back next week."

Thus dismissed, the Cubs trudged off, deeply discouraged. Not even Dan had an idea where another freezer could be obtained. Old Terry's att.i.tude annoyed the boys, for in Webster City the Den 2 Cubs had earned a reputation for dependability.

On one occasion, the boys had by their quick and efficient work, saved a pheasant raiser from losing his most valuable birds in a flash flood.

Even more recently, they had enjoyed adventure in solving a mystery. This story of their encounter with Indians, has been told in the volume ent.i.tled, "Dan Carter and the Great Carved Face."

"We may as well eat our lunch somewhere along the river, and then go home," Midge proposed glumly. "It's long past noon."

"I'm hungry too," Chips added. "Let's eat."

"First, we have to go to the church," Dan said. "I invited Chub to have lunch with us. He's been waiting there an age now."

A little silence greeted Dan's announcement. But the Cubs were too well trained in sportsmans.h.i.+p to make pointed remarks about the new Den member. Their very silence, though, told Dan that they weren't too happy about including him in the outing.

"Let's move along then," Red said impatiently. "The quicker we find Chub, the quicker we eat."

A little farther on, the Cubs came within view of the old weatherbeaten Christian Church. The lawn, once a velvety green, now was overgrown with weeds. They were especially high in the old cemetery on the slope leading down to the river.

The church building itself was in need of paint. Roof s.h.i.+ngles curled with age, and a tower bell had reddened with rust.

"I don't see Chub anywhere around here," Chips declared, looking around the grounds.

"Maybe he's around back," Dan said. He shouted Chub's name several times.

Almost at once the Cubs heard pounding footsteps. Chub came running around the corner of the old church, his hair rumpled by the wind.

"Gee, I'm glad you finally came," he cried, stammering in his eagerness.

"It was sort of scarey waiting here so long."

"Scarey?" Red demanded. "What is there to be afraid of?"

"The old graveyard does have a spooky look," Dan said quickly before Chub could answer.

"It doesn't scare me," Red boasted. "I wouldn't be afraid to come here alone at night either, I bet."

"Want to try it?" Chips caught him up.

Red let the challenge pa.s.s. The boys found a gra.s.sy site at the rear of the building, and spread out their sandwiches.

Dan discovered that his Mother had packed extra fruit and cookies, so he shared them with Chub who had brought only a peanut b.u.t.ter sandwich and an apple.

Red, a fast eater, finished ahead of the others and restlessly began to wander about. Soon he was peering into the dusty bas.e.m.e.nt windows of the church.

"What do you see?" Dan inquired curiously.

"Not much of anything 'cept an old furnace."

"Any sign of those ice cream freezers?"

"I can see some cooking junk on one of the shelves. Don't know if it's a freezer or not-"

Their interest whetted, the other boys gathered up the loose picnic papers and went to join Red. From another window on the opposite side of the building, Dan obtained a much better view of the cluttered bas.e.m.e.nt interior.

"I do see a freezer!" he reported gleefully. "I'm sure of it!"

"Wow, I wish we could have it," Red declared. "If we could just get down into the bas.e.m.e.nt-say, maybe we can find an unlocked window!"

"Nothing doing," Dan said with firmness. "Even if we found one, we couldn't go into the building after Old Terry told us to wait. Cub honor."

"Oh, I was only talking," Red answered with a shrug. "I didn't really intend to go inside."