Dan Carter and the Cub Honor Part 34

Chub, however, stood unguarded a little beyond the center of the floor.

Dan pa.s.sed the ball to him. Chub caught it squarely, then hesitated.

Only a few seconds now remained. Dan saw the time keeper starting to raise his hand in signal. Another instant and the game would be over.

"Shoot," he yelled. "Shoot, Chub!"

The younger Cub still seemed to hesitate. For a dreadful moment, Dan thought that he intended to try to pa.s.s the ball back.

Then, Chub took careful aim and attempted the longest basket of his life.

The ball looped high, striking the backstop.

The Cub rooters groaned, certain that Chub had missed. But the ball came down, striking the rim of the basket.

There it teetered while the spectators as one, held their breath. Then it dropped through the netting.

At the same moment, the game came to an end. The score read: 13 to 12 in favor of the Cubs.

"Golly, did I really make that basket?" Chub demanded, dumbfounded.

Dan and the other Cubs rushed over to clap him on the back.

"You were swell!" Brad a.s.sured him. "You too, Dan," he added warmly. "If you'd tried to grandstand that last shot yourself, the Cubs would have lost. It was teamwork that saved the game!"

Chub's eyes sparkled with delight. "Know something?" he confessed. "When I made that last shot, I-I closed my eyes. I was scared I'd miss because I always do on the long shots. So I just closed my eyes and said a little prayer."

"No matter how you did it, the Cubs won!" Dan chuckled. "I wonder how Pat and his boys will take it?"

The Purple Five, discouraged by defeat, had gathered in a little knot across the room. Pat could be seen talking to the group very earnestly, but what he might be saying the Cubs could not guess.

Chub, greatly excited, was unable to contain his enthusiasm.

"T-This was the biggest thrill of my l-life," he declared. "Did I really do all right?"

"Swell," Red a.s.sured him patiently.

"I'm glad," Chub sighed. "Being a Cub means so much to me. But I've never been able to carry my end."

"You did tonight," Dan said. "You're a credit to the team and to Den 2."

"I'll remember that always," Chub replied soberly.

He slipped away then into the crowd. Dan saw him join his father and they both went off together.

The crowd already was filing out of the gymnasium. Brad came hurrying over to speak to Dan.

"Say, we must work fast!" he announced breathlessly. "Mr. Greene and those church trustees are leaving!"

"They can't do that until Mr. Weldon tells what he knows!" Dan exclaimed in dismay. "He's supposed to identify Pat and his bunch!"

"We're making a mess of it," Brad declared. "This was supposed to be our big moment, and what happens? Everyone pulls out!"

"You stop Mr. Greene and the trustees," Dan directed. "Take them to the clubroom. I'll fetch Mr. Weldon."

"Okay, but hurry," Brad advised.

Dan started off in search of Chub and his father. He was annoyed at himself for having let them get out of his sight. Now they seemed to have vanished completely.

As he searched, Pat Oswald sought him, diffidently offering his hand.

"The Cubs played a dandy game," he said. "You deserved to win."

"Why, thanks," Dan replied, hiding his astonishment.

He shook Pat's hand and then felt suddenly almost ashamed of himself. In another minute or two, he'd be accusing this same boy in front of Mr.

Greene and the church trustees. It didn't make sense.

"Anything wrong?" Pat asked curiously.

"Plenty." Dan spoke in cold misery. But he couldn't tell him the truth even then. This was the hour the Cubs long had awaited. If he weakened now, Den 2 might never clear its dishonored name.

"You look sort of funny," Pat said, staring hard at him. "Guess you played too hard."

Dan shook his head. "I'm looking for Chub and a man with him," he said.

"Have you seen them?"

"They left the church together."

"Left the church?" Dan repeated in disbelief. "Why, Chub hadn't even changed his clothes!"

"He slipped a pair of jeans over his shorts and went that way. They must have been in an awful hurry. The man just hustled him into a taxi and off they went."

Dan stared at Pat, drinking in the words. Why, it was incredible!

"You're telling me straight?" he demanded.

"Sure." Pat grinned, and added impudently: "Cub's honor!"

Dan felt completely deflated. He knew without checking that Pat had spoken the truth. For some unknown reason, Mr. Weldon has hustled his son away from the gymnasium. Deliberately, he had welched on his promise to clear the Cubs! Now the true story might never be disclosed publicly.

"Say, you _are_ sick," Pat said with concern. "Anything I can do?"

Dumbly, Dan shook his head. "You've done it already," he said. "The Cubs lost everything they valued tonight."

"I don't get it," Pat said, looking puzzled. "You won the game, didn't you?"

"What's a game? More than victory or anything else, the Cubs cherished their good name in the community."

Pat stared at Dan a moment. "What's that got to do with me?" he demanded.