“It wouldn’t do any good, unless we cancel the game,” Dan replied after thinking the matter over. “Mr. Hatfield seemed to want us to treat Pat and his bunch with good will. So I suppose, if he were here, he’d advise us to go ahead with the game just as if nothing had happened.”
“Then we won’t say anything about the church affair,” Brad decided. “It would only stir up bad feeling. The Cubs have it in for Pat as it is—and for good reasons too!”
Though the Den Chief had tried to keep his feelings from the younger boys, he was not too happy about the coming game. Pat and the Bay Shore boys smarted under the first defeat they had suffered from the Cubs. The second game in the series might be bitterly fought.
As for trying to pin evidence on Pat that he and his gang were responsible for the trouble at the Christian Church, he scarcely knew where to start. Any accusation he or Dan might make, would, of course, be denied.
“How about going out there again and trying to get in?” Dan proposed.
“Let’s wait until Mr. Hatfield gets back,” Brad turned him down. “With the accusation standing against us that we once broke into the place, we’ve got to be cautious. If anyone should see us there, they might misunderstand.”
So matters stood. Basketball practice went on each night after school. And outwardly at least, the Cubs were friendly with the Purple Five.
On the Friday set for the game, the Den 2 boys called a 15-minute practice session after school in the gymnasium.
“We’re only going to shoot a few baskets and run through a couple of team plays,” Brad instructed the group. “I want to be sure you fellows have it down pat. We’ll run through Play B first. Chips, get in there, and start it off.”
Chips, who slouched on a bench, moved sluggishly.