“You were swell!” Brad assured 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 assured 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.