“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 attitude 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 entitled, “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 sportsmanship 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.