Dan picked it up. He unfolded the coarse, soiled sheet to discover a pencil-scrawled message.
“THE CUBS ARE SISSIES,” it read. “WE CAN LICK YOU IN BASKETBALL ANY OLD DAY. HOW ABOUT A GAME? THIS IS A CHALLENGE. LEAVE YOUR ANSWER IN A BOTTLE IN HAGERMAN’S ALLEY.”
The note was signed “Pat Oswald and the Purple Five.”
CHAPTER 7
“KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD”
As Dan read the note from Pat, the Cubs’ first reaction was one of annoyance.
“Why, the nerve of him!” Fred Hatfield explained. “He sneaks up here, listening to our sessions, and then leaves a cheap challenge!”
“Let’s write a hot note back, telling that Purple Five to go jump in an ash can!” Red proposed.
Dan and Brad dashed down the corridor to see if they could intercept the intruders. However, Pat and his followers had slipped out a side door and were out of sight.
The two Cubs knew that it would be useless to search the church yard, so rejoined the other boys in the meeting room. By this time, argument over the note had attained a high pitch.
Red, Fred and Chips were in favor of rejecting the challenge in short order. Chub held no opinion whatsoever. Midge was talking in favor of giving the dare serious consideration.