“If we refuse to play, Pat will go all over town, saying we’re afraid to do it because we’d be licked,” he argued.
“We might at that,” Brad interposed. “Our team isn’t the smoothest on wheels.”
“We haven’t practiced much, that’s why,” Midge insisted. “Why, we could beat Pat and his hoodlums with our hands tied behind our backs!”
“I wouldn’t be too sure of it myself,” Brad said with an easy smile. “From what I hear, Pat is a first-rate athlete.”
“We saw a sample of his basket shooting the other day,” Dan reminded the Cubs.
“You think that stupid Purple Five team could beat us?” Red demanded, leaping to his feet. “Why, that’s downright disloyal.”
Dan hesitated to make his position clear. “I’m not saying any such thing, and I’m not disloyal, Red. Maybe our Cub team, disorganized as it is, could beat the Purple Five. Then again, maybe we couldn’t. It might be an interesting match.”
“What if they should lick us?” Chips asked uneasily.
“That’s a risk we’d have to take,” Brad answered. “Naturally, if we decide to play, we’ll have to get busy and practice.”
Mr. Hatfield had taken no part in the discussion, and Dan now asked him what he thought of the challenge.