“Do you think they should be allowed the run of the place?” Red protested. “You know how Pat and his gang are.”
“The practice will be a supervised one. I promise you that,” Mr. Hatfield said. “I see no reason why the boys shouldn’t be allowed privileges here, providing they don’t abuse them.”
“You’re forgetting how they got us into trouble,” Red asserted.
“No, Red. I just believe in fair play, that’s all. We agreed to the series of games, so it’s only right that we give the Purple Five a chance to practice. Right?”
“Oh, I guess so,” Red submitted. “I don’t trust Pat, that’s all.”
Word was carried to Pat that his team might use the gymnasium the following afternoon from three-thirty until four-thirty.
“You mean it?” The boy demanded in surprise when Dan gave him the information. “Well, thanks!”
“Say, by the way, you weren’t at the church a while ago, were you?” Dan asked in an offhand way.
The moment he had asked the question, he regretted it. Once the words had been spoken it was too late to retract them.
“Why, no, why?” Pat demanded.