“And you never tasted such wonderful ice cream,” Chips went on. “We only had tiny samples this afternoon. We were looking forward to big dishes tonight!”
“We’ll make ice cream another time,” Mr. Hatfield promised the Cubs.
“How can we, without freezers?” Dan asked. “The only ones we know about are at the old Christian Church. No chance of getting those.”
“And what about the ones that were stolen?” Brad asked, rather worried. “We don’t even know to whom they belong.”
The Cubs had inquired among the parents, but no one had admitted providing the two freezers. Even Mr. Hatfield was somewhat uneasy to think that later on, the unknown giver might call at the church to ask the return of his or her property.
“It’s very strange about those freezers—” he mused. “Very strange.”
Disconsolately, the Cubs trooped back into the church. They were resigned to a party without ice cream.
However, Midge’s father had slipped away to the drugstore without consulting anyone. Even before all the cake had been served, he was back with several large packages of ice cream. He also had bought some excellent strawberry topping.
“Now this isn’t as good as homemade ice cream,” he apologized. “On short notice though, it was the best substitute I could find.”
The Cubs ate their share of the ice cream and after a while tended to forget the injustice that had been done them. It relieved their minds to see that the parents didn’t seem to mind not having homemade ice cream. Despite the theft of the freezers, the party had been a great success.