Hearing voices, Brad and Dan tramped on back to a small meeting chamber in the rear of the building.
All of the Cubs had gathered there—Chips Davis, Midge Holloway, Red Suell, Fred Hatfield, and Babe Bunning, the youngest addition to the Den.
Babe, whose real name was Clarence, barely had passed his eighth birthday.
Because he was the youngest Cub in the Den the fellows made it a little tough for him, calling him Babe Bunning instead of his real name.
Babe didn’t like to be kidded, but he was game—all the Cubs admitted that.
“Say, we thought you guys weren’t coming,” Chips greeted Brad and Dan. “How’d you get here anyhow?”
“On a raft,” Dan bantered. “Hit a lamppost on Main Street and had to swim the rest of the way.”
“Oh, go on!” Chips laughed. “I guess the storm’s let up.”
“Like fun it has,” Dan corrected. “Look at the rain sluicing down those windows.”
Sam Hatfield, the assistant Cub leader, seemed unconcerned about the storm. He told the boys he had his car parked at the rear of the church. If the rain failed to let up before the meeting ended, he planned to take everyone home.