“Two of Den 1 swimmers saw Ross miss the turn,” the Cub leader revealed. “They reasoned that honor means more than victory.”
“A Cub Always is Square,” Dan quoted thoughtfully.
“That’s right,” Mr. Hatfield agreed. “I’m proud of our boys for winning, but equally proud of the other team for reporting the incident.”
The swimmers of Den 1 gathered around to congratulate Dan and his teammates. Ross, however, had slipped away to the dressing room without a word.
“He’s a little sore,” one of his teammates remarked. “But he’ll get over it. The coach warned Ross plenty of times to be careful about that turn. He never paid much attention.”
Feeling on top of the world, Dan showered and dressed. As he was getting his things from the locker, he bumped squarely into Ross.
Dan waited a moment, expecting the other boy to offer some word of congratulation. When Ross said nothing, he remarked:
“You had a tough break, fellow.”
Ross gave a snort of disgust. “I’ll say it was a tough break,” he agreed. “In a straight race, you couldn’t win and we both know it!”
The remark annoyed Dan.