“Oh, I don’t know,” he drawled. “My stroke is improving every day. I noticed you were pretty well winded at the finish.”
“Bunk. I didn’t even exert myself!”
“Anyway, now that the two teams are tied, it will make a good meet when the final contest is scheduled,” Dan said, trying to ease out of a disagreeable conversation.
“Sure,” Ross said, his eyes flashing. “Maybe you can dig up another technical point and win the cup! You’ll never earn it on merit!”
And with that challenge, he brushed past Dan and slouched out of the dressing room.
CHAPTER 5
Paper Bag Eddie
Stung by Ross’ jibe, Dan spent much of his time the next few days at the “Y” pool. To build endurance and smooth out his stroke, he also swam in the river. Always on these occasions he was accompanied by Brad or Midge’s father in a boat.
Now that the swimming meet was over, the other Cubs temporarily turned their attention to various Den activities. Brad tried to assist Dan in deciphering the code message which had been found in Jacques’ pocket.
However, after three days of work, he gave up in disgust.
“Maybe it isn’t a code after all,” he said, returning the paper to Dan. “I figure those numerals must stand for letters that spell out a message. But I can’t get the hang of it.”