CHAPTER 9 STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
"Keep turning that crank! Do you want the paddles to stick?"
The irate command was directed by Red Suell at Chips who had rested amoment as he cranked one of the big ice cream freezers.
All of the Cubs except Brad were making ice cream in the church basement.Mrs. Holloway and Red's mother had volunteered to direct the work. Thetwo mothers had been kept busy offering suggestions, for none of the boysever before had made ice cream except in the tray of a refrigerator.
Dan and Midge had cracked the ice in a gunny sack, hammering the stubbornchunks until they were of tiny, uniform size. The metal containers, withtheir wooden paddles, had been set into the packed freezers, and now thecranking had begun. Red was assigned to one, while Chub and Chips tookturns at the other.
"My arm is getting tired," Red complained. "Someone else take over!"
"You've hardly been at it two minutes," Dan teased. Nevertheless, heseized the crank, turning it steadily and smoothly.
"Say, it's going harder and harder," he presently admitted. "Do yousuppose the cream could be frozen?"
"Very nearly so," declared Mrs. Holloway, packing more ice into thefreezer.
Dan kept cranking. Melted salt water spilled faster and faster out of thelittle round hole in the freezer.
"This is getting awfully hard!" he gasped, exerting all of his strengthto keep the crank moving.
"And this old freezer is stuck!" cried Chips, who was taking his turn atthe other freezer. "It won't budge an inch!"
"Shall we take a look?" asked Mrs. Holloway, relieving him.
She unfastened the top of the freezer, carefully opening the metalcylinder packed deep in ice. The Cubs clustered around, eager to see whattheir labors had produced.
Mrs. Holloway lifted the paddle slightly. The Cubs uttered squeals ofdelight. The wooden paddle was simply loaded with rich looking,delicately pink strawberry ice cream.
"It looks lovely, doesn't it?" Mrs. Holloway laughed. "Now you boys mustdraw straws to see who gets to lick the paddle!"
Chub won, so Mrs. Holloway handed the richly coated paddle to him on apaper plate. Midge was awarded the paddle from the freezer Dan had turnedso faithfully.
"Gee, is this ever good!" he shouted, smacking his lips. "I wish I couldhave a big dish."
"You can tonight," Mrs. Holloway promised.
The other Cubs looked so downcast to see Midge and Chub eating the icecream that Mrs. Holloway gave them each a tiny sample.
"Best ice cream I ever tasted," declared Dan. "I'll bet our party will bea huge success tonight."
Under the direction of the two mothers, the Cubs cleaned up the muss theyhad made in the basement. Both freezers then were packed firmly withchopped ice, so that the cream would remain solid until it was needed.
"Dan, I wish you and Red would help carry the freezers upstairs," Mrs.Holloway requested. "It's so warm here, the ice will melt. I think itwill be better to set the freezers outside."
The two Cubs followed instructions, setting the containers on a tiny,back porch behind the church kitchen. To further protect them, theycovered both freezers with a piece of canvas.
"Everything's set now for the party," Dan remarked cheerfully. "Wonderwhat's doing in the gym?"
Moving down the corridor, the two Cubs could hear the slap-slap-slap ofrubber-soled shoes on the polished gymnasium floor. Brad, Mr. Hatfieldand the other Cubs were there, watching the workout of the Purple Five.
Obviously, Pat and his players were trying to put on a show. They made agreat commotion, passing the ball fast, executing rapid turns and pivotsand taking long shots at the baskets. In a surprising number ofinstances, the ball found its mark.
"Say, they're plenty good," Dan admitted in a whisper. "Especially Pat."
"Watch 'em guard," Red replied, looking worried. "Rough as all get-out."
Mr. Hatfield too, had observed the rough manner in which the boys played.As the practice session wound up, he remarked to Pat that it might bewell for the Purple Five to study the rules before the first scheduledgame.
"We play strictly according to the book," he warned. "Any unnecessaryroughness will go down as a foul."
"You don't have to worry about our team," Pat replied boastfully. "Weknow the rules from Z to A."
After ending the practice the Bay Shore boys took their time in leavingthe church. They roved the corridors, peered down into the basement, andeven into the Cub's private clubroom.
One of the boys spied the cardboard fort which Fred had built. "Gee! Willyou look at the playhouse!" he shouted.
Mr. Hatfield shooed the five wanderers out of the building. On the steps,Pat noticed the two ice cream freezers.
"When do we eat?" he demanded boisterously.
"You don't," Chips told him. "That's for our party tonight."
"Who is invited?"
"Only the parents of the Cubs."
"Well, have a good time," Pat said with a grin. "See you later."
He peered again at the ice cream freezers, helped himself to a chunk ofice, and sauntered off.
The party that night began early. Soon after seven o'clock, the parentsstarted to arrive. Dan, Fred and Chub were on the welcoming committee togreet everyone at the door. The other Cubs were stationed at varioustables, ready to explain the various exhibits.
The fort which Fred had constructed drew a great deal of favorablecomment. Several parents expressed the hope that the structure would bekept on display for a long while.
"Oh, we intend to use it," Fred assured the group of admirers. "We'llplay Indian games and act out pioneer stuff. Maybe put on a little play."
The Cubs were a bit impatient for the singing, the promotion ceremoniesand other events to end. Eyeing the array of chocolate, angel food andspice cakes on the long supper table, they scarcely could wait until themoment came to eat.
Dan noticed that Chub seemed rather downcast. Sidling over to the youngerboy, he asked him what was wrong.
"Nothing," Chub mumbled.
"You're not having a good time."
"Yes, I am," Chub insisted. "Wonderful!"
"Well, you don't act like it. Your face is as long as a roller towel.What's eating you?"
"Nothing," Chub said again. And then he went on hurriedly: "It's onlythat--that all the other Cubs have a mother and Dad here tonight. I'm allalone."
"Sure, I know how you feel." Dan clumsily flung an arm around the youngerboy's shoulders. "But don't you care."
He very much wanted to ask Chub about his mother and father. Butrecalling Mr. Hatfield's advice not to ask questions, he remained silent.
Presently, Mrs. Hatfield announced that supper would be served. Theparents lined up for their decorated paper plates, napkins, silverwareand big piece of homemade cake.
"We'll be ready to dish up the ice cream in a minute," Mrs. Hatfieldadvised Dan and Brad. "Will you boys please fetch the freezers?"
"Sure thing," Dan said eagerly.
He and Brad, together with Red who wanted to help, went out on the porchfor the canvas-covered freezers.
Looking about, they could not see the containers anywhere.
"Say, what became of 'em?" Dan demanded.
"There's the canvas," Red noted. He pointed to the covering which lay ina heap on the ground near the steps.
"Do you suppose Mr. Hatfield moved them?" Brad speculated. "Wait, I'llfind out."
He rushed back into the church, to return a moment later with the Cubleader. Mr. Hatfield assured the boys that he had not touched either ofthe freezers.
"When I came this way about thirty minutes ago, both were here."
"Then someone has taken them!" Dan exclaimed.
"Who would do such a mean thing?" Red demanded. "Our party is ruined!"
Word spread like wildfire that the ice cream had been stolen. The otherCubs and some of the parents came out of the church to see forthemselves.
"Say, I bet I
know who took those freezers!" Chips cried.
"Who?" the others demanded.
"Pat Oswald and his gang."
"It's hardly fair to accuse them just because they used the gymnasiumtoday," Mr. Hatfield said rather mildly.
"Pat knew about the freezers," Chips insisted. "He saw them here on thesteps, and he asked about the party."
Brad, with a pocket flashlight, had been examining the soft earth nearthe church steps.
"I've found a lot of shoe marks," he called the attention of the Cubs tothem. "Boys tracks, I'd judge by their size. Have you fellows beentramping around here today?"
"Haven't been off the walk or the porch," Dan said, and most of the Cubsgave a similar reply.
"Well, a gang of kids must have been here then," Brad declared. "See thetracks lead toward the hedge. Here, you can tell that something heavy wasdragged over the ground."
"Maybe it was Pat and his gang!" Fred exclaimed. "Of all the meaningratitude! We let 'em use our gym and equipment, and they repay us bystealing our ice cream!"
"We worked so hard to make it too!" Red added.
"We ought to call off our basketball games with 'em--that's what," Midgesaid indignantly.
Mr. Hatfield reminded the Cubs that they had no proof that the ice creamactually had been taken by Pat and his cronies.
"It looks highly suspicious," he admitted, "but I'm in favor of givingthe other fellow the benefit of the doubt."
Several of the Den Dads toured the church yard, in search of theculprits. They returned to report no sign of the freezers, or the personswho had taken them. Evidently the theft had been accomplished nearly ahalf hour earlier, or at least long before the discovery of the loss.
"No chance of catching anyone now," Mr. Hatfield said regretfully. "Wemay as well forget about it."
"Forget it?" Midge wailed. "After all the work we did?"
"And you never tasted such wonderful ice cream," Chips went on. "We onlyhad tiny samples this afternoon. We were looking forward to big dishestonight!"
"We'll make ice cream another time," Mr. Hatfield promised the Cubs.
"How can we, without freezers?" Dan asked. "The only ones we know aboutare 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 admittedproviding the two freezers. Even Mr. Hatfield was somewhat uneasy tothink that later on, the unknown giver might call at the church to askthe 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 resignedto a party without ice cream.
However, Midge's father had slipped away to the drugstore withoutconsulting anyone. Even before all the cake had been served, he was backwith several large packages of ice cream. He also had bought someexcellent strawberry topping.
"Now this isn't as good as homemade ice cream," he apologized. "On shortnotice though, it was the best substitute I could find."
The Cubs ate their share of the ice cream and after a while tended toforget the injustice that had been done them. It relieved their minds tosee 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.
"Now before we break up for the evening, I suggest we give the Cubs a bigvote of thanks," proposed Mr. Holloway. "All in favor--"
No one ever had an opportunity to join in the vote of appreciation. Forat that moment there came a rap on the clubroom door.
Before anyone could open it, Terry Treuhaft stepped into the room. Theold caretaker's unexpected arrival startled everyone. No one couldimagine what had brought him to the church uninvited.
Terry did not long leave the matter in doubt.
"I've come for my freezers," he said and his voice fairly drippedicicles.
"YOUR freezers?" Red echoed. "Oh m'gosh!"
"I think you must be mistaken about us having your freezers," Mr.Hatfield said politely.
"We haven't any freezers at all," declared Chips, rather enjoying thejoke.
"I understand you do have the ones that were at the church," the oldcaretaker said stiffly. "I was tipped that I'd find them here. Where arethey?"
"Look around if you like," Brad invited. "If you can find them, you'rebetter at hunting than we are."
"None of your sass, young man or I'll have the law on you," Old Terryretorted. He felt ill at ease with so many parents gazing steadily athim.
"I'm sorry," Brad apologized. "I did not intend to be impolite. I merelymeant to emphasize that we do not have your freezers."
"You did have them then."
"That might be," Mr. Hatfield admitted. "We did have a couple of icecream freezers which were stolen earlier tonight. However, I certainlyhad no suspicion that they belonged to the Christian Church."
"Well, you know now," Old Terry retorted. "These Cubs, were after thosefreezers from the first, and that was what caused 'em to break in--"
"Just a minute," interposed Mr. Hatfield. "The Cubs did not break intothe Church. Of that I'm satisfied."
"You may be satisfied, but the trustees aren't! The Cubs will have to payfor the damage they did. Besides, I want those two freezers."
"We haven't a freezer on the premises," Mr. Hatfield said again.
Wearily, he told the caretaker what had happened.
"You're handing me a line about not knowing where those freezers camefrom," Old Terry growled. "For that matter, how do I know they aren'there somewhere?"
"You may look around, if you like," Mr. Hatfield invited.
"Thanks, I'll do that," he replied.
Old Terry inspected the clubroom and then to the deepening annoyance ofthe Cubs and their parents, went down into the basement. Finally, heseemed satisfied that the missing freezers were not in the building.
"Mr. Treuhaft, won't you have some cake and a dish of store ice cream?"Midge's mother invited graciously.
"No, Ma'am, I won't," he declined the invitation. "I'm leaving now."
He stomped out, allowing the door to bang behind him.
"Good riddance," Red exclaimed.
The Cubs began to straighten the clubroom, preparatory to leaving.Everyone was tired and a little discouraged even though the party hadbeen a success.
"Old Terry spoiled everything," Dan said, expressing the sentiment of hisCubmates. "Do you suppose he could have been right?"
"About those stolen freezers belonging to the Christian Church?" Mr.Hatfield inquired.
"That's what I was thinking."
"I have a hunch they were the same ones, Dan."
"Then we actually were using stolen freezers?"
"I'm afraid of it, Dan. Someone played a joke on us. Not a very nice jokeeither."
"Then we're guilty of what they said!"
"We're not guilty of anything, Dan. If those freezers were taken from thechurch and delivered here, how were we to know who brought them or why?We accepted the gift in good faith."
"The trustees will have a better case than ever against us now."
"They may try to make something of the incident. However, I don't proposeto worry about it."
"Think how much worse it would have been for us, if Old Terry actuallyhad found the freezers," Brad chuckled. "As it is, he has no evidence."
"That's so," Dan agreed relaxing. "Whoever swiped the ice cream, did us asmall favor. I only wish I knew for sure whether or not Pat had a fingerin the deal."
"Given a little time, we may learn that too," Mr. Hatfield replied,smiling.
Though the Cubs pressed him for an explanation, the Cub leader would notreveal what was in his mind.
"Wait and we'll see," he suggested. "And while you're waiting, don'tforget to practice hard at basketball. It's more important than ever now,that we prove to Pat and his boys that Cubs can win honorably!"
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Dan Carter and the Cub Honor Page 9