Dana couldn’t believe it — he felt sorry for Ben-ton. He could tell how painful it was for him to own up to something so awful.
“You have to tell your folks about it, Benton,” he said. “You have to tell them everything.”
Benton looked over at him. “Will you come with me?”
“Sure,” said Dana.
15
When Mr. and Mrs. Crawford heard Benton’s story, they were stunned.
“Smoking! Don’t you know what that will do to your health?” Mrs. Crawford cried.
Mr. Crawford was silent. Then he said, “Benton, you know how I feel about what you’ve just told us. But let’s put that aside for a moment. I need you to think back to that night. Tell me, do you remember if you used the attic fan at all?”
“Yes, I … I usually turned it on when I was up there,” Benton mumbled.
Mr. Crawford shook his head. “I knew I should have told everyone to leave that fan alone. The wiring up there was worn out and faulty. Hayden Bellamy warned us about it.”
“Why didn’t he fix it when he did the rest of the house?” Mrs. Crawford asked.
“Because I told him not to,” said Mr. Crawford. He looked hard at Benton. “I didn’t know it was used regularly. But Hayden urged me to reconsider. That’s why a few weeks ago I gave him the go-ahead to do the rewiring up there after all. I guess that’s when you decided you’d better clear out your ‘stash,’ Benton.”
Benton hung his head as Mr. Crawford continued.
“It seems to me we have our answer about the fire’s origins. Benton, is it possible you forgot to turn off the fan that night?”
“I was so sleepy, I don’t really remember. But I know I turned it on when … when I was smoking. I guess I probably did forget to turn it off.”
“It must have shorted out, and a spark must have landed on those old curtains I’ve been meaning to take down,” said Mrs. Crawford sadly. “I shouldn’t have put it off for so long.”
“We’re all partly to blame,” sighed Mr. Crawford. “I should have told everyone to keep out of the attic until the rewiring had been done. The only ones who are obviously innocent are the Bellamys.”
Suddenly everyone turned to look at Dana.
“Son, I hope you know how sorry we are about all of this,” said Mr. Crawford. “Your folks have never been anything but kind to us from the minute we moved in to the house next to yours. I’d better go and talk with them. They deserve an explanation — and an apology.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Mrs. Crawford. “But we have to do something about you, Benton.” She pointed a finger at him. “First of all, we’re going to get you some counseling about smoking. I only hope you haven’t ruined your health completely.”
“Yes,” said Mr. Crawford. “That’s just the beginning. We have a lot to talk about.”
Dana was uncomfortable. “Why don’t I go and tell my folks you’ll be over later?” he suggested.
At the end of the week, the Anchors played their final game, with the Otters. By then, Mr. Bellamy had recovered so much, he was able to join Mrs. Bellamy and Christy in the stands.
Dana could sense a big difference as soon as he ran out on the field. No one turned away from him. No one gave him angry looks. Some of the guys seemed a little ashamed about the way they’d acted and mumbled a few words of apology.
Because Benton was in counseling for his problem, he was allowed to suit up for the game. But Coach Kingsley was so disappointed in him that he kept him on the bench.
The Otters took the kick. For the first few minutes, they controlled the ball. One of their forwards broke away and had the ball just outside the goal area. He booted one a few yards to Jazz’s left side.
The Anchors’ goalie blocked it with his knee. It rebounded over to Tucker, who dribbled it into the clear. Then he booted it across the center line into Otters territory.
Dana and Steve were closest to that side of the field. They went right after the ball. But an Otter halfback got there first.
He tried to position himself for a pass back to his teammates. Dana wasn’t about to let that happen. He placed himself in the way and trapped the pass with his shins. He then flicked it over to Steve, who was a few yards away.
The two forwards passed the ball back and forth, trying to find an opening. Two Otter tacklers were on top of them the whole time.
Finally Dana caught sight of Abe, all by himself a little off to one side. Quickly he passed the ball to Abe, who stopped it with the inside of his left foot.
Instantly the Otter tacklers shifted to him.
Meanwhile, Dana had broken away and run down toward the goal. He caught his breath, as usual, not expecting to see any action for a moment. But Abe shot the ball back to him right way. Dana was so surprised, he almost missed it.
He recovered fast. Trapping the ball with the inside of his right foot, he pushed it forward a few inches, then booted it toward the goal.
The Otters’ goalie dived after it. He was a yard away as the ball sailed by him.
Goal!
Dana jumped up with joy. Before he could even lift a fist into the air, he was surrounded by a crush of Anchors.
Even Abe hit him with a high five. Abe had been the lone holdout when word had reached the team about Benton’s false stories. Now he was grinning from ear to ear.
“Great shot, Dana,” he said. As the crowd around the team’s top wing broke up, Abe went on. “Listen, I’ve been meaning to tell you … I was kind of sorry I didn’t get elected captain,” he said. “And when I saw that Steve was palling around with you and defending you, that really bugged me. But I can see the guys made a good choice. He’s a heckuva good captain, setting everyone else up and everything.”
“Yeah, but I have you to thank for that assist,” said Dana.
“As long as the Anchors keep scoring!” said Abe, racing across the field.
A few minutes later, Mac Reese, who was playing Benton’s position, collided with an Otter fullback and landed badly. It looked like he had sprained his ankle. Coach Kingsley hesitated a moment, then signaled Benton to go in at his old position at right half.
The Otters managed to score a goal with only a few minutes left in the half. Their defense pushed hard and got the ball away from the Anchors, turning it over to their hungry offense. After two unsuccessful attempts at goals, they made a move for a third try. But Pete Morris got in their way. He booted the ball all the way down the field in the other direction.
Benton was all by himself when he caught the ball with his chest. He dribbled it forward with an Otters tackler right on his back. He quickly passed the ball in a direction he hadn’t tried in a long time — to Dana.
This time Dana was ready. But he wasn’t about to hog the ball. He glanced around and saw someone in the clear, with a better shot at a goal. He quickly booted the ball over to Steve, who sent it zooming into the net.
Score! Anchors 2, Otters 1.
Dana clapped Steve on the back. He stretched out his palm for a high five, but someone beat the Anchors captain to it. Benton was all smiles as he slapped five on Dana.
During the half, while Dana was getting a drink of water, he heard his name called from the stands. He looked up and saw Andrea, sitting a few rows behind his parents and Christy. In her right hand was her video camera.
“I’m taping the game!” she shouted.
“It’s about time!” Dana shouted back at her, grinning.
In the second half, the scoring was all on the Otters’ side of the field. Dana assisted Abe with one goal, and Benton came through for the other.
In the final seconds of the game, the Otters made one last try for a goal. Jazz stopped it with his head — and the whistle blew.
It was all over: Anchors 4, Otters 1.
“Four goals by four different players,” Coach Kingsley said as the team gathered around. “Now that’s what I call teamwork.”
The crowd poured out of the stands. Dana could see Mr. and M
rs. Crawford walking side by side with his folks. Christy and Letitia were trailing right behind them.
His father seemed to be telling Mr. Crawford something very serious. When he got closer, he could hear what Mr. Bellamy was saying.
“I don’t know what it is, but I have this craving for mashed potatoes.”
“I’m hungry, too,” Christy announced. Dana and Benton looked at each other and started laughing.
It was good to have things back to normal.
The #1 Sports Series For Kids
MATT CHRISTOPHER®
Read them all!
Baseball Pals Double Play at Short
Baseball Turnaround Face-Off
The Basket Counts Fairway Phenom
Body Check Football Fugitive
Catch That Pass! Football Nightmare
Catcher with a Glass Arm The Fox Steals Home
Center Court Sting Goalkeeper in Charge
Centerfield Ballhawk The Great Quarterback Switch
Challenge at Second Base Halfback Attack
The Comeback Challenge The Hockey Machine
Cool as Ice Ice Magic
The Diamond Champs lnline Skater
Dirt Bike Racer Johnny Long Legs
Dirt Bike Runway The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
Dive Right In Long-Arm Quarterback
Long Shot for Paul Snowboard Champ
Look Who’s Playing First Base Snowboard Maverick
Miracle at the Plate Snowboard Showdown
Mountain Bike Mania Soccer Duel
No Arm in Left Field Soccer Halfback
Nothin’ But Net Soccer Scoop
Penalty Shot Stealing Home
Pressure Play The Submarine Pitch
Prime-Time Pitcher The Team That Couldn’t Lose
Red-Hot Hightops Tennis Ace
The Reluctant Pitcher Tight End
Return of the Home Run Kid Top Wing
Roller Hockey Radicals Touchdown for Tommy
Run For It Tough to Tackle
Shoot for the Hoop Wheel Wizards
Shortstop from Tokyo Windmill Windup
Skateboard Renegade Wingman on Ice
Skateboard Tough The Year Mom Won the Pennant
Slam Dunk
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Matt Christopher®
Sports Bio Bookshelf
Muhammad Ali Ken Griffey Jr.
Ichiro Mia Hamm
Lance Armstrong Tony Hawk
Jennifer Capriati Grant Hill
Shaquille O’Neal Derek Jeter
Venus and Serena Williams Randy Johnson
Mario Lemieux Michael Jordan
Curt Schilling Tara Lipinski
Yao Ming Mark McGwire
Kobe Bryant Alex Rodriguez
Julie Foudy Sammy Sosa
Jeff Gordon Tiger Woods
TOP WING
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire …
What caused the fire that nearly killed Benton Crawford and his sister? Benton would have the kids on the soccer team believe it was a faulty wiring job done by Dana Bellamy’s father. Dana can’t believe what he’s hearing — not only is his dad an electrical expert, but he also almost died rescuing the Crawford kids! As the feud between the two boys heats up, their teammates take sides; no longer playing well together, the soccer squad loses game after game. That’s when Dana decides it’s time to get to the bottom of the fire mystery once and for all. But will he be able to handle the truth once he finds it?
Matt Christopher is the name young readers turn to when they’re looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. For a listing of all his titles, please see the last pages of this book.
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