Coach Amos

by Gary Paulsen

  Amos wiped his mouth. “It doesn’t make sense. Who would go to that much trouble over a T-ball game?”

  “Gamblers. I studied the notes from Mr. Posey’s desk last night. I don’t know why I didn’t see it before. The words next to each game are betting terms.”

  “Why would gamblers bet on a little kids’ game? I thought they stuck to horse races and cards and stuff.”

  “I’ve read that there are some guys who are so addicted to gambling, they’ll bet on anything that moves.”

  Amos sat up. “Do you think Mr. Posey is betting on our game?”

  “I can’t prove it, but it looks that way.”

  “Do you think he’s betting for us or against us?”

  Dunc tapped his chin. “Hard to say. But after tonight, we should find out.”

  “What happens tonight?”

  Dunc smiled. “Tonight we use the phone number I copied off that sheet at Posey’s store and set a trap for whoever’s trying to rig these games.”

  “No.”

  “What do you mean—no?”

  “I mean no. I have other, important plans for my evening. And they don’t include setting traps for the mafia.”

  Dunc frowned. “I told you … never mind. What kind of important plans?”

  “Tonight’s channel sixteen movie is The Worm That Slimed Los Angeles. It was an old black-and-white, but they colorized it. It’s going to be great. Donny Wilson says the worm is kind of fake-looking, but he burps this really neat slime that turns people into sewer material.”

  “Amos, I don’t think you’re getting the big picture here.”

  “Yes, I am. Donny said I could watch it on his big-screen TV.”

  Dunc sighed. “Amos. What I mean is—this is important. There’s no telling how many games these guys have tried to fix. We owe it to our community to do something.”

  “I don’t know.”

  Dunc tried a different tack. “Your team will think you’re a hero. Ms. Fishbeck will be proud. She might even forget all about how you trashed her office. And Melissa …”

  “What about Melissa?”

  “Well, she is Sarah’s baby-sitter. She’s bound to be grateful if we catch these guys.”

  “Grateful?”

  Dunc nodded.

  “How grateful do you think she’ll be?”

  “It’s hard to tell. We won’t know for sure until tomorrow.”

  Amos had another silly grin on his face. “Grateful …”

  “I’m not too sure about this.”

  “Would I ask you to do anything wrong?”

  Amos stared at him.

  Dunc leaned against the pay phone. “Everything’s falling into place. All you have to do is give your best imitation of Mr. Posey. Tell whoever answers the phone that the bet on the T-ball game is off, and if they don’t like it, they can come down to the game tomorrow and talk about it.”

  “Why do I have to do it?”

  “Because you have his breathing down. And besides, I made sure Mr. Posey would be at the game tomorrow, didn’t I? And I also called Mrs. Johnson at the newspaper and explained everything to her so she would bring her video camera to the game. You want to get at least some of the credit for all this, don’t you?”

  Amos looked skeptical. “I guess so. But breathing into the phone? I thought only weirdos and perverts did stuff like that.”

  “It’s for a good cause.”

  “If you say so.”

  Dunc put in the quarter and dialed the number.

  A man answered. “Hello?”

  Amos held his hand over the receiver. “It’s the Godfather.”

  “Talk to him,” Dunc whispered.

  Amos started breathing in the phone as loud as he could. “This is Posey,” he said in a deep voice. He made a hoarse gasping sound. “All bets are off.”

  “What?” The voice on the other end was irritated. “You can’t do that! You know how it works. Nobody can take back a bet once it’s made.”

  Amos wheezed and coughed. “If you don’t like it, I’ll be at the game tomorrow. We can discuss it there.”

  “Listen, Posey. If you think you can welch—”

  Amos interrupted. “Tomorrow, jerk-brain. And another thing—”

  Dunc hung up the phone. “I think that ought to do it.”

  “What did you do that for? I was just getting into it.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of. Come on. Let’s go to my house and work on a backup plan.”

  “What is there to work on? The reporter said she’d be there, didn’t she?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you talked Mr. Posey into coming down to watch the game, didn’t you?”

  Dunc nodded. “He said he’d come.”

  “Then there’s no problem. I’m going to catch the end of my movie. I want to see the worm slime people in living color. I’ll let you know how it turns out.”

  “But Amos, what if—”

  “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

  “Mrs. Johnson is set, Amos. You wouldn’t know she was a reporter. She looks like a typical T-ball mom videotaping her son’s game.”

  “She is a typical T-ball mom.” Amos looked through the backstop at the bleachers. “I see Mr. Posey up there, but I don’t see the Godfather.”

  “He could be here. We don’t know what he looks like,” Dunc said.

  “Well, if something’s going to happen, it better do it soon. The game is almost over.”

  So far, the game was even. Both teams were having a little trouble making it all the way around the bases.

  It was the last inning, and Sarah was up at bat. Sparky was on first. Sarah hit the ball. It fell off the T and rolled a couple of feet. She looked at Amos. He waved frantically for her to run. She turned and ran for all she was worth to first base. Sparky made a face, but when she got close to first, he ran on to second.

  The pitcher from the other team picked up the ball and threw it toward first base. It went high and to the right.

  Dunc yelled, “Keep going, Sparky! Run!”

  Sparky made it to third, with Sarah close on his heels. The little first baseman chased the ball down and made a gallant attempt to throw it to third base, but it didn’t even come close.

  “Come home!” Amos yelled.

  Sparky stood on third for a few seconds. He shrugged and then jogged to home plate. Sarah slid in right behind him.

  “We won!” Amos yelled.

  “We did?” Sparky looked surprised.

  “You and Sarah made points when you ran to home plate.”

  Sparky’s face lit up. “We did?”

  Dunc patted him on the back. “You were great.” He looked around at the team. “You all were.”

  A thunderous argument erupted in the stands. A man was shaking his fist and yelling at Mr. Posey. “You’re the one who wanted to call the bet off! Now that you’ve won, you want to collect. It doesn’t work both ways, Posey. We’ve been betting on games in this town for a long time. You know better.”

  A camera flashed. Mrs. Johnson had everything on videotape, plus she had taken a couple regular pictures for the newspaper. Now she was trying to get the two men to give her a statement. Mr. Posey sat down and talked to her quietly. The other man was still yelling.

  Dunc grinned. “Looks like Plan A is working.”

  “What was Plan B?” Amos asked.

  “It was a good one. It involved you, the guard dog down at the junkyard, and the police, and—”

  Amos held up his hand. “On second thought, I really don’t want to know.”

  Precious tugged on Amos’s sleeve. “Are those men over there being bad?”

  “Yes,” Amos said. “They are. Very bad.”

  “But we won’t worry about that now.” Dunc said. “Coach Binder is taking us all out for pizza. It’s party time.”

  “Thanks for reminding them.” Amos sighed. “It’s like trying to feed wolves.”

  “I should have known. The Godfathe
r had to be the funeral director. He’s the only one in town with his own limousine.” Dunc scanned the newspaper article. “Mrs. Johnson really did a good job covering this story. It’s hard to believe the amount of money these guys bet on stuff. Look at this—Mr. Posey had staked his whole store on our game. He claims the funeral director talked Coach Sanders into resigning just so our team would lose. These guys need professional help.”

  Amos read over his shoulder. “ ‘An anonymous tip’? It says they broke up the gambling ring with an anonymous tip. I thought Mrs. Johnson was going to use our names. How is Melissa supposed to be grateful to me if she doesn’t even know I had anything to do with it?”

  “Mrs. Johnson probably thought she was doing us a favor by keeping our names out of it. You know, since some of the town’s leading citizens were named in the story.”

  “Well, she wasn’t. And speaking of Melissa, I thought you said she would be at the game. Where was she?”

  “I said she might come. I never told you it was a sure thing. Something probably came up. Maybe she’ll be at the next one.”

  “That’ll be a little difficult,” Amos said sulkily, “since the commission suspended all games until they get through investigating this gambling thing.”

  Dunc smiled mischievously. “They didn’t say anything about not having practices.”

  “I take back everything bad I ever said about you. You’re a genius.” Amos headed for the door.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To call my team. We might as well start practicing today.”

  Dunc shook his head. “Looks like this season’s going to be a long one.”

  Be sure to join Dunc and Amos in these other Culpepper Adventures:

  The Case of the Dirty Bird

  When Dunc Culpepper and his best friend, Amos, first see the parrot in a pet store, they’re not impressed—it’s smelly, scruffy, and missing half its feathers. They’re only slightly impressed when they learn that the parrot speaks four languages, has outlived ten of its owners, and is probably 150 years old. But when the bird starts mouthing off about buried treasure, Dunc and Amos get pretty excited—let the amateur sleuthing begin!

  Dunc’s Doll

  Dunc and his accident-prone friend Amos are up to their old sleuthing habits once again. This time they’re after a band of doll thieves! When a doll that once belonged to Charles Dickens’s daughter is stolen from an exhibition at the local mall, the two boys put on their detective gear and do some serious snooping. Will a vicious watch dog keep them from retrieving the valuable missing doll?

  Culpepper’s Cannon

  Dunc and Amos are researching the Civil War cannon that stands in the town square when they find a note inside telling them about a time portal. Entering it through the dressing room of La Petite, a women’s clothing store, the boys find themselves in downtown Chatham on March 8, 1862—the day before the historic clash between the Monitor and the Merrimac. But the Confederate soldiers they meet mistake them for Yankee spies. Will they make it back to the future in one piece?

  Dunc Gets Tweaked

  Dunc and Amos meet up with a new buddy named Lash when they enter the radical world of skateboard competition. When somebody “cops”—steals—Lash’s prototype skateboard, the boys are determined to get it back. After all, Lash is about to shoot for a totally rad world’s record! Along the way they learn a major lesson: Never kiss a monkey!

  Dunc’s Halloween

  Dunc and Amos are planning the best route to get the most candy on Halloween. But their plans change when Amos is slightly bitten by a werewolf. He begins scratching himself and chasing UPS trucks—he’s become a werepuppy!

  Dunc Breaks the Record

  Dunc and Amos have a small problem when they try hang gliding—they crash in the wilderness. Luckily, Amos has read a book about a boy who survived in the wilderness for fifty-four days. Too bad Amos doesn’t have a hatchet. Things go from bad to worse when a wild man holds the boys captive. Can anything save them now?

  Dunc and the Flaming Ghost

  Dunc’s not afraid of ghosts, although Amos is sure that the old Rambridge house is haunted by the ghost of Blackbeard the Pirate. Then the best friends meet Eddie, a meek man who claims to be impersonating Blackbeard’s ghost in order to live in the house in peace. But if that’s true, why are flames shooting from his mouth?

  Amos Gets Famous

  Deciphering a code they find in a library book, Amos and Dunc stumble onto a burglary ring. The burglars’ next target is the home of Melissa, the girl of Amos’s dreams (who doesn’t even know that he’s alive). Amos longs to be a hero to Melissa, so nothing will stop him from solving this case—not even a mindboggling collision with a jock, a chimpanzee, and a toilet.

  Dunc and Amos Hit the Big Top

  In order to impress Melissa, Amos decides to perform on the trapeze at the visiting circus. Look out below! But before Dunc can talk him out of his plan, the two stumble across a mystery behind the scenes at the circus. Now Amos is in double trouble. What’s really going on under the big top?

  Dunc’s Dump

  Camouflaged as piles of rotting trash, Dunc and Amos are sneaking around the town dump. Dunc wants to find out who is polluting the garbage at the dump with hazardous and toxic waste. Amos just wants to impress Melissa. Can either of them succeed?

  Dunc and the Scam Artists

  Dunc and Amos are at it again. Some older residents of their town have been bilked by con artists, and the two boys want to look into these crimes. They meet elderly Betsy Dell, whose nasty nephew Frank gives the boys the creeps. Then they notice some soft dirt in Ms. Dell’s shed, and a shovel. Does Frank have something horrible in store for Dunc and Amos?

  Dunc and Amos and the Red Tattoos

  Dunc and Amos head for camp, and face two weeks of fresh air—along with regulations, demerits, KP, and inedible food. But where these two best friends go, trouble follows. They overhear a threat against the camp director and discover that camp funds have been stolen. Do these crimes have anything to do with the tattoo of the exotic red flower that some of the camp staff have on their arms?

  Dunc’s Undercover Christmas

  It’s Christmastime! and Dunc, Amos, and Amos’s cousin T.J. hit the mall for some serious shopping. But when the seasonal magic is threatened by some disappearing presents, and Santa Claus himself is a prime suspect, the boys put their celebration on hold and go undercover in perfect Christmas disguises! Can the sleuthing trio protect Santa’s threatened reputation and catch the impostor before he strikes again?

  The Wild Culpepper Cruise

  When Amos wins a “Why I Love My Dog” contest, he and Dunc are off on the Caribbean cruise of their dreams! But there’s something downright fishy about Amos’s suitcase and before they know it, the two best friends wind up with more high-seas adventure than they bargained for. Can Dunc and Amos figure out who’s out to get them and salvage what’s left of their vacation?

  Dunc and the Haunted Castle

  When Dunc and Amos are invited to spend a week in Scotland, Dunc can already hear the bagpipes a-blowin’. But when the boys spend their first night in an ancient castle, it isn’t bagpipes they hear. It’s moans! Dunc hears groaning coming from inside his bedroom walls. Amos notices the eyes of a painting follow him across the room! Could the castle really be haunted? Local legend has it that the castle’s former lord wanders the ramparts at night in search of his head! Team up with Dunc and Amos as they go ghostbusting in the Scottish highlands!

  Cowpokes and Desperadoes

  Git along, little dogies! Dunc and Amos are bound for Uncle Woody Culpepper’s Santa Fe cattle ranch for a week of fun. But when they overhear a couple of cowpokes plotting to do Uncle Woody in, the two sleuths are back on the trail of some serious action! Who’s been making off with all the prize cattle? Can Dunc and Amos stop the rustlers in time to save the ranch?

  Prince Amos

  When their fifth-grade class spends a weekend interning at t
he state capital, Dunc and Amos find themselves face-to-face with Amos’s walking double—Prince Gustav, Crown Prince of Moldavia! His Royal Highness is desperate to uncover a traitor in his ranks. And when he asks Amos to switch places with him, Dunc holds his breath to see what will happen next. Can Amos pull off the impersonation of a lifetime?