THERE was one minute left in the first half. The Cannerville Lakers were four points behind. They were gradually catching up to the Chiefs, thanks to Perry's lay-ups.
Lakers' ball. Bud Farris had it. He dribbled across the center line — and fumbled! He fumbles so much! thought Rusty.
A Chiefs man scooped up the ball. Quickly, Perry stole it from him! He shot a swift pass to Joby. Joby broke fast for the basket, shot the ball against the board. Missed!
“Ooooo!” wailed the fans.
A wild scramble followed for the rebound. Perry got it, tapped it in!
Two points behind the Chiefs!
Chiefs' ball. They worked it to their back court. They tried to move into their front court, but couldn't. The Lakers had it well guarded.
They tried a set. The ball struck the backboard, missed the rim. Corny Moon leaped, took the rebound, and dribbled all the way up the court. He was chased by five Chiefs players, but no one reached him in time. Corny leaped, made the lay-up, and tied the score, just as the half ended!
The Lakers rushed off happily for the locker room. Cheers from their fans trailed after them.
“You boys have improved wonderfully,” Coach Daws said, his eyes beaming as he faced the eight boys sitting on benches between the two rows of lockers. “It makes me feel proud because, in a way, I'm a part of you. You've come a long way in a short time. You've learned to play the game very well. You've listened to me and remembered a lot of the things I've told you. More important still, you're all good sports. Maybe — just maybe — we might go home this afternoon with a win!”
The second half went along with both teams scoring freely. The electric scoreboard flashed a new score first on the HOME side, and then on the VISITORS side. It seesawed back and forth like that.
With two minutes to play in the third quarter, the coach had Rusty go in. Rusty could hardly believe it. He was sure the coach wasn't going to let him play again in this game.
Alec winked at him. “The right corner, Rusty. Let's see you dump in a couple.”
Rusty took his position to the right of the basket, and about five feet in from the out-of-bounds line. Nervously, he watched the game as if he were a spectator.
Presently, the action was on the Lakers' front court. Perry flipped a pass to Ted. Ted bounced the ball to Rusty, and Rusty shot.
Whack! A hand slapped his wrist. The whistle shrilled.
The ball missed the hoop by a foot, but Rusty was given two shots for a personal foul.
Carefully he aimed at the basket. Shot.
Made it!
He aimed again. Shot. Again he made it!
“Thataboy, Rus!” Perry yelled.
A little while later the quarter ended. Rusty expected to be taken out. But he was still in as the fourth quarter got underway. Action increased as the final minutes on the big clock above the scoreboard ticked away. Now the Chiefs were in the lead. Now the Lakers.
Rusty felt himself penned in. He wanted to join in the action. He felt good now. The pain from the fall had long since vanished. Gradually, he crept farther and farther away from the corner.
Lakers' ball. Perry passed it to Rusty. Rusty turned, dribbled twice, then shot. The ball struck the backboard, sank for two points! At the same time, someone bumped into him, and a whistle pierced the gym.
“One shot!”
Rusty's face shone with perspiration as he stood on the free-throw line. His heart hammered as he took the ball from the referee. He aimed, shot.
In!
The fans roared. The Lakers were ahead now — 43 to 41. Rusty breathed hard. He had done a lot of running in the last few minutes.
With two minutes to go, he was taken out.
“Nice game, Rusty,” said Alec. “But I almost yanked you when I saw you get out of that corner.”
Rusty looked at the coach. Alec's eyes were shining happily. Rusty smiled.
The Chiefs picked up another basket to tie the score. Then Ted arched in a set shot to put the Lakers ahead again. Five seconds before the finish of the game, Joby tried a long set shot, made it, and the game was over.
Score: Lakers — 47; Chiefs — 43.
There was a lot of singing in the cars as the boys rode home. And there was a lot to sing about. They had beaten the team that had whipped the Braves!
“No more games till after Christmas vacation,” announced Alec Daws. “But don't let that stop you from practicing at the barn!”
Marylou came home on Wednesday, just before the Christmas weekend. Mom, Dad, and Rusty were all happy to see her. It was obvious she was glad to see them, too.
“Good to get away from those books for a while,” she said, “and be home again! How's my big brother doing?”
Rusty smiled. “I'm doing okay,” he said. “I'm a forward on our basketball team, the Lakers.”
Marylou's cheeks dimpled. “I know,” she said. “Mom wrote me. How many games have you won? Tell me all about it.”
And Rusty did.
A few days after Christmas, Rusty took a long walk into the woods — the same woods he had gone into with Joby and Corny that day when Joby had checked his traps.
He located the log stretched across the creek. Only now the water below it was frozen solid.
How often he had thought about this log! How often he remembered that terrible time when he had tried to crawl across it and couldn't.
He approached it. Carefully, he put one foot on it, then the other. Little by little he moved his right foot forward, then his left foot. He grew more frightened by the minute. The frozen creek was farther below him. And the log seemed so much longer!
He slid on a patch of ice! He fell off the log and struck the ice below. It didn't crack. And he wasn't hurt. At least the ice was strong enough to hold him.
He climbed back up on the bank, and started across the log again. About a third of the way across, he slipped. Down he went again!
He got up, tried it once more. He wasn't afraid now. He had become accustomed to the height. But he could not stay on the log.
After the seventh try he became discouraged and gave up. He had gotten too tired, anyway, to keep trying. And those falls had begun to hurt.
He turned, headed for home, and came face to face with Alec Daws, Perry Webb, and Joby Main!
They smiled at him.
Alec said, “Hi, Rusty! Joby said we might find you here!”
Rusty stared. What were they doing here? How long had they been watching him?
“Rusty,” said Alec, “you're trying too hard. You expect to do everything in a short time. That's impossible. You must take it easier, or you'll hurt yourself badly. I know how you feel, kid. I know exactly.” Alec put out his hand, the one with the black glove on it. “An accident did this. I'll never be able to play. But with you —someday you may be able to reach your goal. You have everything, Rusty. Keep it that way. Just be sure you don't get hurt by doing anything foolish. Like walking on slippery logs, for example. The trouble with you is, you want to rush things too much.”
Alec paused and grinned. “Come on. Let's get back to civilization. Got a surprise to show you.”