Sink it Rusty (6 page)

“Just keep your feet on that crossbar,” advised Alec. “The strap will hold you tight in your seat.”

Alec pushed the craft out and got in. He shoved the control stick forward, letting out the sail, which he had hauled in against
the spar when he had stopped the craft.

Instantly, the wind filled the big blue sail, and the iceboat almost took off. Kids who were skating stopped to watch with
fascination.

Alec steered the iceboat toward the middle of the ice-covered lake, away from the skaters. The runners thumped and swooshed
as they whizzed over the ice.
Gradually Alec pushed the left rudder, and the iceboat circled wide to the right. It tipped a little, and Rusty's heart jumped.

Alec grinned back at him. “Don't be afraid!” he shouted against the hard-blowing wind. “We won't tip over!”

Rusty tried to smile back as the wind pressed against his face. Finally, Alec straightened out the iceboat's course.

“How do you like it, Rusty?” he asked.

Rusty laughed. “I love it!”

“I made this myself!”

And then Alec went on: “How would you like to come out here with me every day, if it's nice? This will help you become strong
and healthy, too! Help you to get used to rough weather! Would you like to do that?”

“I sure would!” said Rusty. “But I'd have to ask my mom and dad first.”

“Of course!” laughed Alec. His eyes shone like bright stars for a moment.

Then Alec gazed past Rusty's shoulder and steered the iceboat toward shore. He kept looking, as if fascinated by some strange
sight.

Suddenly, a gust of wind came up. It filled the sail and whipped the iceboat half around! This time one runner lifted high
off the ice!

Rusty yelled. He thought they were going to topple over for sure!

But Alec quickly brought the iceboat under control. He turned and grinned at Rusty.

“Whew!” said Rusty. “Almost went then!”

They were near shore, now. Alec looked again at whatever it was that had attracted his attention.

“Rusty,” he said, at last, “who's that standing with Perry and Joby?”

Rusty turned. A wide grin splashed across his face.

“That's Marylou!” he said. “My sister!”

So it was she who had almost caused them to spill!

“M
AYBE
she wants you,” Alec said.

“We'd better go in.”

Alec turned the iceboat toward shore. He stopped it at the edge of the park, near Marylou and the boys.

“Hi!” he greeted Marylou.

Marylou's eyes were bright and shining. “Hi!” she said.

“This is Alec Daws,” said Rusty to Marylou. “He built that iceboat himself!”

Marylou laughed, and put out her hand. She was wearing woolen mittens. “Nice to meet you,” she said. “I suppose, since you
own such a beautiful iceboat, the boys bother you a lot!”

Alec shook his head. “Not very much,” he said. “Matter of fact, today is the first day Rusty has known about it. By the way,
have you ever ridden on one?”

“Never!” Marylou's brown eyes widened with interest. “But if you'll invite me —”

“I'm inviting you!” said Alec. “Hop on!”

Marylou got into the rear seat. Alec strapped her in, then shoved the iceboat away from shore. He got in the front seat, adjusted
the sail, and in a moment they were skimming swiftly over the ice.

“I think she's ruined it for us,” said Perry quietly. “We might as well go home.”

“Let's wait,” said Joby. “She might get scared or something.”

Rusty chuckled. “You don't know my sister!” he said.

They waited. Seven minutes later Alec and Marylou returned. Marylou's face was flushed with excitement.

“What fun!” she cried. “I think I'd like to go out again sometime.”

“Okay. Tomorrow,” said Alec. He turned to the boys. “Stick around. I'll take the iceboat back to the boathouse.”

On their way home, Alec told them that he had scheduled a basketball game for the next week at Bay Town. Bay Town had lost
only twice so far this season and would be strong competition.

“A week after that will be the big one,” Alec went on. “Culbert was runner-up last year in the eastern division. That takes
in some of the teams we've already played. Beat them, and we know we have something!”

“I wish I could be around to see a
game,” said Marylou. She looked at Rusty. “Mother wrote to me that you were doing marvelously.”

“Marvelously is right,” said Alec, smiling. “Matter of fact, I have to slow him down now and then. He wants to rush things
too fast.”

Bay Town was as strong that following Saturday as Alec had said it would be. Their center was taller than Perry, a slim, blond
boy who jumped, dribbled, and passed with equal skill. After the first quarter ended, Rusty could tell that the blond boy
was practically Bay Town's team. Without him, they'd be nothing.

The score was Bay Town — 11; Lakers — 4.

“Perry, you, Joby and Bud cover him on defense,” advised Alec. “Try to keep him
from scoring. That'll be our only chance.”

The boys clung to the tall Bay Town center like leeches in the second quarter. They held him to two baskets. The Lakers scored
seventeen points. The score, at the end of the first half: Bay Town — 15; Lakers — 21.

In the second half the Bay Towners were a confused bunch of boys. The blond center tried steadily to get away from his guards,
but had little luck. Perry fouled him twice. Ted, twice. Other than that, the center scored very few points. And the Lakers
were dumping them.

Rusty played his share of the game. From the corner he sank three set shots. He was fouled three times. He sank two of his
free throws, for a total of eight points.

He had played a good game. He wished Marylou was here to see him.

The Lakers carried home the win, 4 to 36.

It was a shocking loss to Bay Town. A fine team like theirs losing to a bunch of boys who had never played under a coach's
guidance before this year? Impossible!

But it had happened!

“Alec said we did great,” Rusty wrote to Marylou that night. “Alec has me play the corner so I don't get hurt. But I scored
eight points, anyway…”

A
LEC
printed a sign and hung it in the store. It read:

BASKETBALL GAME

Lakers vs. Culbert

Sat. 2
P
.
M
. Jan. 14

at the Culbert Junior High Gym

Everybody Come!

It's Free!

The sign stirred up interest. Men asked about the Lakers basketball team. Some of them didn't know that a team had sprouted
up in Cannerville.

“Where did they ever learn how to play basketball?” some asked with surprise.

“In the big barn,” Alex told them. “Over there by the creek.”

Women became interested, too. Most of the mothers of the boys who played on the Lakers team had already seen some of the games.
After Alec put up the sign, more women wanted to see the games.

“We'll have a crowd there for sure!” said Perry Webb excitedly.

“We probably will,” replied Corny. “But what will they think of us if we lose?”

“Won't be any disgrace,” said Alec. “Everybody will know that Culbert was runner-up for the championship last year. Our fans
won't down a new team if it loses to a team like Culbert. But let's get this losing idea out of our heads! Let's think of
winning
, not
losing!”

Alec took Rusty with him on the iceboat nearly every evening. He taught
Rusty how to handle the controls. Rusty loved it.

On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights Alec worked hard with the boys in the big barn. There were a few things most of
them still did not do well. Corny still was unable to get his passes away fast enough. Joby still couldn't sink more than
one out of eight from the foul line. Bud's dribbling had improved. So had his passes. But he still fumbled the ball a lot.
And when he did, it seemed always near an opponent. Ted, Perry, Rusty — they all needed improvement.

Alec put in a few minutes of practice himself. It was fun to watch him. He hardly used his gloved hand. His other one was
all he needed. He dribbled swiftly and gracefully. When he jumped to sink a lay-up, his feet lifted high off
the floor. His hand seemed to go almost higher than the rim. When he finished playing, perspiration glistened on his face,
but you could tell he enjoyed those moments with all his heart.

He probably could have been a great basketball player
, thought Rusty.
Not me! I'll just be like this. Slow and awkward. I would never play in a game if Alec weren't coach
.

The Culbert Junior High gym was packed that Saturday afternoon. Many fans from Cannerville came to see the game and give their
boys support. Many, Rusty knew, had never seen a game before.

As usual, Rusty watched the opening of the game from the bench. He wasn't worried. Alec would put him in sometime.

Perry and the Culbert center went up
on the jump ball. Perry's long fingers tapped it. Bud caught it, dribbled away, and fumbled!

“Did it again!” Rusty said.

Culbert scooped up the fumble. A pass down-court. A quick dribble. Then a lay-up.

In! Two points for Culbert, and the game was hardly ten seconds old!

Lakers' out. Perry took the pass from Joby, dribbled the ball up-court. He crossed the center line. A Culbert player tried
to slap the ball away from him. Perry passed to Corny. Joby started toward the right hand corner, then came forward quickly
under the basket. Corny bounced the ball under his guard's arm to Joby. Joby took it, leaped and tried a hook shot.

In!

Culbert's out. A long pass down-court. A Culbert player was there to catch it. He dribbled it toward his basket, leaped for
the lay-up. Missed!

Perry was right behind him. He caught the rebound, brought the ball back up-court. Carefully, he passed to Joby. Joby passed
to Bud. The five of them ran back and forth in a weaving pattern in the back court. Each looked for a chance for a fast break.
But Culbert guarded their basket like a family of lions guarding their cub.

Then Perry faked a pass to Bud, throwing his man off guard. He was at least ten feet away from the basket. He took quick aim
and shot. The ball arched, fell through the rim and rippled the net for two points!

A yell broke from the Lakers fans. What a clean, beautiful shot!

The Lakers were tight as banjo strings when the game had started. They had moved about like wooden puppets. Now, as the first
quarter drew to a close, they were no longer stiff and nervous. They moved with better timing. They were more careful with
their throws.

Tension was growing, interest mounting. Was this the Culbert team that had finished second in last year's championship? Was
this the team that almost everybody had thought would beat a little nobody like the Lakers with hands tied behind their backs?

What had happened to their great power?

And what of the Lakers — was this really a
nobody
team?

When the buzzer sounded, ending the
first quarter, every fan in the gym knew that the Lakers were
somebody
, indeed!

“Boys,” Alec said, while they dried the perspiration from their shoulders and faces, “you're playing wonderful ball. Keep
it up, and we'll leave this town gasping for breath. I heard several of these Culbert fans call us hicks.” He smiled. “I think
I've already heard their teeth crunching, eating their own words!”

Rusty replaced Mark in the second quarter. Ted went in for Bud.

“Just play the corner, Rusty,” reminded Alec. “You might do plenty of good right there.”

Rusty didn't complain. He was to get in the game.

Culbert started off with fast breaks. They took the Lakers by surprise for a
while. They sank two lay-ups in quick succession.

“Come on!” cried Perry. “Let's crush that charge!”

Perry's spark encouraged his four teammates to put on more fire. They not only crushed Culbert's charge, they also breezed
past them.

When four minutes of the second quarter was up, the scoreboard read:
VISITORS
— 19;
HOME
— 14.

Many Culbert fans, looking at the score, could hardly believe it was their team trailing in the game.

Then, suddenly, the play was near Rusty. Joby had the ball. He could not pass it to anyone else. He had to pass it to Rusty.

“Shoot, Rusty!” he said.

Rusty almost missed the pass. The ball struck his fingers. It hurt the middle finger of his right hand. He moved into position
to throw. Just as he flipped the ball, a boy jumped in front of him and struck his hand!

Shreee-e-ek!

“Foul!” yelled the referee. “Number five! Two shots!”

The Lakers fans cheered Rusty as he walked slowly to the free-throw line. The noise quieted down. The referee gave Rusty the
ball. Rusty took his time, aimed, and shot.

In!

One more to go. Again he aimed and carefully shot.

In!

21 to 14. The Lakers were really moving!