Free Kickoff to Danger by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

Chet—he’s a teammate, too.”
    â€œGolden said we should stonewall
everyone
who asks questions—especially you and your brother.”
    Joe gave a harsh laugh. “Then you may be looking for trouble, standing here talking with me.”
    Eddie nodded. “Maybe,” he said. “But I figure somebody had to give you the heads-up.”
    A very angry Coach Devlin came back from the fence. The TV cameras remained in place, and the team sweated even harder for the rest of the practice session.
    Joe was out of the showers and getting dressed when Wendell Logan loomed up beside him.
    Looks like somebody told Golden about my questions, Joe thought. So he sent his pet over to scare me.
    He ignored the bigger boy until Logan was almost touching him, his sweaty body sending off heat like a furnace. “I hear you’re sticking your nose in where it isn’t wanted,” the big linebacker said.
    â€œI certainly don’t want to smell
you,”
Joe replied. “So why don’t you back off, Logan?”
    â€œYou’re
the one who’d better back off.” Logan poked a big, meaty finger into Joe’s chest. “Or you won’t like what’ll happen.”
    Joe decided to rattle Logan’s cage a little. Maybe the big guy would let something slip. “What will you do?” he asked. “Punch me out, like you did Chet Morton? I guess it’s a lot easier when you jump somebody in the dark.”
    Logan’s big jaw dropped in shock. “How did—I mean—” His eyes moved to someone behind Joe. Then he scowled. “You got a mouth on you like that Freeman kid. Remember what happened to him.”
    â€œYeah,” Joe said. “He met someone else who was brave in the dark. You think you can hide until this all blows over, but too many people know bits and pieces of it. It will all come out, and everyone will know exactly what happened down in the basement.”
    Again Logan’s eyes darted behind Joe for a cue. Joe stepped to one side, and turned to see who was behind him.
    He saw Terry Golden slowly draw a finger across his throat.
    Joe knew what that might mean. He quickly whipped around to face Wendell again.
    But Logan was already taking a wild roundhouse swing.
    A fist the size of a holiday ham was already flying at Joe’s head!

10 Penalty Plays
    Frank Hardy yawned, leaning back in his chair. His computer class didn’t meet that day.
    That didn’t mean he had the afternoon off, though. Frank and the kids in the class were studying a new programming language, and Frank was still trying to get a simple program running in it.
    He frowned, his fingers flashing over his computer keyboard. Maybe that particular order didn’t belong there….
    When he tried to run the program again, the stupid thing still didn’t work. Frank tried running the automatic debugger and wound up with a screen full of suggestions.
    After reading what the computer had to say, Frank glanced at his watch.
    Okay, he thought. One more round of debugging, then I’ve got to go to the library to pick up Callie.
    Frank stared out at the growing late-afternoon shadows. After that, I guess we could catch Joe after practice. He made a face. See if his luck with the jocks was better than mine with the nerds.
    Frank had spent the afternoon tracking down the names on Callie’s list. Nobody wanted to talk about the incident. After coming home, he’d even tried calling a couple of the guys.
    Unconsciously, Frank brought a hand to his ear. Nothing says “no comment” like having a phone slammed down, he thought. He turned back to the computer, determined not to think about it anymore.
    Frank finally got to the point where at least he could start the program. Good enough, he decided, saving his work. He still had a couple of minutes to spare, so he checked his email.
    He figured that the Bayport High grapevine had gotten the message that