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the player whohad stopped him and Johnny thought he had never seen a more surprised look on anybody's face than was on Jim's.
    “Jump!” yelled the ref.
    The two boys faced each other. The ref stood ready to toss the ball up between them.
    “Outjump him, Jim!” yelled that familiar voice again.
    Johnny waited anxiously for the ref to toss up the ball. He was determined to jump higher than Jim this time.
    The ball went up. The boys jumped. Johnny saw Jim's hand rise up past his, saw the hand tap the ball to a Hornet teammate.
    “That-a-boy, Jim!” yelled the fan.
    The Hornet tried a long shot. This time Johnny caught the ball as it bounced off the boards. He tossed it to Dale. Dale dribbled
     it a few steps then passed to Buzz. Buzz passed to Ken, who dribbled down the rightsideline and took a set from the corner. A basket!
    Johnny glanced at the scoreboard. The Cats were ahead by four points, 33 to 29.
    The game remained close to the very end. The Cats led 54 to 53 with ten seconds left to play. The ball was in their possession.
    “Hold that ball!” shouted Coach Dates. “Don't lose it!”
    Johnny had the ball. He started to pass it to Rick but Jim got to it and tried to yank it away. Jump ball.
    Now,
thought Johnny.
I've got to outjump him now.
    He didn't. Jim tapped the ball to a teammate. Seconds later the Hornets scored. Two seconds later the horn blew. The game
     was over. 55 to 54, Hornets.
    The Hornet fans roared their heads off. Both teams shook hands with each other. “Nice game, Jim,” said Johnny.
    Just then a man with a broad, happy smile on his face came forward and put an arm around Jim's shoulders. It was the man in
     the shabby coat. The man who called Johnny “Leadfoot” and “Long Legs.”
    “Beautiful game, Jim,” he said proudly. “You played like a champ.”
    “Thanks, Pop,” said Jim.

10
    J ohnny stared. Then he turned and headed for the locker room.
    So the man was Jim's father. He should have guessed.
    “Hey, Johnny! Wait!”
    Johnny looked behind him. Jim came running toward him. “My pop said that he's not going home right away. Want to come over?”
    Again Johnny could hardly believe his ears.
What a change,
he thought.
He made me spill my milk, threw snowballs at me, scared a team of horses so that Toby and Iwere nearly badly hurt. Now he's inviting me to his home.
    “Okay,” he agreed. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. Since Jim's pop wasn't going home anyway, why not invite Jim to his
     house?
    Johnny posed the question, adding that Jim could eat there, too. He felt sure that Mom would cook enough food for an extra
     mouth.
    Jim's face colored slightly. “Oh. I don't know.”
    He wants to come,
thought Johnny.
But he's ashamed to.
    “Come on,” Johnny insisted. “I'll have you meet my folks.”
    “You sure it's okay? About eating there, I mean?”
    “Sure, I'm sure. Unless you eat like a horse!” laughed Johnny.
    They walked to the locker room together. After they showered and dressed Jim asked Johnny for the use of his comb. Johnny
     let him.
Doesn't he even own a comb?
    Toby Johnny, and Jim walked home together. “You can telephone your mother from our house,” suggested Johnny. “She might wonder
     what happened to you.”
    “I don't have a mother,” said Jim.
    Toby and Johnny looked at him.
    “She died a while back,” Jim explained quietly. “There's only my pop and me.”
    “Where are your grandparents?”
    “They don't live around here.” Jim paused, scooped up a handful of snow, formed a ball out of it, and pegged it against a
     light pole. Smack! It struck the pole and scattered in all directions, leaving a big white eye.
    They arrived home and Johnny introducedJim to Mom and Dad. “Okay if Jim eats supper with us, Mom? You made enough, didn't you?”
    She smiled. “I made plenty,” she said. “Do you like fried chicken and rice, Jim?”
    “Oh, sure. I eat anything.”
    Johnny saw how hungrily Jim tackled his meal, as if he hadn't eaten in