Cam Jansen and the Basketball Mystery Read Online Free PDF

Donna said. “Sometimes I can’t tell who has the ball.”

    “Watch our number twelve,” Mr. Shelton said. “That’s Jordan Gold. He’s the best player on the team.”
    The score kept changing. First Hamilton was winning. Then Franklin was ahead.
    Bzzz!
    A buzzer sounded.
    Eric’s baby brother Howie cried.
    “The noise scared him,” Mrs. Shelton said.
    She gave Howie a pacifier.
    “Is the game over?” Diane asked. “Did we lose?”
    “No,” Mrs. Shelton answered. “Franklin is ahead, but it’s just the end of the first half.”
    “It’s like recess at school,” Danny explained. “It’s a good time for some jokes.”
    Danny pointed to the balloons and asked, “Do you know what the balloon said when it met the pin?”
    “I think Howie is hungry,” Mr. Shelton said.
    Donna took a bottle from the bag and gave it to her father.
    “We’re behind by three,” Mr. Pace told Danny. “But don’t worry. When I played on the team we were behind lots of times by more than that and we still won.”
    “Hey,” Danny said. “What about my balloon joke?”
    “Look!” Diane shouted. “They’re back!”
    “Go Hamilton!” people shouted.
    Danny said, “I’ll tell you what the balloon said when it met the pin. It said ‘Hi, Buster.’ And do you know what you call a crate full of ducks? It’s a box of quackers.”
    Diane said, “Those jokes aren’t funny.”
    “How about this one?” Danny asked. “Do you know what part of a tree scares cats? It’s the bark.”
    Diane shook her head. She didn’t think Danny’s jokes were funny.

    “Don’t you get it?” Danny asked. “Dogs bark and a tree has bark.”
    “Stop telling me jokes,” Diane said. “I’m watching the game.”
    It was an exciting game. There were lots of short passes between players. There were a few long passes, too, from one end of the court to the other.

    Players tried to get close to the basket before they took a shot. But near the end of the game, Jordan Gold took a shot from almost the middle of the court. He got it in. Then he missed a shot from just a few feet away.
    “This is it,” Mr. Shelton said. “There’s less than one minute to go.”
    Cam looked at the scoreboard. The score was fifty-two to fifty-one. Franklin was winning.
    “Franklin has the ball,” Danny’s father said sadly. “They just have to hold on to it to win the game.”
    The Franklin player with the ball bounced it a few times. Then he passed it to another Franklin player. The other player bounced the ball a few times and passed it back.
    This time the ball never reached his teammate!
    Jordan Gold jumped in and grabbed it. He threw the ball all the way down the court to Hamilton’s number eight, who was standing near the basket. Number eight took the easy shot and scored.
    Bzzz!
    The buzzer sounded. The game was over. Hamilton had won!
    Fans stood. They cheered.
    Two of the Hamilton players lifted Coach Jenkins onto their shoulders. They carried him to one of the baskets. He cut off the net as a souvenir of his last game.
    The players carried Coach Jenkins to a microphone set in the middle of the court. They put the coach down. He stood before the microphone ready to speak. The cheering crowd was suddenly quiet.
    “Thank you,” Coach Jenkins said. “Thanks for thirty happy years.”
    People cheered.
    “Thank you for letting me stay in high school for so long with so many great young people. It’s helped me feel young, too.”
    A Hamilton Helper climbed up the bleachers past Cam and Eric. He was holding a pair of scissors. He was about to cut the net and release the balloons.
    “Not yet,” Jordan Gold called out.
    Jordan Gold stepped up to the microphone. “This is the game ball,” he said, and gave the coach a basketball. “We’ve all signed it.”
    “Thank you again,” Coach Jenkins said.
    The crowd cheered.
    Jordan Gold held up his hands.
    “We have another surprise for you.”
    “I know what it is,” Diane said. “That boy will