suit was very wet. The rest of the players started to giggle too.
Coach Elwell pulled the bucket off his head. His moustache looked like a drowned mouse.
The room became very quiet again.
âWho played this trick on Eldridge?â he asked. His voice sounded like thunder. He was big and he looked angry.
âHe did!â Johnny said, pointing at Tom.
âHe did!â Tom said, pointing at Johnny.
âThatâs it!â Coach Elwell said. âYou are both benched for the whole game. You will watch it from the stands.â
Chapter Three
The Stinkiest Dog in the World
âTom,â Johnny said. He and Tom were sitting in the stands. âYou are disgusting.â
The referee was ready to drop the puck. The hockey game between the out-of-town Grizzlies and the hometown Howling Timberwolves was about to begin. Eldridge Elwell was starting at center ice for the Timberwolves. Usually Tom started the game.
âThe bucket with water seemed like a good idea at the time,â Tom said. âI already told you Iâm sorry. How could I know that Coach Elwell would grab the stick?â
âNot that,â Johnny said. He sniffed the air. He gagged. âI mean really. Did you have ten pounds of beans for breakfast? You should go into a bathroom if itâs that bad.â
Tom sniffed the air too. âYuck, that is disgusting. I promise, it wasnât me.â
Tom and Johnny looked at each other.
Then they looked down at the floor beneath the stands.
âItâs Stinky,â Johnny said, groaning. âWow. They donât call him that for nothing.â
The stands in the arena were the kind that could be pushed back. There was a lot of space beneath them. Often there would be popcorn and litter on the cement floor. Sometimes little kids walked around under the stands looking for lost coins.
Sure enough, there was Stinky. Mr. Greggâs dog was big and fat and slow. And stinky.
Stinky looked up. He saw the boys looking down. He wagged his tail. Maybe they would drop a piece of hot dog by mistake. No one ever dropped food on purpose if Stinky was around.
âDonât feed him,â Johnny said. âThen he will follow us no matter where we sit.â
Stinky made a long rude noise. The long rude noise didnât come from his front end. Right away the bad smell reached Johnny and Tom.
âYuck,â Tom said. âThere he goes again.â
It was bad enough that they had been benched from the game.
Now this?
Tom and Johnny jumped up. They moved to another part of the stands. Just as they sat down, Eldridge Elwell skated into the Grizzliesâ zone.
He fell.
He got up. He chased the Grizzliesâ center.
He fell. He got up.
âThe new player doesnât look that good,â Johnny said. He wasnât being mean. He was just stating it like a fact.
âYes,â Tom said, âhe needs some different equipment.â
âWhat equipment?â Johnny asked.
âHe needs a pillow on his butt,â Tom said.
Eldridge got up just in time to receive a pass from one
of the Timberwolvesâ wingers. The puck landed on his stick. He fell again. It looked like the puck had knocked him over. The Grizzliesâ defenseman took the puck and skated to center. The Grizzliesâ center stayed close with Eldridge.
The Grizzliesâ defenseman passed the puck to a winger. Suddenly, it was a four on two.
The wingers for the Timberwolves tried to catch up. They couldnât. Eldridge tried to catch up. He fell again.
In the Timberwolvesâ end, the Grizzliesâ center dropped back. If Eldridge had been able to keep up, he would have been guarding the Grizzliesâ center. Instead the center was wide open for a pass.
The Grizzliesâ winger dropped the puck back to the Grizzliesâ center.
He was all alone. He took a big slap shot. It bounced off the Timberwolvesâ goalie. But a Grizzlies winger was there for the rebound.