“All right,” she said.
She made the call. A few seconds later she replaced the receiver and looked at him. Her hands were trembling. “He’s there,” she said. “In the intensive care ward.”
“Can I see him?” he asked.
“No. Nobody can, except his closest relatives.”
Bernie went to his room, took off his uniform, and lay on the bed, praying that Dave would be all right.
An hour later the phone rang, startling Bernie. He was sitting by the living room window, looking out at a bluejay perched on the fence.
His mother answered it. “Bernie,” she said, and cleared her voice. “It’s for you.”
He went to the phone, his legs unsteady, and took the receiver from his mother. “Hello?” he said.
“Bernie, this is Mr. Grant. I wanted to thank you for calling, but I — I’ve got some sad news to tell you.”
“About… Dave?”
“Yes, about Dave,” said Mr. Grant. “He has a disease of the liver. I guess he didn’t tell you. He never told anybody. He’s been fighting a battle with it for the last two years. I hope he’s going to get well, but Bernie, he doesn’t look too good right now.”
Bernie felt his heart split into a million pieces. He choked back tears. “Thanks for calling me, Mr. Grant,” he said.
He told the sad news to his family, and when he saw their eyes blink with tears he didn’t hold back any longer.
The next morning he went to the hobby shop and bought the model of the Constitution that Dave had been saving up for.
He came out of the store and couldn’t believe it when he saw Vince standing there.
“Hi, Bernie,” Vince greeted him calmly. “I was coming down the street and saw you go in there. I wanted to apologize about the way I’ve been acting lately. I guess the track team thing got me down.” He paused, then continued. “Too bad about Dave, huh?”
“Yes, it is.”
They started to walk down the street together.
“I never knew he was sick, did you?” Vince asked.
“No. He never told anybody. But I suspected that something was wrong with him. He always got tired so quickly.”
“He’s a great kid. He showed you how to throw that submarine pitch, didn’t he?”
Bernie nodded. “He showed me because he couldn’t pitch himself,” he said, feeling a lump rising in his throat.
They crossed to the next block.
“Dave was saving to buy this model,” said Bernie. “Now that he’s so sick, I thought I would for him. I was going to buy a bike, but I figure this model of the Constitution is a lot better.”
“It sure is a beauty,” admitted Vince. “Here, let me carry it for a while. It must be pretty heavy.”
“It is,” said Bernie, as he handed it over to Vince.
They took turns carrying it as they walked all the way home.
The #1 Sports Series for KIDS
MATT CHRISTOPHER®
Read them all!
Baseball Flyhawk Dirt Bike Runaway
Baseball Pals Dive Right In
Baseball Turnaround Double Play at Short
The Basket Counts Face-Off
Body Check Fairway Phenom
Catch That Pass! Football Fugitive
Catcher with a Glass Arm Football Nightmare
Catching Waves The Fox Steals Home
Center Court Sting Goalkeeper in Charge
Centerfield Ballhawk The Great Quarterback Switch
Challenge at Second Base Halfback Attack *
The Comeback Challenge The Hockey Machine
Comeback of the Home Run Kid Ice Magic
Cool as Ice Johnny Long Legs
The Diamond Champs The Kid Who Only Hit Homers
Dirt Bike Racer Lacrosse Face-Off
Line Drive to Short ** Snowboard Champ
Long-Arm Quarterback Snowboard Maverick
Long Shot for Paul Snowboard Showdown
Look Who’s Playing First Base Soccer Duel
Miracle at the Plate Soccer Halfback
Mountain Bike Mania Soccer Scoop
Nothin’ But Net Stealing Home
Penalty Shot The Submarine Pitch
The Reluctant Pitcher The Team That Couldn’t Lose
Return of the Home Run Kid Tennis Ace
Run For It Tight End
Shoot for the Hoop Top Wing
Shortstop from Tokyo Touchdown for Tommy
Skateboard Renegade Tough to Tackle
Skateboard Tough Wingman on Ice
Slam Dunk The Year Mom Won the Pennant
All available in paperback from Little, Brown and Company
Matt Christopher®
Sports Bio Bookshelf
Muhammad Ali Randy Johnson
Lance Armstrong Michael Jordan
Kobe Bryant Yao Ming
Jennifer Capriati Shaquille O’Neal
Dale Earnhardt Sr. Jackie Robinson
Jeff Gordon Alex Rodriguez
Ken Griffey Jr. Babe Ruth
Mia Hamm Curt Schilling
Tony Hawk Sammy Sosa
Ichiro Tiger Woods
Derek Jeter
THE SUBMARINE PITCH
Bernie’s striking ’em out with his secret weapon!
Bernie Shantz is thinking of hanging up his pitcher’s glove for good, but his best friend, Dave, won’t hear of it. Dave convinces him that all he needs is a secret weapon—an underhand throw known as the submarine pitch. Bernie agrees to give the pitch a try since Dave is so keen on the idea, and since Dave can no longer play baseball himself, for some mysterious reason. Bernie is excited when the pitch baffles one batter after another, but when Dave doesn’t show up for a game one day, his excitement turns to concern.…
Matt Christopher is the name young readers turn to when they’re looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. For a complete list of all Matt Christopher titles, please see the last pages of this book.
* Previously published as Crackerjack Halfback
** Previously published as Pressure Play
The Submarine Pitch Page 6
