“Can’t we use an old dining-room table—one that’s circular?” Brad suggested.
“That’s what I had in mind. By the way, who knows why King Arthur used a round table?”
Dan, who had read the book, had an answer. “Wasn’t it so he could provide a place of equal importance for every knight?”
“That’s right, Dan. A round table has no foot or head. Each knight was the equal of every other knight. It’s the same way here in America. One person has the same rights as another.”
“When will we start making armor and spears?” asked Midge impatiently.
“We’ll gather together the articles we need and maybe start in at our meeting next week. Mrs. Holloway, the Den Mother, has promised to help.” Mr. Hatfield told the Cubs they would need cardboard, silver or gold paint, burlap and several other items.
“We’ll make banners and turn this room into a regular King Arthur’s Court,” he declared. “The place right now is as cold as an ancient castle! Wonder what happened to that fire I built?”
Mr. Hatfield had noticed that despite jackets, several of the Cubs were shivering.
A little heat was rising from the registers. But not much.
“Want me to take a look at the furnace?” Brad offered.
“It might be a good idea,” agreed the Cub leader. “Toss in three or four shovels of coal.”
The two boys descended a narrow, dimly lighted stairway to the church basement.
Walls were damp to the touch. In several places water oozed in through cracks in the decaying masonry.
Cobwebs hung from the overhead beams. In the semi-darkness, Dan ran into one, cringing as it wrapped silken threads about his throat.
“Glug, glug,” he entoned, making a strangling sound. “I’m being choked to death!”
“Cut it out!” Brad ordered. He reached for a switch and the basement room became flooded with light. “What you trying to do? Work up a case of nerves?”
Dan laughed and opened the iron door of the cavernous furnace.
Mr. Hatfield had built his fire well, but it needed more fuel.
While Brad poked at the coals, Dan went to the bin.
The shovel had disappeared. But after hunting a while, he found it behind the bin door.
Selecting smaller lumps, Dan fed the furnace two large shovelfuls. The coals leaped into fiery flame.
“Better give ’er a couple more for good measure,” Brad advised.