Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent Read Online Free Page B

them came up with the same result.’
    â€˜Solid. No sign of any cave-in,’ Deirdre said. ‘So what do we do now?’
    â€˜If it’s solid,’ said Joe, ‘there’s only one thing we can do. We start drilling again.’

    Although he didn’t want to admit it, Arthur was pleasantly surprised by Belmont School. The building itself was at least three times as large as his school back in Kerry and it was so new you could almost smell the paint. Ash explained that it had just opened that year; in previous years, during the construction work, they’d had to take classes in a variety of prefabs still situated behind the fancy new building.
    As Ash had promised, Arthur found himself liking Miss Keegan. The young teacher seemed genuinely excited to have a new pupil – ‘Another mind to mould,’ as she’d joked – and she let him sit next to Ash and Will in class. She wasn’t even annoyed when they’d wandered in almost fifteen minutes late thanks to the weird time skip and Will’s lazy stroll from the bus stop.
    â€˜You’re late,’ she’d said.
    â€˜No, we’re not,’ said Will.
    She laughed to herself as if what he’d said made perfect sense. ‘Of course you’re not.’
    Miss Keegan had strawberry blonde hair that fell in curls over her slender shoulders and she was wearing a floral dress that was probably too light for the icy October air outside. But she seemed not to mind as she strolled across the playground during break.
    The day passed blissfully quickly. The most interesting part was when Miss Keegan taught them about what the upcoming elections would mean to the country. ‘I like my pupils to keep up with current affairs,’ she’d explained to Arthur. She called that part of the class her News-Watch. He had no problem catching up with the class and Miss Keegan even agreed not to give them any homework (a suggestion from Will on account of them having a new class member). Before he knew it, Arthur was walking home with Ash and Max. He waved goodbye to them as he went into his new house. He’d just shut the door when the bell rang, so he opened it again.
    Max was waiting outside with his football offered up to Arthur. Ash stood at the end of the drive, smiling to herself.
    â€˜Fancy a game?’ Max asked hopefully.
    â€˜Well …’ Arthur said doubtfully. Max’s face dropped in disappointment. ‘As long as you promise to go easy on me,’ Arthur finished, taking the ball from him and running to the open grassy area in front of the houses.
    When Joe arrived home a few hours later, he was even more pleased than Max to see Arthur out playing. He pulled into the drive, left his work gear on the passenger seat and ran to join in.

    That night, as Joe and Arthur slept peacefully in one house and the Barry family slept in another, mist swirled around the green. By morning the mist would have left a fine frost on the grass, but now only a tall, stooped figure stood there. Dressed all in black, the dark man watched Arthur’s house, counting the minutes and biding his time. He could wait. He’d waited longer than a millennium already: what were a few more days?

Chapter Four

    Arthur and Max’s kick-around quickly became something of a tradition. Every day after school, Max ran straight to the green, dropping his backpack en route, and kicked the ball he carried everywhere to Arthur. At first Arthur begrudgingly joined in, but by Friday evening he found himself looking forward to the game. Ash was usually their sole spectator and sometime referee, but on Friday she was joined on the sidelines by Will.
    Midway through the game, just as Max had scored his second goal, Will had come striding around the corner into the estate.
    â€˜Hey man!’ he saluted Arthur as Max and Ash ran to meet him. Arthur picked up the ball that Max had let roll away and joined them at the side. Over