Read Online Arthur Quinn and the World Serpent by Alan Early - Free Book Online

forever!’
    Arthur could see the panic welling in both his friends and racked his brains to come up with a plan. Suddenly he had it. ‘Do you remember what my dad said in the office about the Poddle?’ Will and Ash shook their heads dumbly. ‘It runs into the Liffey – that’s where these waves are coming from, and from the force of them the entrance must be fairly nearby. We can get out that way instead.’ The air pocket was now rapidly disappearing and they had to lean their heads back just to catch a breath.
    â€˜It’s better than waiting here to drown,’ gasped Ash. ‘Let’s try it.’
    â€˜Great. But right now we should take a deep breath.’
    â€˜Why?’ They turned around to see a third wave rushing towards them. They just had time to grab hold of each other with one hand and brace themselves against the wall with the other when the wave smashed into them knocking them all back under the water.
    Toppling head over heels through the water, Arthur was sure that these would be his last few minutes alive. He thought of Joe, wandering around back on the surface, probably looking for him and wondering where he’d gotten to. He thought of Miss Keegan, the young teacher who was sure to get into huge trouble now that three of her pupils had gone missing. He thought of his mother. Then in the darkness, he saw a rapidly approaching pinpoint of light. For a moment Arthur thought, this is it. I’m dying and that’s Heaven. But it wasn’t Heaven. It was even better!
    It was an archway. And through the archway was the outside world and the River Liffey. This was the point where the Poddle joined the Liffey. For a moment his heart soared and then they crashed into the iron grate that covered the archway, something Arthur hadn’t anticipated. Still underwater, the three of them looked up through the Liffey and saw the bright blue sky, sunlight filtered but glorious, yet horribly unattainable.
    As more water rushed from behind them, Arthur pushed desperately at the grate. It didn’t budge. He pulled at it: still no movement. He started shaking it, panicking. It would be terrible to come so close to survival and for it all to end here. Ash saw what he was trying to do and wrapped her hands around the grate just below Arthur’s, pulling at it with him. It remained firmly stuck in place. Then Will joined in the fight. They all closed their eyes, grunting, putting all their strength behind them, praying that the grate would open. Suddenly there was a blinding flash of green light. It was so bright they could still see it behind their eyelids when they closed their eyes. And with that flash, the grate fell apart in their hands. It crumbled as if it was nothing more than a biscuit that had been over-dipped in tea and fell to the riverbed.
    For a brief moment, Arthur, Ash and Will forgot that they were in mortal danger and just looked at the pieces of the grate floating down into the depths of the Liffey. Then the sunlight caught Arthur’s eye. He gestured upwards and they swam to the surface, inhaled deeply and found that they had emerged in the heart of Dublin.

Chapter Seven

    â€˜You are in so much trouble, Mister!’ Joe said when he came into the hospital ward. He fell to his knees and wrapped his arms adoringly around Arthur. ‘So much trouble.’
    When they’d surfaced in the River Liffey, some Japanese tourists taking photos from the Ha’penny Bridge had spotted them. They ran around to the boardwalk and threw a lifebuoy in. Arthur, Will and Ash each clung onto the floating ring with one arm as the tourists pulled them in. They climbed an iron ladder to dry land and safety.
    â€˜Lucky I took swimming lessons last summer,’ Ash remarked as they climbed, ‘although Max refused to learn.’
    A passing garda saw the kerfuffle and instantly called for a squad car. They piled in through the back door of the car, soaking