The Lost Treasure of Annwn (38 page)

Elan came over and nudged Jack. She nodded towards Max and what was left of his gang. An argument seemed to have broken out.

‘What's happening?' asked Jack.

‘We'll know in a few minutes, the Dorysk's over there somewhere,' Elan whispered.

Before long a ladybird landed on Elan's hair. Jack could see the tiny insect had a minute pair of glasses. When he'd gone Elan smiled.

‘You'll never believe it; they haven't even tried their buggy out. Benbow was supposed to be driving but he can't get into the driver's seat. Neither can Tank, his legs are too long. They've even spelt the name of the buggy wrong, they've got
Terminater
on the side. Wait until Techno finds out, that'll make him laugh. If they'd used his plans it would have been built to fit. It looks like Max is going to have to drive and the Dorysk tells me he's not happy about it. Benbow is riding on the back and Tank is doing the uphill push. I don't think we've got much to worry about. Neither Benbow nor Tank can run very fast.

The loudspeaker calling for all competitors to take their places interrupted their conversation.

‘See you at the bottom of the hill,' said Elan as she went off to join Techno at the starting line.

Jack made his way to a table where the uphill pushers had to sign in. He waved to Grandad then followed the other boys to the far side of Monument Hill. Jack wished he'd paid more attention to what had been said earlier in the car. He knew it was a staggered start and the first buggy over the finishing line would not necessarily be the winner. It all depended on the final time but he had no idea when the
Comet
was setting off. He could hear the loud crack of the starting pistol at intervals but it was impossible to see the starting line from where the pushers were standing. Most of the boys seemed to know each other. They were gathered in groups chatting and laughing. Only he and Tank stood alone. One by one the buggies arrived. The third team member raced over to help push their buggy to the top of the hill. Jack could hear the cheers and shouts as each buggy was released from the top for the downhill finish. He began to feel uneasy. There were very few boys left and one of them was Tank. A buzzing in his ear followed by a hurried whisper didn't help.

‘They've been held up,' the Dorysk shouted. ‘Elan said to tell you not to worry, she's dealt with it and they aren't hurt.'

‘What happened,' Jack whispered.

‘A couple of boys were hiding in the bushes on one of the uphill stretches. One of them grabbed Elan and the other pushed the buggy into the hedge.'

‘Are you sure they're alright?'

‘Elan and Techno are fine but the two boys will think twice about messing with Elan again.'

Jack was too busy talking to the Dorysk, and looking for their buggy down the track, he didn't see Tank come over.

‘Talking to yourself, are you, Pixie Boy?'

Jack ignored him and kept looking towards the track for the
Comet
.

‘Oh look! Here comes the
Terminator
, this is where you get a nice surprise from me.'

Without warning he pushed Jack hard on the shoulder. Jack stumbled back but Tank pushed him again, and again, until Jack's legs came to a halt against something solid. Tank sniffed the air around Jack.

‘Something smells. Must be bath time, don't you think?'

With one final shove Jack fell backwards. He anticipated a bump on the head but instead he felt the shock of icy cold water. Tank had pushed him into a horse trough. He struggled to climb out but each time Tank laughed and pushed him back until a loud honking sound made Tank turn.

‘Time to go Pixie Boy, you'll have a long wait for your friends, I think they might have got a bit tied up!'

Jack watched Tank run to his buggy. Benbow got off the back and the pair of them began pushing the racer up the hill. Now Tank was gone, Jack tried to get out of the trough but his legs kept slipping from under him. The bottom and sides were too slimy. He tried again but it was no good, he needed something to hold onto. On the back of the trough was a bronze horse's head. Water trickled through its open mouth into the trough. The only thing Jack could see that might help him lever himself up was a ring through the horse's mouth. He grabbed it with his left hand, put his right hand on the side of the trough and heaved. He'd got one leg onto the side when the ring broke and he crashed back into the water. He could see the
Comet
racing down the track. He waved and shouted to attract Elan's attention. She leapt off the back and dashed over to help him.

‘Did Tank do this?'

Jack nodded.

‘Thanks,' he said, as Elan helped him out.

‘You OK?' shouted Techno.

Jack put his thumb up and then showed Elan the broken ring.

‘I'd have got out if this hadn't come away in my hand.'

Elan stared at the metal loop. She took it from Jack, plunged it into the water and tried to remove some of the grime from its surface.

‘You know what this is, don't you?'

Jack looked closer. Under the layers of dirt he could see a glint of gold.

‘It can't be? How?'

‘It is! As soon as I touched it I knew what it was. You've found the last piece of the torc.'

Jack's mouth fell open. Elan passed it back to him. He'd like to have examined it more closely but they were wasting precious time. He grinned at Elan as he zipped it into his tracksuit pocket before taking up his pushing position next to her at the back of the buggy.

‘Come on, let's get the buggy over the finishing line; we've wasted enough time. We can catch them if we try,' said Elan.

Jack looked up. There were still two buggies being pushed up the hillside and one of them was the
Terminater
.

‘Ready?' said Elan.

‘Ready,' replied Jack and Techno.

The ground had been churned up and it was muddy underfoot. Jack's arms and legs ached as they pushed the
Comet
up the hillside. With Elan's strength and their combined effort they gained on the others bit by bit and reached the top before either of the other two buggies.

‘Race to the finish,' cried Elan as she took off down the hill.

‘To the finish,' Jack shouted as loudly as he could.

The cheers and shouts of encouragement were deafening. Jack felt the wind in his hair as he ran faster than he'd ever run before. As they sped down the grass he could see the
Comet
cross the finish line. Seconds later he heard a loudspeaker announce the
Comet
team were home. He collapsed panting next to Elan on the sodden grass. Jack didn't care – he was wet through already. When he managed to sit up he could see the red racing car was halfway down the hill. Benbow and Tank were struggling to run down the slippery grass. The other team were a little way behind but were gaining fast. Unexpectedly the red car swerved. Instead of heading towards the finish it veered off towards a waterlogged part of the field that had been roped off. A spray of mud erupted as the racer swept under the rope and plunged into the mire. It came to an abrupt halt. Tank and Benbow, along with several marshals, ran over to the car.

Max stood up in the driver's seat and removed his splattered helmet.

‘Get me out of here,' he yelled at no one in particular.

Some of the crowd giggled as Max tried to get out of the car, followed by loud peals of laughter as he slipped and fell in the mud.

‘The
Terminater
is disqualified for leaving the track,' the loudspeaker announced. ‘The driver is unhurt.'

 

They waited eagerly for the results of the race. Eventually one of the organisers stepped up onto the stage and spoke into the microphone. He thanked everyone for coming and began reading the results in reverse order. Jack knew they hadn't won. They'd lost too much time thanks to Max and his friends. He could see Grandad eagerly waiting to see how they'd done. Even though they'd had some hold ups, Grandad was still confident they'd be in the top ten.

They all cheered really loudly and congratulated each other when they found out the
Comet
was in fourth place. Techno whooped for joy and did a victory dance with his dad. Jack looked over to the tree where the starlings and Camelin had been perched but they'd all gone.

‘That's a really great result,' said Techno.

‘It is considering the problems we had,' Jack agreed.

‘Max only has himself to blame for losing the race,' said Elan.

Jack smiled as he looked over at the roped-off area where the
Terminater
had been abandoned. It didn't look too good now. Max was nowhere to be seen. The photographer and reporter from the local paper, along with a huge crowd, were gathered around the winning team.

‘I think we need to get you home and out of those wet clothes,' said Grandad. ‘Lying on the wet grass probably wasn't a good idea, you're soaked though.'

It didn't take long to load the
Comet
onto the trailer.

‘I'm sorry we didn't win,' Jack said to Techno as they arrived at Ewell House, ‘it was a brilliant design.'

‘There's always next year. I don't think Max or Tank will be bothering us again. Danny's left the gang too you know, he wants nothing more to do with them.'

‘Did you see Max's face when he realised everyone was laughing at him,' said Elan.

‘Serves him right,' laughed Techno.

‘I hope you'll be able to put your bike back together again,' said Jack.

‘Dad says I don't have to, he's going to get me another one. We can keep the
Comet
as she is, we'll be able to have some fun with her during the holidays if you'd like?'

‘We'd love to,' said Elan, ‘wouldn't we Jack?'

Jack nodded. He'd be happy to watch the others if they wanted to go downhill but he'd like to take his turn on the flat.

Techno grinned.

‘Do you two fancy a game of football, when the field's dried out a bit?'

‘You bet,' Jack said without any hesitation.

‘Count me in,' said Elan.

Jack could see his grandad and Techno's dad shaking hands.

‘Are you ready son?' his dad called.

‘See you soon,' called Techno from the open window as they drove away.

‘See you soon,' Jack and Elan called after him.

Jack glanced up to the roof of Ewell House. Camelin didn't look too pleased. Jack made a mental note to invite him for a game of
Beakball
on Nora's lawn, when the weather was better and the ground had dried out. Making the buggy hadn't been such a bad thing to do after all. He'd made a new friend, and more importantly, he'd managed to find the last piece of the torc. In the morning when he went over to Ewell House he'd see if Orin wanted to come home. Jack unzipped his pocket and put his hand around the twisted piece of gold. Camelin had been right, everything had turned out well, and he'd completed his quest. Now he had all three pieces he could be crowned King of Annwn at Samhain.

‘We'd better be getting home too,' Grandad said to Jack.

They said goodbye to Elan and walked along the back lane to Brenin House.

‘Quite a day, wasn't it?'

‘It was,' agreed Jack.