Castle Kidnapped Read Online Free PDF Page B

walking along one of the castle's endless hallways when another costumed castle inhabitant stepped out of an intersecting passageway. It was a man with a beard and a funny haircut and funny, floppy shoes. Still clutching his laptop computer, Jeremy skidded to a stop.
    The guy looked Jeremy up and down. “Ah, there you are! You really should come along with me, young man."
    But Jeremy wasn't quite ready yet and dashed off in the other direction.
    â€œBut you might sustain grievous injury, son! Please, listen to me!"
    Jeremy was tempted, but when another man stepped out into the hallway, he panicked.
    â€œStop him, Wildon!” the first man shouted.
    Wildon, a big hulking dude, went into a crouch and threw out his arms, ready to catch the running Jeremy.
    Jeremy executed a textbook-perfect slide into home, slipping between Wildon's legs. Wildon didn't touch him. Jeremy sprang to his feet and ran on.
    But the corridor ended in one of those crazy doorways, this one letting out into bright sun backdropped by dense greenery.
    Jeremy slowed a bit, looking back over his shoulder. Sure enough, Wildon was in pursuit. Jeremy put on speed and tore through the opening.
    A wave of heat hit him as he ran through a clearing and hit the edge of a dense rain forest. He plunged into the trees, leaves whipping at his face, his Reebok hightops trampling the undergrowth. Strange cries echoed all around. It sounded like convincing Tarzan soundtrack stuff: whooping, chittering, creeing, and so forth. It was scary. He stumbled, tripped up by a thorny vine that had snagged his pants. For a heart-stopping second he thought that something hiding in the weeds had got hold of him. He gave a high-pitched yell, yanked his leg free, and jumped away. He tripped again, staggered, got turned around, and tried running backward. His ankle twisted on a hidden stone, and he went crashing headlong through a wall of vegetation.
    After rolling down a high grassy bank, he hit soft ground and stopped. He was in the clear, out of the forest.
    Spitting sand, he sat up. A beach?
    No, not a beach. Just a kidney-shaped depression with sand in it. It looked a little like a sand trap in a golf course. Well, no. As a matter of fact, it looked exactly like a sand trap in a...
    â€œI say!"
    Jeremy blinked, looked around.
    â€œYou there! Mind awfully getting out of the way? I'm making my approach shot."
    Jeremy saw him now. It was a man in his thirties, light-haired and thin, dressed in shirt, sweater vest, and old-fashioned baggy knee pants—knickers—complete with high stockings and golf shoes. He looked like something out of an old movie. An older man stood behind him, watching.
    Annoyed, the first man took a step closer. “Can't you bloody hear?"
    â€œYeah, I can hear,” Jeremy said.
    â€œWell, look, I hate to be rude—but piss off, will you? We'd really like to play through, if you don't mind awfully much."
    â€œUh ... sorry.” Jeremy got up and moved out into the fairway.
    â€œA bit more,” the man directed, gesturing imperiously with his seven iron. “A few more steps. Right there. Yes, yes, there's a good fellow.” He returned to his ball and addressed it. “Right! Well, then..."
    After a few tentative swings, the man made his shot. The ball arched toward the nearby green, hit smack on, narrowly missing the pin, then skidded across the manicured grass and rolled off the other side into another bunker.
    â€œOh, bloody hell!” the man shouted, throwing down his club in disgust.
    Dragging his golf bag on a two-wheeled dolly, the older man approached Jeremy.
    â€œJust fell in, son?"
    â€œHuh?"
    â€œFell into the castle. You arrived very recently, didn't you? Like day before yesterday?"
    â€œUh, yeah, I did. Are you from the castle, too?"
    â€œSure am. A little scared? Don't be. It's called Castle Perilous, but once you learn the ropes, it's a very nice place indeed. All it takes is some getting used