The Lost Treasure of Annwn Read Online Free PDF Page A

questions. He needn’t have worried; Grandad was asleep in the chair. Jack wrote a three-word note… in my bedroom… and trapped the corner under the empty lemonade glass. He raced upstairs and got out his Book of Shadows but before he opened it he took out his letter from Annwn and showed it to Orin.
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    REGISTRATION DAY
    â€˜Can I go blackberry picking with Elan and Nora this morning?’ Jack asked at breakfast.
    â€˜Of course you can, there’s nothing quite like Nora’s blackberry pie. Could you give me a hand this afternoon at the Cricket Club? It’s registration day and I could do with some help.’
    â€˜Registration day?’
    â€˜For the buggy race, but I’m forgetting, you’d have been too young to remember the last one you went to. It’s been going for years, since before I was a lad.’
    Grandad went over to the dresser and picked up a sheet of paper.
    â€˜Here’s the poster. The race takes place on Monument Hill. The whole village gets closed to traffic for the afternoon.’
    â€˜Monument Hill?’
    â€˜It’s over at Lillerton, in the next village, you know, the hill you can see from my bedroom window with the spike on the top.’
    Grandad sat back and folded his arms. He had a faraway look in his eyes.
    â€˜Ah! The buggy race! It was the highlight of my year when I was a lad. It would start at the top of Monument Hill and end up in a field at the bottom where the biggest fair of the year always took place. The race and fair are on separate weekends now. It’s a lot more complicated these days with all kinds of rules and regulations. There’s an entry fee for the race, a form to be filled in, and an information pack to sign for. As I said, a lot more complicated than it used to be. Only ten to fifteen year olds can enter the race but the team is allowed an adult to help with the construction. They use the bridleway now that goes around Lillerton. Runners, and horse riders usually use it, but on Race Day it’s given over to the buggies. It’s been turned into a cross-country event with lots of difficult terrain. The end’s the same though, with a downhill stretch from the top of Monument Hill to the field at the bottom.’
    â€˜Did you ever do it?’
    â€˜I should say so! Our team won three years in a row. We called each buggy we made, the Comet. We would have won four but one year our buggy was sabotaged.’
    â€˜Sabotaged! How?’
    â€˜Someone loosened one of the back wheels. We’d only just set off down the hill when the back end dropped to one side, I had trouble keeping the buggy straight and the next thing you know, one of the wheels went bouncing past. My best friend, who was riding the tail gate, jumped off and ran after it, but it was no good, we’d lost too much time.’
    â€˜Did you find out who did it?’
    â€˜Oh yes, they even bragged about it afterwards. It was the Smedley boys and their mate Archie Wratten, they’re still around now, always caused trouble they did, and from what I hear, their grandsons aren’t much better.’
    Jack knew exactly who they were. It made him feel a lot better to know Grandad knew about Max and Tank. Maybe he ought to tell him they’d been bothering him. Jack decided not to say anything, he felt sure if he didn’t deal with it himself they might never leave him alone.
    â€˜What about Dad? Did he have a buggy?’
    â€˜No, your dad wasn’t interested in anything sporty, always had his head in a book.’
    Jack looked at the poster again before helping Grandad clear the table and wash the dishes. The race sounded great but Jack had no idea how to build a buggy and he didn’t have enough friends to make a team. Even without reading the rules and regulations, he was sure, ravens, rats, bats and dragons wouldn’t be allowed as team members.
    â€˜I’ll see you later,’ Jack called from