《神奇树屋》 第三十一册 Summer of the SeaSerpent 09 The Sword of Light

　　A nnie pointed 1 to the sword handle. Jack 2 nodded.



But he was running out of air. He swam back up tothe surface. Annie followed him.



Their heads bobbed above the water, and theygasped. "Did you see it?" cried Annie. "The handle ofthe sword?""Yes! The blade must be buried in the sand!" saidJack,"We have to pull it out!" said Annie. "And we haveto hurry!""Right!" said Jack.



83He and Annie took giant gulps 3 of air. Then theyswam back down to the bottom of the cove 4. Jack gotto the sword first. He grabbed the handle and pulled.



The sword didn't budge 5. He pulled again. The swordstill didn't move.



Annie grabbed one side of the handle. She and Jackpulled together. Jack felt the sword move a tiny bit.



His lungs felt like they were about to burst.



Gripping his side of the handle with both hands,Jack pulled with all his might. Suddenly the flashingblade slipped out of the sand!



Jack and Annie carried the sword up through thewater as fast as they could. They burst into the air,clinging to the Sword of Light and gasping 6 for air.



"We got it!" Jack called to Kathleen and Teddy.



The seals circled around them, splashing andbarking joyfully 7.



Barrh! Barrh!



84"Lead us to the rocks!" Annie shouted.



Jack and Annie each held on to the sword's handlewith one hand. Paddling with their free hands, theydragged the sword after the seals.



As they swam, the fog began to lift, and the skyturned from gray to blue. By the time they reachedthe rocky island, light from the late-afternoon sunwas again glinting off the strange green shoreline.



"Hold the sword while I get out!" Jack shouted toAnnie.



Jack climbed onto the rocky island. He took thesword from Annie, then carefully pulled it up ontothe rocks and laid it on its side.



Annie climbed out of the water. Nearby, Teddy andKathleen poked 8 up their seal heads. They were allsilent as they stared in wonder at the sword.



"Wow," breathed Annie.



Jack nodded. The mighty 9 sword reflected theburning light of the setting sun. Its blade glowed as ifit, too, were on fire.



"Now what do we do?" Jack said.



"We have to get the sword to Merlin fast" saidAnnie. "The sun's about to go down."87"Right," said Jack. "Before nightfall. Right."Suddenly Teddy and Kathleen barked a warning.



Jack and Annie looked up.



The water had begun to ripple 10. The ripples 11 startedat the edge of the cove and swelled 12 toward the center.



Waves crashed against the small rocky island,sending up great showers of spray.



"What's going on?" said Jack.



"Maybe a bad storm's coming!" said Annie.



Barrh! Barrh! Kathleen and Teddy tried to haulthemselves onto the rock, but the waves pushed themaway.



"We've got to help them!" said Annie. She and Jacktried to help the seals out of the rough water. Theirhands slipped over the sleek 13 seal skin, and they nearlytoppled into the water themselves.



The waves kept rolling and splashing. Barrh! Barrh!



The two seals were swept away from the rockyisland.



"Look!" cried Annie. "The land is moving!"Jack looked at the strange green shorelinesurrounding the cove. It wasmoving! It shifted fromside to side, then slithered forward!



A great roaring noise rocked the cove. A monstroushead rose above the surface of the water.



The green hills were not hills at all. They were thecoils of a giant sea serpent's body!