The Merlin Adventure

About the Book

The day Daniel Talbot brought home a stuffed duck in a glass case, everyone thought he'd gone out of his mind. Even he had his doubts at times.

"Fancy spending your money on that, his mother scolded him. You needn't think it's coming into this house, because it isn't!"

When Daniel, Emma, Charlie and Julia, the Four Merlins, set out to sail their model paddle steamer on the old canal, strange and dangerous things start to happen. Then Daniel and Julia make a discovery they want to share with the others.

The Merlin Adventure

by

Chris Wright

© Chris Wright 2017

This eBook ISBN: 978-0-9954549-2-7

also available as a paperback

ISBN: 9785-203447-7-5

Published by

White Tree Publishing

Bristol

UNITED KINGDOM

Website: www.whitetreepublishing.com

Email: wtpbristol@gmail.com

The Merlin Adventure is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this abridged edition.

The Bible verse in this story is taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. (No matter what version of the Bible you use, the verses have the same message and promises.)

(See also www.youversion.com for free downloads of over a thousand Bible translations in over a thousand languages on your phone, tablet, and computer.)

Contents

Cover

About the Book

A Word from the Author

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

About White Tree Publishing

About the Author

More Books for Young Readers

A Word from the Author

I first wrote this story some years ago, and things have now changed a lot, especially with electronics and digital communication. No mobile (cell) phones, digital cameras, tablets and computers back then. So although the main story is unchanged, some things have been updated to make the adventure happen today.

Also note that in America a mother is a mom, while over on the Merlins' side of the Atlantic a mother is a mum. Fathers are usually known as dad on both sides. And trainers are what Americans call sneakers. There are a few other differences, especially in the way some words are spelt. This book uses the British English spelling because that's where the adventure takes place.

The measurements in this book are in miles, feet and inches. Here is an approximate table of conversion to metric.

1 mile is 1.6km

1 yard is just under 1m

1 foot is 30cm

1 inch is 2.5cm

1/4 inch is 6mm

So The Pride of Avalon at 18 inches long is 45cm.

I hope this helps!

Chris Wright

Chapter One

THE MERLIN PROJECT

The day Daniel Talbot brought home a stuffed duck in a glass case, everyone thought he'd gone out of his mind. Even he had his doubts at times.

"Fancy spending your money on that, his mother scolded him. You needn't think it's coming into this house, because it isn't!"

Daniel stood on the doormat and looked down at the cracked glass case by his feet. He sniffed. Nothing. Well, nothing much. Cautiously he sniffed again. Not too deeply. Surely it wasn't possible the smell was coming from his latest possession. He was quite sure it hadn't smelt in the shop. And the shopkeeper had been going to throw it out! Such a wonderful specimen of a mallard! Just like the ducks he saw most days on the old canal. And so well preserved....

Pooh! His sister Emma had come down the stairs. Daniel avoided looking at her, but she was not to be silenced.

What is it, Mum? What's Dan got now? It doesn't half pong! Emma held her nose and pretended to be dazed by the smell.

Daniel shook his head. Trust her! Anyway, she was probably saying it because of what Mum had just said. It didn't smell like something rotting, just of damp from the back of the old shop. Sort of.... Anyway, there was no way his sister could have smelt it from that far away. He hadn't only brought it back for himself, but for all the Merlins. It would look great down in their Merlin Room.

Once more he stared down at the broken glass on the front of the case and suddenly realised that his worries were over. Yes, perhaps it did smell just a tiny bit -- but not for much longer. Dad could put a new piece of glass in the front, he explained. That would keep the smell in. He coughed, realising his mistake. Not that it does smell, but it would if it did.

His mother frowned, and Daniel could see she hadn't really understood the point he was making. Emma came forward for a closer look.

Mrs. Talbot relented. You'd better bring it in and shut the door. I think I'd rather be gassed than frozen. It's cold out there.

Daniel did as he was told. Emma looked at the duck closely, apparently captivated by the dark green head and the brown wing feathers. It was a mallard, swimming on a sea of green plaster waves, with reeds and a blue sky painted on the background. The plaster sea was falling to bits -- and so was the duck.

It must have been very cheap, Emma said.

I'm calling him Cedric, Daniel announced. "Anyway, I didn't buy him, I was given him. So there!"

Both Emma and his brother Charlie called him Dan. He didn't mind all that much. They were both younger than him, Emma being next, and Charlie the youngest. He's going to be the Merlin mascot. Come on, Cedric, come and meet the kids.

Their mother frowned in disapproval. I wish you wouldn't use that word, Daniel.

Cedric? Daniel asked, pretending not to understand. He was glad his parents called him by his full name.

Mrs. Talbot smiled. "I don't mind what you call this ... this duck, as long as you don't call it 'mother'. It's just that I don't like you calling Julia and your brother and sister 'kids'."

Emma shook her head crossly, sending her long light brown hair over her eyes. She said she liked her hair long, but she sometimes admitted she wished it wasn't so curly at the end. Even so, she told everyone she was happy enough with her hair as it was.

She noticed that she was nearly as tall as her brother, and in a year or two she might even be taller. Better not say it though, she decided. Dan was such fun, even though he could be annoying at times. Always doing unexpected things, like coming home with this stupid duck.

We're not kids, Emma protested. "We're as good as you are, Dan. We're all Merlins!"

Daniel liked the sound of that. He respected Emma for speaking up, even if she was nearly as tall as he was. With the three of them so close together in ages, they were bound to be a bit the same size. Perhaps he would shoot up soon.

The Merlins. Calling themselves the Merlins had been his idea for the four of them. Right opposite the house was Merlin Park, and in their front garden was a sign that now swung slowly in the March breeze: THE MERLIN GUEST HOUSE.

He liked Brenton, but nobody seemed to spend long staying in the town. Their visitors were either families stopping off for the night on their way through in the holidays, or people on business. King Arthur's Rise -- their road -- was close to several industries. Sometimes people would phone or ring the bell quite late at night. In the window was a sign saying, VACANCIES. But lately business had been slow, and no one had booked in advance for the Easter holiday, even though full board was an option. Full board meant giving lunch as well as breakfast and an evening meal, but not many people chose it.

Everyone who stopped off seemed to like being opposite Merlin Park, in spite of the general area being rather rundown, as one guest had rudely written in the visitors' book in the hall. The Merlin Room was down in the basement. No one would ever want to sleep there. It was gloomy, with the plaster peeling from the wall below the small window. On their door was a small hand-painted notice: THE MERLIN ROOM. That was Charlie's handiwork.

Charlie Talbot was clever for his age, but he wished he was as old and as clever as Daniel. He grew his brown hair long and bushy at the sides, and thought it looked quite good. But Emma said he grew it like that to hide his sticky-out ears, Daniel said he did it to look taller, and Charlie often said, Shut up about it! Julia never said anything.

It was the first day of the Easter holidays. Charlie had been to tea with Julia Kingsdown, the fourth member of the Merlins. Julia lived just five doors down in King Arthur's Rise.

Daniel sometimes lay in bed and wondered whether King Arthur or Merlin had ever been to Brenton. He thought of the old canal, the wire factory, the scrap yard and the abandoned warehouse. It seemed unlikely. He also wondered why their road was called King Arthur's Rise, when it was about as flat as any road could be anywhere.

Charlie had brought Julia back with him. In the Merlin Room was a desktop computer, with a really old monitor with a glass screen like a goldfish bowl. They used it to play adventure games, which only lasted about twenty minutes. To be more accurate, it was the monitor that would only last about twenty minutes -- before the picture broke up.

They wished they could have a proper monitor like the one in the small office upstairs. No amount of shaking or fiddling around with the controls made any difference. But then, like Cedric the duck, it had been something a neighbour had been going to throw out. It wasn't connected to the Internet, but they were allowed to use the one upstairs when they needed to go online, as long as they asked permission.

Julia had an iPhone with an Internet connection, but their favourite games were on the hard drive of this old computer. Daniel knew that Julia's family seemed to have a lot more spare money than the Talbots. She even had an iPad.

This evening the monitor seemed to forget to break down, and they were able to play the game for over half an hour before having to stop in disgust.

Right then. Daniel coughed and wondered how to bring up the subject of Cedric. Julia Kingsdown and his brother Charlie hadn't yet had the privilege of seeing it. There must be some way of making them want to adopt the duck as a mascot. His sister Emma probably did, even though she'd been so rude earlier. Well, rude in a joking sort of way.

"Right