Journey to Atlantis Read Online Free Page A

felt frantic. I hated to leave like that, especially when they had been friendly to me, but I couldn’t risk losing my sub. I stared at the approaching police boat. One man raised his hand and waved, gesturing for me to wait. I raised my arm awkwardly and waved in a friendly way, to say goodbye. Then I climbed inside, shut the hatch, slipped beneath the surface and disappeared.

Chapter Four

    SHEBA’S ISLAND WASN’T much bigger than a soccer field. It was just a rock really, jutting out of the ocean at the end of a chain of tiny islands in Bonavista Bay. It had a hidden cove on the mainland side, where I could tie up the sub out of sight. The other side faced the stormy Atlantic. Her cottage was protected from the wind and sea on three sides by rock. The open side, all windows, gave her a spectacular view of the sunrise, and, according to her, of ghost ships, mermaids, dead sailors and other fantastic creatures from the deep. In truth, she had never claimed to see mermaids in Newfoundland, only to hear them.
    Sheba was the friendliest and most interesting person Ihad ever met and I loved visiting her. She was tall and lean and had long bright red hair that fell over her shoulders and all the way down her back in tiny, shell-like curls. She wore brightly coloured dresses and lots of jewellery. She looked directly into your eyes when she spoke, and her eyes, as green as a cat’s, sparkled with joy. If there were such things as friendly witches who used magic for good purposes, that’s what Sheba would be. And maybe she was; I was never really sure. She lived with about three dozen animals — dogs, cats, birds, goats, lizards and snakes. It was a zoo. They made a fuss over you at first, but settled down after a while. So long as you didn’t mind sitting with a cockatiel on your shoulder, a cat on your lap and a goat nipping at your hair, you wouldn’t even know they were there.
    Living in a place hidden in fog a good part of the time, Sheba had created a miraculous system of lights that brought sunshine inside her cottage on the darkest days. Her kitchen was an indoor hydroponics garden, year-round. She grew tomatoes, peppers, onions, oranges, lemons, spinach, mushrooms, garlic, herbs, flowers and all kinds of things I had never heard of before that she put in her teas. She made mysterious teas that affected your moods. You never really knew what to expect and she wouldn’t tell you.
    I moored the sub to the rock, climbed out with Hollie and waved to Seaweed, who stayed on the bow. There was too much “society” on Sheba’s island for Seaweed.
    “Keep an eye on the sub, Seaweed.”
    Sheba looked greatly relieved when she saw me.
    “Oh! Alfred! Thank Heavens you’re all right!”
    She threw her arms around me and hugged me. She was about half a foot taller than I was.
    “Hi, Sheba. Of course I’m all right. Why wouldn’t I be?”
    “Because I read your cards two nights ago and they said you would be in danger yesterday. Were you in danger yesterday?”
    “Well …”
    “You were! I knew it! But you are all right now?”
    “Yes. I’m fine.”
    “Good!”
    She slapped her hands together. “Come in and have tea. Watch your step. Ziegfried is still making repairs. He will be here tomorrow. Oh, Alfred, I am so happy! My two men will be here at the same time once again!”
    I liked the way she referred to us as her “men.” Sheba always treated me as a full-grown man.
    The tea had a licorice smell. A goat with sad eyes sniffed at the corner of the wood stove and was about to singe his whiskers.
    “Edgar!” said Sheba. “This tea is not for you.”
    Edgar looked at me. I shrugged. Sheba sat down opposite me, took my hands in hers and looked deeply into my eyes.
    “So. Tell me what happened.”
    “I don’t know … It started two days ago with a strange feeling.”
    “A premonition?”
    “Maybe. It was a dark feeling.”
    “Like something terrible was about to happen?”
    “Yes. Sort of.”
    “Good.