Pirates Past Noon Read Online Free Page A

from Camelot,” said Jack. “I’ve read about Camelot.”
    â€œWhat did you read about me, Jack?” said Morgan.
    â€œYou—you’re a witch.”
    Morgan smiled. “You can’t believe
everything
you read, Jack.”
    â€œBut are you a magician?” said Annie.
    â€œMost call me an enchantress. But I’m also a librarian,” said Morgan.
    â€œA librarian?” said Annie.
    â€œYes. And I’ve come to the 20th century, your time, to collect books. You are lucky to be born in a time with so many books.”
    â€œFor the Camelot library?” asked Jack.
    â€œPrecisely,” said Morgan. “I travel in this tree house to collect words from many different places around the world. And from many different time periods.”
    â€œDid you find books here?” said Jack.
    â€œOh yes. Many wonderful books. I want toborrow them for our scribes to copy.”
    â€œDid you put all the bookmarks in them?” said Jack.
    â€œYes. You see, I like the pictures in the books. Sometimes I want to visit the scenes in the pictures. So all the bookmarks mark places I wish to go.”
    â€œHow do you get there?” asked Annie.
    â€œI placed a spell on the tree house,” said Morgan. “So when I point to a picture and make the wish, the tree house takes me there.”
    â€œI think you dropped this in dinosaur times,” said Jack.
    He handed the gold medallion to Morgan.
    â€œOh, thank you! I wondered where I’d lost it,” she said. She put the medallion into a hidden pocket in her cape.
    â€œSo can anybody work the spell?” askedAnnie. “Anybody who tries it?”
    â€œOh dear, no! Not just anybody,” Morgan said. “You two are the only ones besides me to do it. No one else has ever even seen my tree house before.”
    â€œIs it invisible?” asked Annie.
    â€œYes,” said Morgan. “I had no idea it would ever be discovered. But then you two came along. Somehow you hooked right into my magic.”
    â€œH-how?” asked Jack.
    â€œWell, for two reasons, I think,” explained Morgan. “First, Annie believes in magic. So she actually saw the tree house. And her belief helped you to see it, Jack.”
    â€œOh man,” said Jack.
    â€œThen you picked up a book, Jack. And because you love books so much, you caused my magic spell to work.”
    â€œWow,” said Annie.
    â€œYou can’t imagine my dismay when you started to take off for dinosaur times. I had to make a very quick decision. And I decided to come along.”
    â€œOh, so you were the pteranodon!” said Annie.
    Morgan smiled.
    â€œAnd the cat and the knight and Polly!” said Annie.
    â€œYes,” said Morgan softly.
    â€œYou were all these things to help us?” asked Jack.
    â€œYes, but I must go home now. The people in Camelot need my help.”
    â€œYou’re leaving?” whispered Jack.
    â€œI’m afraid I must,” said Morgan.
    She picked up Jack’s backpack and handed it to him. Jack and Annie picked up their raincoats.It had stopped raining.
    â€œYou won’t forget us, will you?” asked Annie, as they put their raincoats on.
    â€œNever,” said Morgan. She smiled at both of them. “You remind me too much of myself. You love the impossible, Annie. And you love knowledge, Jack. What better combination is there?”
    Morgan le Fay touched Annie’s forehead gently. And then Jack’s. She smiled.
    â€œGood-bye,” she said.
    â€œGood-bye,” said Annie and Jack.
    Annie left the tree house first. Jack followed. They climbed down the rope ladder for the last time.
    They stood below the oak tree and looked up.
    Morgan was looking out the window. Her long white hair blew in the breeze.
    Suddenly the wind began to blow.

    The leaves began to shake.
    A loud whistling sound filled the air.
    Jack covered his ears and squeezed his eyes shut.
    Then