Adam and the Arkonauts by Dominic Barker Page A

side. They bike was heading straight down into a swimming pool.
    An empty swimming pool!
    There was nothing to stop the bike smashing into the tiles at the bottom of the pool . . . except, possibly, the diving board!
    Could they land on it? Anna tightened her grip on the handlebars. The bike was plunging almost vertically down now, and with great speed. She crouched, ready for the impact and . . .
    BAM!
    She hit the board perfectly and pulled with all her might on the brakes.
    They screeched along the diving board and stopped right on the edge, teetering over the empty pool.
    Adam exhaled.
    Anna turned round to him. And winked.

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    CHAPTER 15
    â€˜Doctor! Doctor!’
    Adam rushed up the gangplank of the Ark of the Parabola . When he reached the top he turned to give Anna a wave but was only in time to see the dark-haired girl on the bike disappear into the narrow cobbled streets of Buenos Sueños.
    â€˜Where have you been, Adam?’ said the Doctor. ‘And why isn’t Sniffage with you.’
    â€˜He hasn’t come back?’
    â€˜No.’
    â€˜But the shots missed him.’
    â€˜Shots?’ snapped the Doctor.
    â€˜Officer Grivas shot at him for being wild after Señor Le Blacas complained about the coffee on his trousers.’
    The Doctor gave Adam a hard stare.
    â€˜I warned you such behaviour would have serious consequences.’
    It didn’t stop you wanting to see the hotel register though , thought Adam. But he didn’t say anything because he had more important things to ask, like . . . ‘Can I have an advance on my pocket money?’
    â€˜What on earth for?’
    â€˜Err . . . I got fined.’
    â€˜Fined. Who by?’
    Adam took a deep breath and told the story of what had just happened to him. Before the Doctor could launch into one of his lectures, Adam swiftly, and a little deviously, moved the subject on to the hotel register. ‘So did you find out anything about Mum?’ he asked.
    â€˜I’m afraid not,’ the Doctor said sadly. ‘It turns out your escapade yesterday was all for nothing.’
    Adam felt utterly deflated. He was saved from having to think of a reply by a sudden flurry of green feathers from above, as Gogo and Pozzo landed on the deck. The Doctor lost interest in Adam immediately and turned to the parrots.
    â€˜Have you located the source?’ he demanded impatiently.
    â€˜Do we get to tell a joke if you’re pleased?’
    The Doctor sighed. ‘I suppose so.’
    â€˜OK,’ said Gogo. ‘We flew all the way up to the fair.’
    â€˜There were lots of parrots there,’ said Pozzo.
    â€˜None of them with a very good sense of humour,’ added Gogo. ‘My joke about millet went down like a lead macaw.’
    â€˜Concentrate on telling me what you found out.’
    â€˜We found out that the tastiest leftovers are from the takeaway kiosk near the log flume.’
    â€˜And that you have to keep an eye out for the local sparrow hawk or your most recent squawk could be your last.’
    Adam saw the Doctor bristle with impatience.
    â€˜And that further up the mountain in a place called Tibidabo beyond the amusement park, where people never go, is a murky wood.’
    â€˜Suddenly, a month ago, just as it was getting dark, this wood became a nest of activity, with people dressed in black going in and out carrying machines – they made sure that they moved about only during the siesta when the rest of Buenos Sueños was sleeping. But the parrots saw them, even though they didn’t have much to do with them because they didn’t leave any leftovers.’
    â€˜The people were working in the forest every night for two weeks, and after that the alarm started.’
    â€˜Eureka!’ cried the Doctor.
    â€˜So would you if you’d been flying all morning in the sun,’ snapped Gogo indignantly.
    â€˜That wood must be the location of the