Chapter 15

The Giant’s Causeway

The crook was racing toward a series of tall, hexagonal, staggered rocks. Jack recognized them immediately. This was the Giant’s Causeway. Irish legend said that the steps had been made by a giant named Fionn mac Cumhaill. Jack knew that instead they had been formed from a series of volcanic eruptions.

The thief bounded over the uneven rocks, hopping from one to the other like he was jumping on springs. Jack and Max headed straight for him. But scrambling over the rocks wasn’t easy. Each one was a different height, slowing the brothers down.

Just then, the thief stopped in his tracks. He turned to face the boys. He took what looked like a small grenade out of his vest pocket and hurled it at Jack. The thief started running again. Jack dove to the right.

BOOM!

The device detonated, sending a small explosion of tear gas into the air. Jack started to cough immediately. The gas was making it difficult to breath. He lifted his shirt over his mouth. Then he ran through the gas and into the fresher air ahead.

Max was only fifty yards behind the thief. The thief threw another tear gas grenade over his shoulder. This one landed close to Max. It exploded, causing Max to collapse to the ground. He fell awkwardly on the rocks, twisting his ankle. Max tried to get up, but he couldn’t move.

“Max!” shouted Jack, stopping in his tracks to check on his brother.

“Go ahead!” hollered Max, coughing through the toxic air. “I’m okay!” Max lifted his shirt over his mouth too.

Jack wasn’t sure whether his brother really was okay, but he had no choice but to go on. Jack was their only hope for catching the thief.

The thief began to scramble up the hill using his hands and his feet. Jack couldn’t figure out whether he was being lured into a trap 0r whether the man was running for something on the other side of the hill.

Within minutes, the thief was standing on top. Strangely, he no longer seemed to care about Jack. Instead, he was talking on a cell phone and staring at the sky. With the thief’s attention elsewhere, Jack decided to make his move.

Jack bolted over the crest of the hill. He dove toward the thief’s legs, grabbing them and toppling him to the ground. The thief was temporarily stunned. Thinking the Book of Kells was in his backpack, Jack reached for it. But the man kicked Jack in the elbow and then in the stomach. Jack crumpled into a ball in pain. He could barely breathe.

The thief regained his footing and stood. He left Jack on the ground and looked to the sky. Black clouds were rolling in. Jack could feel the patter of raindrops on his face. Suddenly, it began to drizzle.

Something else was making its way across the sky too. A black helicopter was heading toward the hill. Jack watched as it swooped through the rain and hovered twenty feet above them. The force of the wind from the propellers was making the grasses lay flat. It was difficult for Jack to move.

The side door to the helicopter opened and a rope ladder trickled out. Unfortunately for Jack, this wasn’t the Irish police or the GPF. This helicopter had been summoned by the crook. If Jack let the man get on board, the Book of Kells might be lost forever.

Jack looked down the hill to the Giant’s Causeway. Max was hobbling toward the hill. But he was slow—too slow to catch up to Jack anytime soon. Jack’s only hope was to delay the thief as long as he could.

But Jack had no Watch Phone, no

Book Bag, and no gadgets. He didn’t even have a rope that he could turn into a handcuff. There was nothing available but Jack’s brains and body to stop the thief.

As the thief put his right foot on the ladder, Jack peeled himself off of the ground. He charged at the man and barreled into his side. The thief and Jack splashed down together into a muddy puddle.

Jack crawled on top of the thief, trying to grab his hands. But the rain made everything slippery. Everytime Jack tried to grab one of his wrists, the thief managed to pull them away.

Jack could feel his chances dwindle. The only thing Jack could do now was get a good look at the man. At least he could give a description to the authorities. Jack grabbed the man’s mask and yanked it from his head.

But when Jack looked down, he got the shock of his life. The person he’d thought was a man was actually a woman. And it wasn’t just any woman.

It was Miss Murphy.