Jason's Magic Journeys

By Sylvia Hebden

Jason's birthday present from his parents was a metal detector, which he couldn't wait to try out. Little did he imagine what he would discover when he heard the click-clicking of his machine, or where his discoveries would take him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sylvia Hebden
• Release date: Oct 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9781805411482

Book preview

Chapter 1

Jason was tired. All his friends had gone home, and he was left with a pile of string and fancy wrapping paper which had contained his birthday presents. He suddenly felt grown-up; after all, this was his tenth birthday – he was into double figures now! He pondered that for a moment, then decided he would tell his mother that he was going to bed now, and not wait until she told him. Mum and dad were both in the kitchen clearing away the remains of his birthday party supper.

Think I’ll go upstairs now and sort out all my presents, then I’ll go to bed. Thanks for the metal detector – it’s great. I’m going to try it out tomorrow. ‘Night mum, ‘night dad.

The following day was Saturday and the beginning of the school holidays, and bright sunshine coaxed Jason out of bed earlier than on a school day. He had breakfast with his father, then put an apple, a bottle of water and a packet of biscuits into his backpack, together with a small trowel and brush. Just going over to the farm to see if Mr Grant will let me use my metal detector in his fields. I’ll probably be out all day – back at teatime. Got my mobile, so I’ll call you on the way back.

Jason set off down the lane which led to Grant’s Dairy Farm. He often went there with his mother to buy produce from the farm shop, and sometimes met up with their two sons when they were in the football team. Today, Mr Grant was busy sorting eggs in one of the barns, so Jason walked across the farmyard to speak to him.

Hello, Mr Grant, how are you?

Busy, Jason, as always. What can I do for you, son?

Well I got a metal detector for my birthday, and I wondered if I could try it out in your fields? I’d be very careful, I’ll make sure all the gates are shut and I won’t make a mess.

Sure you can, Jason, but remember – if you find a bag of gold coins I want to know about it!

Thanks, Mr Grant. I’ll let you know if I find anything valuable.

Smiling to himself, Jason walked past the barns and the out-buildings, then crossed the road towards the fields. Closing the gate behind him, he stared at the un-ploughed field and wondered which would be the best place to start. The field was separated from the others by hawthorn hedgerows on two sides, and a stone wall on the third. The distant fourth side appeared to have a fence with a gate leading to a wooded area. Jason thought that might be a good place to start; people often liked to sit in the shade of the trees, so he might find some lost coins there. He marched across the field to the far corner and switched on the detector. Walking slowly the length of the fence, he moved the machine from side to side, listening for any sound which would indicate that metal was present. Nothing. Perhaps he was too near the edge. Stepping about a yard away from the fence, he began searching the ground again. Swinging the detector backwards and forwards, Jason again walked the length of the fence. Not a sound. As he started his third search, a yard further in, the machine started to click. Excited, he took out his trowel and started to dig, then stopped as he unearthed a shiny bottle top. Nothing special about that!

For about an hour he continued to criss-cross the field, each time moving further towards the middle. As the sun got higher and the morning warmer, Jason began to feel thirsty. He sat down in the middle of the field and took out his bottle of water, pushing the metal detector away from his backpack. As he did so, he heard a faint click, then another, and forgetting about feeling thirsty he jumped up and again picked up the detector. As he swung it towards his backpack, the clicking grew stronger, so out came his trowel again. As he dug carefully into the earth he spotted an old rusty nail, and then another. Placing them inside his backpack, he picked up the detector and was surprised to hear it still clicking on the same spot. He decided to dig deeper, and went down several inches when he touched something hard. Probing with his fingers he felt around, and found he could grip onto whatever it was with his thumb and forefinger. Gently but firmly he started to ease it from the earth, and sat down with a bump as he freed it from its dark grave. It was an old horse-shoe, solid and heavy. He rubbed away the soil and clay, then took out the two rusty nails he had found and pushed them through the holes, clearing away the solids accumulated from the earth. He picked up his little brush and began cleaning away the dirt from the old horse-shoe. When he was satisfied, he took out his handkerchief and began to polish the dull metal, rattling the nails as he did so. Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash of light, a strong whoosh of wind, and he felt himself rolling over and over as if he were rolling down a steep hill. He closed his eyes, covered his head with