Read Murphy & Mousetrap for Free Online

tried to loosen up, but before he had time to stretch his neck or even clap his stiff hands together, Albert sprang away from the others and sprinted back toward the net. The ball made a direct line in front of him as if it were tied with a string to the end of his shoe. Before Murphy had time to wonder how Albert kept the ball so close, the ball left Albert’s foot like it had been fired from a cannon and zoomed straight toward Murphy’s head. Without a thought, he raised his hands to protect his face, only to find the ball once again lodged in his hands.
    â€œGreat save, cousin!” Jeff hollered.
    Albert grabbed the ball, spitting words through his teeth as he ran away, “You won’t be lucky three times, peewee.”
    It felt like the ball had smashed every bone and strained every muscle that was holding Murphy together. One more hit like the first two and the ball could kill me, thought Murphy. He repeated his plan to himself: When the ball comes toward you, jump out of the way. It was a simple plan, but so far it hadn’t worked.
    Moments later, the boy with big front teeth and glasses stole the ball, pulled away from the other boys and ran straight toward Murphy. He had plenty of time to line up and shoot the ball into the net far from where Murphy was standing. Murphy would have had no hope of stopping it. Instead, the boy stopped right in front of Murphy, swung his leg back and kicked the ball with the force of a logging truck. The ball spun through the air so fast that Murphy had no time to move.
    Murphy raised his hands. He had no other choice. He was paralyzed with fear and his body felt too broken up to get out of the way. For the third time, he caught the ball, but this time it was coming his way so fast thathis legs flew up in the air, and his head hit the ground. Black spots turned into total darkness and quiet settled around him except for the sound of bees in his ears. Shiny gold and silver shapes passed in front of his eyes and turned to gray. Soon the shapes turned into boys leaning over him and staring into his face.
    Murphy shook his head, and the darkness drew back. He looked at his hands. The ball was still glued between his fingers.
    Once the boys saw his eyes open they began slapping each other’s hands.
    â€œWow!”
    â€œWhat a save!”
    â€œYou’re great!”
    Jeff bent down and pulled the ball out of Murphy’s hands. Murphy rolled over and pushed himself into a sitting position. Thick muddy water soaked into his pants and shoes. He staggered, dripping wet, back to the center of the net. His head felt light, as if it was not completely attached to his neck. His hands, arms, fingers, legs and knees felt like they belonged to someone else’s body.
    And it wasn’t over yet. Each time Albert or the boy with big teeth and glasses ran toward the net, they looked Murphy right in the eye and fired the ball directly at him. If they had aimed at the net, they would have got a goal with every shot. That’s how Murphy found out they had a plan. Their plan was not to get a goal. It was to hurt him.
    Albert took two, three, four, five shots, and each one spun like a meteor right into Murphy. The boy with big front teeth and glasses did the same thing. Each time, Murphy thought about jumping out of the way, but he didn’t have enough time so he blocked the ball with his hands. And each time he raised his hands to block the ball, it got stuck between his fingers.
    When the game finally came to an end, the boys pounded him on the back. “You’re a great goalie!” they said, and, “You must have played soccer before.”
    Albert grabbed the ball. “You were just lucky, peewee,” he said. And the boy with big front teeth and glasses said, “Wait till next game.”
    Murphy tried to keep up with Albert, Jeff and Danny on the way home, but his legs wouldn’t move quickly, and his knees couldn’t remember how to