Ghost Cave Read online

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Marc said. “I figure I can lift her up. One of you can pull her through the hole. She may not like it, but she can do it. Stretched out, she’s skinnier than any of us. You go on up, Hermie. Then lean down and take Blue’s forefeet. I’ll boost her up.”

  Hermie grumbled. “If I get stuck, you guys will be sorry.”

  “Yes we will, so don’t. I’ll never get out of here.” Eddie reached for Hermie’s hand to help him onto the ledge.

  Marc almost fell trying to boost Hermie up. Then, when Marc pushed on his rear, Hermie lost his balance and fell back, nearly squashing Marc. “Come on, Hermie. I can’t lift you. You have to help. Grab a knob of rock or something.”

  Groaning, Eddie pulled and Marc pushed. “Holy Cow, Hermie,” Eddie complained. “You’ve got to lose some weight if we’re going to do this all summer.”

  “I’m not going to do this all summer.” Hermie bellied over the ledge and into the hole.

  It couldn’t be any harder to get Bluedog through. Except that she didn’t want to go. She whimpered and licked Marc’s face as if to say, “Do I have to?”

  “Come on, Bluedog. You can do it.” Marc lifted her, leaning against the wall. Bluedog’s hind legs pushed on his chest and kicked him in the chin, but Eddie managed to lean over far enough to get a good hold. He pulled her through the hole.

  “I can’t believe I’m spelunking with a dog,” Eddie said, as he leaned back through the hole and reached for Marc. “Hold my legs,” he called back to Hermie, who had wiggled through the short crawl. “Hey, I’m glad you went on through. If you’d have gotten stuck, we’d be on this side. We could go home.”

  “And leave me here, stuck, I guess. That’s not funny, Eddie.”

  Eddie laughed anyway. Being taller than Hermie, Marc managed to jump and grab Eddie’s outstretched hands. Hermie held onto Eddie so Marc wouldn’t pull him off the ledge. Eddie wiggled backwards, into the hole, and Marc braced his feet on the wall until he could grab a rock in the opening. Then he pulled himself up onto the ledge and slid through the hole. There was a pile of dirt on the other side, so it was easy to slide down. Getting back through would be a cinch.

  Bluedog danced and barked when Marc slid down beside her. Her voice echoed, sounding strange in the hollow underground tunnels. Marc laughed. “I’ve never heard a dog barking in a cave. Good dog, Blue, good girl.”

  “Gee.” Hermie looked around as far as he could see with his headlamp. “This room is as big as the school cafeteria.”

  “Almost. I’m going to check for tunnels off to the right.” Eddie went on, not waiting for Hermie and Marc.

  “We’ll go the other way and meet you,” Marc called to Eddie. Marc’s stomach felt as if it were full of bats, wings whirring against his insides. He was certain they were going to find something neat. The cave itself was thrilling, but he wanted more.

  “Here’s a tunnel,” Hermie said with excitement in his voice. Marc hoped he was starting to forget his fear and see how much fun exploring a cave could be.

  “We won’t go in until we see what Eddie found.” Marc led the way around the big room.

  “Hey, look up here,” Hermie said pointing. “There’s a crack along the middle of the ceiling. All those rocks up there look like dinosaur bones.”

  They did. The spine of a brontosaurus. It was probably just a coincidence, but stranger burial grounds for dinosaurs had been found. Marc didn’t think there had been any dinosaurs found in Arkansas.

  “There are two tunnels over here, and one of them branches off.” Eddie reported when they caught up to him. “I’ve got an idea. Let’s split up—each of us take a tunnel. We walk for five minutes or until it pinches down, then come back here, ten minutes in all. That’ll save time and give us an idea of the length of each tunnel.”

  “I don’t want to go off by myself.” Hermie’s voice wavered.

  “Look, it’s just upright walking. If you have to crawl, you turn around and come back.” Eddie had no patience with Hermie’s fear.

  “Walk straight, Hermie. Don’t make any turn-offs to other tunnels. Map it in your mind, though. Walk straight in, straight out.” Marc thought Eddie had a good idea. And it was safe enough. “Okay, look at your watches.” Marc shined his light on his wrist.

  “You take the first one I passed, Hermie,” Eddie suggested. “It was big and wide. Not even you could get stuck. It’s probably the main tunnel. Go around those big rocks.”

  “Okay, Hermie?” Marc asked, giving his friend a chance to back out.

  “Okay,” Hermie agreed reluctantly. “Five minutes.”

  “I’ll go back over to the other end,” Marc said to Eddie. “You take this one. Don’t do anything crazy, Eddie.”

  “I won’t.” Eddie sounded disgusted. But Marc knew Eddie. He could get carried away, and if one of them got into trouble, they’d all be in trouble.

  Marc patted Bluedog and snapped his fingers, telling her to follow him. Bluedog had relaxed a little and trotted right beside Marc as he hurried back to his tunnel.

  To his disappointment, the pathway didn’t last long. It ended in a mound of flowstone—at least it was pretty. Marc shined his light so he could see the formation better. It looked like the hind end of an elephant, complete with narrow tail. It was orangy and slick where iron water had run over it for centuries. As he turned around, starting back, Bluedog began to whine.

  “What’s wrong, Blue? What’s the matter, girl?” Marc leaned down and patted her. Then he shined his light in the direction she was looking.

  The tunnel didn’t stop after all, but turned an abrupt corner beside the elephant. Marc looked at his watch. He’d been gone five minutes. He shined his light around. This was the only opening. He’d follow it a few steps.

  Bluedog didn’t want to go with him. After they squeezed by the flowstone, she sat down and continued to stare into the darkness. A chill crept up the back of Marc’s neck. He could feel those little hairs there standing up as stiff as a scrub brush. What could Bluedog see that he couldn’t? What could be in there—an animal?

  Marc didn’t think there’d be any animal in the cave unless it was a bat. Would Bluedog be afraid of a bat?

  “Come on, Blue. You’re being silly. I’ll go first.”

  Slowly Marc made his way into the smaller tunnel. His helmet scraped the top of the passageway. He stooped over, took one step, looked all around. One step, a look around. He could almost feel his ears stretching for any sound. It seemed quieter than usual, if that was possible.

  He and his dad had split up occasionally when it seemed safe, but right now Marc was terribly aware that he was all alone. He’d never had such a creepy feeling. Bluedog had made him feel this way. He glanced back. She sat watching Marc, not even smiling.

  “Come on, Blue.” She brushed her tail on the floor. But she sat there like she had plopped down in Elmer’s glue.

  “Silly dog,” Marc said loudly. He took a deep breath and turned around.

  Another step, another look. Another step, another look. About ten steps into the passageway, Marc could see far enough ahead to realize the tunnel ended. All this getting scared for nothing. He relaxed, lowering his lamp to study the floor. Then something at the end of the narrow corridor caught his eye. It was a long, rounded heap of dirt—not a natural formation.

  And at the far end, pushed neatly into the mound, was the shaft of an arrow.

  9

  PLANS RUINED

  Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat! It was a grave! An Indian grave!

  For a minute Marc stood there, staring at the grave. Then he looked closer at the arrow without touching it. The grave wasn’t big, not nearly big enough for an adult. In fact … He paced it off. Most Indians were shorter than people today. It might be someone about his age, he thought, and wished he hadn’t.

  He glanced at his watch. He’d been gone twenty minutes. He was overdue, and he didn’t want Hermie and Eddie to worry. He knew he had to go back immediately
.

  “Come on, Bluedog. It was dumb to be afraid of a grave.” But in a way, Blue had told Marc that something out of the ordinary was in the side tunnel. Thank goodness he had followed it, and that she had sensed something, whatever it was.

  “Where’ve you been?” Hermie was worried.

  “You went farther. That’s not fair.” Eddie stood up. “We agreed on ten minutes, long enough to see if any tunnel was good enough to explore later.”

  “Mine stopped,” Hermie said, before Marc could explain why he’d run over the time limit. “There was just a big pile of dirt.”

  “A breakdown,” Eddie said. “That’s called a breakdown. Maybe there was a passageway once, but rocks and dirt slid into it. My tunnel goes on and on. I’ve sat here long enough—let’s explore it.”

  “Doesn’t anyone want to know what I found?” Marc smiled. He was going to bowl them over.

  “Yeah, what?” Eddie didn’t think Marc could top his long passageway.

  “A grave.”

  “A grave!” they shouted together.

  “Holy Cow! Whose?” Eddie was finally impressed.

  “It must be Indian. There’s an arrow at the head. Probably Osage, probably pretty old.”

  “Let’s go see!” Eddie practically ran across the big room toward Marc’s tunnel.

  Bluedog barked, hearing the excitement in Eddie’s voice.

  “Bluedog wouldn’t go in there,” Marc told them as he caught up with Eddie and led the way past the elephant to the grave site. “That scared me.”

  “Maybe she saw a ghost,” said Hermie.

  Marc laughed. “Yeah, maybe so.”

  They all stood looking at the small grave. Finally Hermie let out a long, low whistle. “A real grave. Should we dig it up?”

  “Sure. But we don’t have the tools to do it today,” Marc said. “Besides, it’s getting late. If I’m not back for supper Dad will remember to wonder where I’ve been all day. He’ll ask questions for sure. And anyway, it’ll take a long time to dig this up right.”

  Hermie looked at his watch. “Hey, I forgot to get hungry. And I have to be home for supper, too.”

  “The reward poster said to just find a grave. We can save the work of digging it up by telling Professor Beslow to come in here and dig it up himself.” Eddie wasn’t one to work hard unless he had to.

  “Wait a minute, Eddie. I want to see what’s in it before we tell anyone, don’t you?” Marc asked. “I want the fun of digging it up. There might be nothing but a skeleton and this arrow.…”

  Yet Marc had a feeling there was more. A person’s belongings were usually buried with him, along with things to keep him happy on the way to the other side. He’d be surprised if there weren’t any more relics.

  “But then again, if there’s some good stuff, we can decide what to do about it,” Marc finished his argument.

  “You just want to keep it for yourself,” Eddie said.

  “That wouldn’t be fair. It doesn’t belong to me.”

  “You found it,” said Hermie. “You could keep it and no one but us would know.”

  “You’re right, but that’s not fair. All of us agreed on sharing the reward.” Eddie wasn’t going to forget about the money.

  “Look, let’s go home. It will take us a little time to get out of here. I don’t want my dad asking questions or telling me I can’t come back.”

  “We can come back tomorrow with a shovel.” Hermie had forgotten he was afraid of being underground.

  “Small garden spades, a toothbrush, a box, and some tissue paper.” Marc started to list the things they’d need. “We’ll have to dig carefully.”

  Bluedog started to bark again. She’d barked enough today for a whole month. But she sensed their excitement. She had walked right up to the grave this time.

  “I guess she wants to come again.” Hermie petted her.

  “She found the cave. She found the grave. I don’t think I’d have noticed the opening behind the flowstone,” Marc admitted. “It’s fairly well hidden.”

  “A dog for a partner.” Eddie sighed and started out. “Holy Cow, who’d have thought it?”

  “Don’t let Eddie give you a bad time, Blue,” Hermie told the dog. “You’re a good finder, and we need you on our team.”

  It was three days before they got to go back into the cave. Hermie had another dental appointment, then his mother made him go shopping with her. Marc’s dad wanted to go back to the sanatorium on Sunday, and Marc could hardly say he had something more exciting to do. He felt ashamed. It was the first time he had not really wanted to go and visit Mama. He thought she’d understand, though, if he could tell her. He hoped Eddie wouldn’t go alone. It would be just like him to do that.

  Maybe he wasn’t as brave as he acted, though, because he waited for them. On Monday they got their gear together at Hermie’s place. Marc had taken the back streets, Bluedog trotting along beside him. It was getting hotter by the day, coming around to what June was supposed to be like. That cave was going to feel good.

  All the great things they might find raced through his head. But he kept remembering Mooney’s plan to let them find something, then somehow claim it for himself.

  The three of them rode their bikes in a row at a leisurely pace, as if they had no plan for the day. Only their loaded packs suggested the adventure ahead. Somehow Marc wasn’t surprised, though, when Mooney and Otis Kruger showed up in front of them at the last street crossing before the old highway. Of all the dumb luck. Marc was getting tired of Mooney’s antics.

  Marc stopped, leaned his bike over, and took hold of Bluedog’s collar. She had started to growl the minute Mooney showed his face.

  “I never saw a dog who was a better judge of character.” Eddie stopped beside Marc. Bluedog had lowered her head and arched her back. Marc thought she’d have pounced on Mooney if he hadn’t held onto her. He didn’t know why she acted that way toward him, unless she sensed that Marc didn’t like him.

  “Going on a picnic?” asked Mooney, ignoring Eddie’s remark and Bluedog’s growling.

  “Maybe,” Hermie answered. “The wildflowers are beautiful in the woods, Mooney. We thought we’d gather some for your funeral. After Bluedog chews you up, that is.”

  “Very funny, Hermie. Don’t you think so, Otis? This kid is very funny. He could try out for the Colgate Comedy Hour on TV and come out with first place, easy.”

  “Sure, Mooney. He’s real funny.” Otis repeated Mooney’s words. His lip curled up into a smile.

  “I think we’ll go along for the ride.” Mooney backed up his bike and made a sweeping bow, suggesting that Marc and his friends could continue their journey courtesy of his generosity.

  What could they do? Maybe Marc should’ve turned Bluedog loose, but he didn’t want her poisoned from biting Mooney. He led the way down the road, insisting that Bluedog come with him. They rode leisurely out the highway toward the cave, but when they reached the turn-off, Mooney and Otis still followed. So Marc kept going.

  About a mile past the bluffs was a small picnic area. A wide pull-off from the highway overlooked the river with mountains in the distance. Mostly tourists stopped there. The scenery around Pine Creek didn’t seem spectacular if you’d seen it almost every day of your life.

  “Any ideas?” Marc said in a low voice when they were all seated at a picnic table.

  Mooney and Otis sat on their bikes at the edge of the road and grinned. Mooney pulled a weed stem and chewed on it. They knew they’d interrupted something. Obviously, riding out to picnic at the overlook at nine o’clock in the morning wasn’t Marc and his friends’ usual activity.

  “This is a bunch of horse pucky,” Eddie said. “We haven’t a prayer of shaking them. Mooney is too suspicious.”

  “They know we’re going someplace with these loaded packs.” Hermie looked inside his canvas backpack and pulled out a banana. “Might as well enjoy our rest stop.”

  Marc shook his head, frustrated. He liked his plans to ru
n smoothly. He stared out over the valley with the river in the distance. It was so clear this morning he could imagine he could see the walleye in the river.

  “We could go fishing,” he said to keep the conversation going. “Wait, I do have an idea. We don’t give a hoot if it’s night or day when we’re in the cave. It’s dark in there all the time. We’ll go tonight.” Marc lowered his voice to a whisper. “I’ll say I’m spending the night with Hermie.”

  “And I’ll say I’m spending the night with you.” Hermie caught on immediately.

  “Why don’t both of you say you’re spending the night with me?” suggested Eddie. “Pops and Gramma go to bed at dark and neither of them hears very well. We could start from my house, and no one would ever know we’d left.”

  “Let’s go back and get our suits and go swimming, then. We can lie around all day. Mooney and Otis will surely get tired of watching us after a while.” Marc led the way to the bikes, trying to keep from laughing. Boy howdy, they’d outsmart Mooney yet.

  “Get your bat, Marc,” Eddie added before they took off. “We’ll hit some flies and grounders till noon. Then the water will feel really good.”

  “I’ll bring my new Super Man and Plastic Man comics,” Hermie said.

  “Got any to trade?” Eddie asked.

  “Not yet.” Hermie puffed to keep up.

  As if it had been their plan all along, they rode back to town, split up, got their suits on, and met back at the river road east of town. They acted as if Mooney and Otis had spoiled nothing for them.

  To their surprise Mooney and Otis followed them to the river. But as Mooney sat skipping rocks in the shallow water upstream from the swimming hole, Marc knew he was getting bored.

  It was a long day. Marc got bored, too. Hermie and Eddie dozed on the old blanket that Hermie brought from home. By then they’d played ball, gone swimming, eaten lunch, read all the comics they’d brought, talked the night’s plan to death, then run out of things to do.

  Marc wished he could sleep. But his mind was turning cartwheels. He kept dreaming of the possibilities that the grave might hold. They had that fifty dollars cinched. And his father would be amazed he’d made such a discovery on his own.