Free Ghost Cave by Barbara Steiner Page A

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.
    â€œCome on, Blue.” She brushed her tail on the floor. But she sat there like she had plopped down in Elmer’s glue.
    â€œSilly 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
    P LANS R UINED
    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.
    â€œCome 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.
    â€œWhere’ve you been?” Hermie was worried.
    â€œYou 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.”
    â€œMine stopped,” Hermie said, before Marc could explain why he’d run over the time limit. “There was just a big pile of dirt.”
    â€œA 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.”
    â€œDoesn’t anyone want to know what I found?” Marc smiled. He was going to bowl them over.
    â€œYeah, what?” Eddie didn’t think Marc could top his long passageway.
    â€œA grave.”
    â€œA grave!” they shouted together.
    â€œHoly Cow! Whose?” Eddie was finally impressed.
    â€œIt must be Indian. There’s an arrow at the head. Probably Osage, probably pretty old.”
    â€œLet’s go see!” Eddie practically ran across the big room toward Marc’s tunnel.
    Bluedog barked, hearing the excitement in Eddie’s voice.
    â€œBluedog 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.”
    â€œMaybe 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?”
    â€œSure. 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.”
    â€œThe reward poster said to just find