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their trunks and branches swayed. Huge black storm clouds were gathering
    towards the west. Standing by the iron railing, Gabby shivered involuntarily.
    ‘Daniel, you’re bloody hopeless,’ Kristy said into the hole.
    ‘Kristy, get me out of here. Please!’ There was a terrified edge to the boy’s voice.
    And now another strange noise added to the sound of the wind—a kind of soft, distant whelping that made everyone look up.
    ‘What’s going on?’ Jamie said. A bird screeched overhead. ‘What was that? Hey, this place is getting too creepy.’ The wind gusted, howling through the island’s trees, sending sand stinging into their faces. The soft noise in the background sounded ghostly. ‘Hurry up and get him out,’ Jamie yelled.
    Kristy leaned over the edge and tried to reach Daniel. ‘I can’t reach him. You try, Jamie.’
    Thunder rumbled across the sky, low and threatening. ‘No way. He’s the idiot that fell in. He can get out himself. I’m outta here.’ Jamie dropped his shovel and ran.
    ‘Jamie!’ Kristy called. ‘We can’t leave Daniel down in the grave.’
    ‘Too right we bloody can. He’s the one who broke through into the coffin,’ the boy yelled.‘He’s the one to blame. I told you this place was spooked.’
    Down in the grave, Daniel whimpered. ‘There’s bones down here,’ he called, pushing himself against the far corner.
    ‘Jamie’s right, you know, Daniel,’ said Kristy, standing up. ‘You’re always the one to ruin things. Maybe this will teach you a lesson.’ She looked up at the others. ‘We’ll see you around. Maybe.’
    ‘You aren’t leaving him?’ E.D. was outraged.
    Kristy gave him the finger and ran after Jamie.
    ‘Kristy?’ Daniel’s voice was pathetic.
    ‘Hang on, we’ll be right down,’ Hannah said, kneeling at the edge of the hole.
    ‘There was some rope in our boat. I’ll get it.’
    Angus looked at the dark clouds sweeping across the sky as he ran back to the boat. At first he thought the sudden darkness was making it hard to see where they’d stowed the boat. And then he heard laughter.
    ‘Hope one of you can swim, mate,’ Kristy called, laughing loudly. Jamie rowed while Kristy held up the rope of Angus’s boat so he could see that it was being towed away. Angus watched them for a few moments then turned away angrily and ran back to the cemetery.
    At the graveyard, E.D. had carefully clambered down into the pit. The remains of a wooden coffin lay scattered about and he tried to avoid looking at the skeleton lying beneath it.
    ‘What the hell happened?’ he asked.
    Daniel shook his head. ‘We’d dug out a bit of earth and then we hit wood. We thought it was the coffin. So I leaned over and started pulling at the wood. But it wasn’t the wood from a coffin; it was the wood from the roof of this bloody vault. And I went straight through it and came down and landed on the real bloody coffin. And there are bones.’ His voice dropped to a whisper. ‘Small bones. Maybe kid’s bones.’
    ‘E.D.,’ Angus called. ‘They’ve taken both the boats.’
    ‘Geez, great friends you’ve got,’ E.D. said, shaking his head. ‘Climb up onto my shoulders.’
    E.D. squatted down and helped Daniel clamber up onto his shoulders. Using the side of the grave for balance, E.D. slowly straightened. With his legs trembling, E.D. stood tall, his hands clasped around the boy’s ankles.
    ‘Can you reach?’ he called, staring at a wall of dark earth. The smell of damp, sandy soil, just centimetres from his face, tickled his nostrils.
    ‘Here, grab my arm,’ Angus said, reaching in. As E.D. lifted, Angus pulled. Daniel’s head and then his shoulders appeared over the rim of the grave. Hannah bent down and helped Angus haul him out.
    ‘Geez, thanks,’ Daniel said, falling to the ground. ‘My leg feels really bruised.’
    A loud crack of thunder burst overhead.
    ‘Time to find us some shelter,’ Angus said, leaning over into the pit to help E.D.