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with him. But he was pretty sure that there was no letter-box at the tomb. And if he were to go into the vault himself, and leave the note on Rudolph’s coffin, the other vampires would be sure to wake up, and then what would happen? Tony walked more and more slowly the nearer he got to the cemetery. Finally he came to a standstill.He knitted his brows and stood deep in thought.
    “Hi, Tony!” came a voice.
    “What are you doing here?” he asked, and blinked. Before him stood Nigel, a boy from the fifth form whose nickname was “Blabber Mouth” because he was always gossiping.
    “What brings you here is more to the point,” he said, standing with legs apart and arms folded.
    “I’m ...” Tony tried to be vague. “I’m just going fora walk around here.” That was a very stupid answer, he knew, and he realized it would not satisfy Nigel, but he had not been able to think of anything better in time. He wondered if he should have told him the truth, but Nigel would never have believed him. If he had, he might have disappeared without further persuasion.
    “I’m just going for a walk around here!” mimicked Nigel with a sneer. “Can’tyou think of a better reason than that?”
    “Yeah,” said Tony. “I’m going to visit a friend of mine.”
    “Anyone I know?” asked Nigel with menace in his voice.
    “Doubt it,” said Tony cheekily, “unless you know any vampires!”
    Just for a moment Nigel was too taken aback to reply, but then he said scornfully, “Vampires! That’s a good one! I’ll think I’m at the flicks next!” He shook his head, and thentowered menacingly over Tony. “Just clear off, you! And don’t let me catch you wandering around here again!”
    “O.K., O.K.,” said Tony. “Don’t lose your cool, man.” And he went on his way, swinging the bag and whistling. Nigel must not think that he had frightened him, even if he was two forms above him. He reached the wall of the cemetery without looking back. It was painted white and so highthat Tony could only see the tops of the yew trees over it. Just before he reached the gates, he stopped and looked furtively around, but Nigel had vanished. Tony waited for another minute or two, but when still nothing happened, he opened the gate and slid inside.
    The silence of the cemetery stole over him, and he was aware of the smell of earth and flowers. Not so bad after all, thought Tony,and feeling less spooky, he walked on. If it had not been for the many crosses and gravestones, with crazy things like ‘Rest in Peace’ engraved on them, he might have thought he was walking through the park. The only odd thing was that he did not see anybody else, but perhaps Sunday afternoon was not the right time for visiting graveyards. Never mind, it was all the better for him – he could besure of not being disturbed.
    He went on down the main pathway. He had been here before with his mother, when she came to see that all was well with their relatives’ graves. So he already knew that the wilder part of the cemetery began behind the chapel, which lay ahead of him at the end of the path. He always thought this chapel looked rather cosy; it was built like a normal house, except thatit didn’t have any windows, only an enormous door made of iron. And although the chapel itself looked old and weathered, at the door hung a brand new and obviously frequently used padlock, which Tony found the strangest thing of all, because not once had he ever seen anyone go in or come out of the place.
    Today he crept past the building with an uneasy feeling in his tummy. Nothing had changedabout it, even the padlock gleamed in the afternoon sun. He wondered whether the chapel was empty. And if it wasn’t, what was lurking inside? Nothing pleasant, he decided, and was reminded of the story Night in the Morgue , which he had read not long before: a man had spent a night in a morgue in order to win a bet, and at first had thought he was alone. But when the moonlight shone in