He had vanished!

The summer days drifted by, and the boys eventually forgot their fears.

One day Tom wanted to look for buried treasure. Huck was all for it.

“Where is treasure hidden?” asked Huck.

“On islands or in rotten chests under dead trees,” replied Tom. “The best place to find treasure is under the floor of a haunted house.”

“Who hides it?”

“Robbers,” said Tom. “They hide it so they can get it later. Then they forget where they hid it or they die before they come back. So it’s there for the taking!”

“If it was me,” said Huck, “I wouldn’t hide it. I’d have a pie and soda every day. And I’d go to the circus! I’d spend it all and have a good time.”

“So would I,” agreed Tom.

Huck and Tom spent the next few nights digging under dead trees. But they had no luck.

“We’ve got to try the haunted house on Cardiff Hill,” said Tom.

Neither boy liked the haunted house. But their dreams of treasure were stronger than their fears. The next night the boys walked the three miles to the haunted house. They brought a pick and shovel and found a dead tree in the yard. The boys started digging.

After a while Huck asked, “Do robbers always bury treasure as deep as this?”

“Nearly always,” said Tom. “Sometimes they bury a dead man with the treasure. Just to keep an eye on it for them.”

Now Huck was really nervous.

The boys dug and dug. They chose one spot after another. They worked and sweated but didn’t find a thing.

Suddenly Tom dropped his shovel.

“Let’s go inside the house! I’m sure the treasure is buried there.”

“I hate haunted houses, Tom,” said Huck. “Ghosts live there. They peek over your shoulder and grit their teeth. I couldn’t stand it.”

“But, Huck, ghosts always look like blue lights. And nobody’s ever seen blue lights in this house. Besides, ghosts only come out at night. We’ll come back during the day.”

“You know haunted houses are just as scary during the day,” said Huck. “We’ll try the haunted house if you say so. But I think we may be sorry.”

The next day Tom and Huck walked back to the haunted house.

“Looky here, Tom, do you know what day it is?” Huck asked.

Tom counted the days of the week on his fingers. It was Friday. Nobody ever messed with ghosts on a Friday!

“Sorry, Huck,” said Tom. “I didn’t think about that! A person can’t be too careful.”

“It just popped into my mind,” Huck replied. “We can’t go into the haunted house on a Friday. There are lucky days and unlucky days.