The words I Love You were carefully printed on the slate.

“Oh, you bad thing!” said Becky.

She slapped Tom on the hand. Her face blushed pink. But she looked a little pleased, Tom thought.

At noon Tom and Becky slipped away from the other children. They met in the lane behind the schoolhouse. Then Tom asked Becky a question.

“Was you ever engaged, Becky?”

“What’s that?”

“Why, engaged to be married.”

“No,” replied Becky.

“Would you like to be?” asked Tom.

“I guess so. I don’t know. What is it like?”

“You don’t like anyone but me. Then we kiss, and that’s that. You walk with me coming to school and going home. I choose you at parties, and you choose me.”

Becky thought being engaged sounded nice. She whispered “I love you” in Tom’s ear. Then they kissed.

“I never heard of being engaged before,” said Becky.

“Oh, it’s ever so jolly!” replied Tom. “Why, me and Amy Lawrence—”

“Oh, Tom! You’ve been engaged before!”

Becky started to cry.

Tom tried to comfort her.

“I don’t care for anybody but you.”

But Becky wouldn’t listen. She was hurt and angry. Tom didn’t know what to do, so he left.

Chapter Three
Murder at Midnight

As planned, Huck arrived at Aunt Polly’s house at midnight. He gave the secret call—a cat’s meow. Tom quietly sneaked out his bedroom window, and the boys headed to the graveyard to cure warts.

The graveyard was on a hill about a mile and a half from the town. The boys entered through an opening in the crooked fence around the graveyard. A soft wind moaned through the trees.

Tom was afraid it was the spirits of the dead telling them to go away. His heart beat faster as he and Huck looked for Hoss Williams’s grave. Hoss had just been buried. The boys needed to chant magic words over the dead cat when Hoss’s spirit was released!

“I wish I’d called him Mister Williams,” whispered Tom. “But everyone called him Hoss.”

“You gotta talk about the dead with respect,” agreed Huck.

Hoss Williams’s grave was at the far end of the graveyard. The boys stopped to rest behind a big tree near the grave.

Suddenly Tom heard muffled voices. He grabbed Huck’s arm. Could it be the spirits of the graveyard?

Huck heard the sounds too. The boys clung together. Tom felt a chill run through him right down to his bones.

“Those are spirits for sure, Tom! What’ll we do?” whispered Huck fearfully.

“I—I dunno,” replied Tom, his voice shaking. “Maybe they won’t see us.”

“Tom, spirits can see in the dark, same as cats. I wish I hadn’t come.”

A light came into view.