The Earthworms stood at the entrance to the Willow Creek Cemetery.
It had just stopped raining.
Now the last drops dripped from the tree branches.
Gray fog drifted through the evening air and settled over the graves.
"Ooh," said Luke. "Spooky!"
"Yeah!" said Katie. "Like a scary movie! Waa-haa-haa!"
"Why didn't we come in the daytime?" asked AJ.
"BECAUSE," said Emily, "in the daytime, we might run into another scavenger team."
"Now if there are no more questions, let's get busy," said Katie.
"We have to check all the old graves."
Emily looked at AJ.
"Since you can't read, just sit on this bench and wait."
AJ gulped. "By myself?"
"You'll be our guard," said Luke.
"Call us if you see anything strange."
"Waa-haa-haa!" said Katie again.
"And here—hold on to the bag," said Emily.
"Wait," said AJ. But the three Earthworms disappeared in the fog.
AJ shivered and sat down on the bench.
He put the scavenger bag on his lap.
He listened for voices.
"Here's one from 1952." That was Emily.
"Here's one from 1943." That was Luke.
"1917." That was Katie.
The voices floated further and further away.
Then everything was still.
Near the bench where AJ sat was a block of marble.
AJ tipped his head back and looked up.
A gloomy marble lady stood on top of the block.
She was looking straight down at AJ.
"Mind your own business," said AJ.
He moved to the other end of the bench.
He tapped his toes.
He whistled a few notes.
Then he slowly raised his head.
The marble lady was staring right into his eyes.
AJ shivered and looked away.
"Why did they leave me alone?" he thought.
"I'm an Earthworm too."
Then he heard a voice.
"AJ," it called. "AJ . . ."
"Hello?"
"Aaay-Jaay."
"Who's there?" he whispered.
"AJ! Over here! Bring the bag!"
AJ jumped to his feet.
"Emily!" he shouted and ran down the pathway into the fog.
He found the Earthworms at the edge of the cemetery near a dark grove of pine trees.
They were gathered around an old gravestone.
"This is it—1859," said Katie.
AJ stared at the stone.
"Now that we've found it, what do we do?
Put it in our bag?"
"HA!" said Katie.
"No, silly," said Emily to her brother.
"We make a crayon rubbing."
"We better hurry," said Luke.
"The sun is going down fast."
Katie unrolled the paper.
"Luke and AJ, hold the top."
She held out her hand to Emily. "Crayon, please."
Katie placed the side of the crayon on the paper and began rubbing.
The words on the gravestone began to appear:
EMILY
DEAR WIFE OF
AJ looked over his shoulder.
"Did you hear that?" he whispered.
"There's something in the trees."
The Earthworms listened.
"I don't hear anything," said Emily.
"Neither do I," said Katie.
She rubbed some more.
EMILY
DEAR WIFE OF GEORGE WATSON
DIED
APRIL 29,
"Now I hear it!" said Emily.
"Something is moving in there!" Katie looked up.
"It's laughing!" said Emily.
"No—it's crying!" said Luke.
"It's the marble lady!" screamed AJ.
"WHO?" cried the Earthworms.
"Never mind!" cried AJ. "Let's go, Katie!"
"We have to finish!" said Luke. "We need the year!"
Katie rubbed the crayon for the final time.
EMILY
DEAR WIFE OF GEORGE WATSON
DIED
APRIL 29, 1859
"Got it!" cried Katie. "Let's get out of here!"
The Earthworms ran, slipping and sliding on the wet grass.
"The bag!" cried AJ.
Emily ran back and grabbed the bag.
"Wait for me!" she screamed.
The Tornadoes jumped out of the pine grove.
They were laughing their heads off.