During school the next day, Tim told his two cousins, Hollis and Elvin, about what he had seen. He was surprised when they told him they had heard the same tale his sister had told. They told him they didn't believe it, though.
“Dead people don't come back,” said Hollis.
“You were imagining things,” said Elvin.
It annoyed Tim that they didn't take him seriously.
“I'll prove that something's there,” he told them. “Come over after school and go with me to get the cows. I'll bet you two dollars that something is by the tree.”
“You're on!” said Elvin.
“Right,” said Hollis.
They all shook hands to seal the bet.
His cousins hadn't yet arrived by the time his father told Tim to go get the cows, so he had to cross the pasture alone. He looked at the tree as he passed by, but no man appeared. He saw his two cousins in the distance coming down the road. He knew they'd be there soon. Now money was riding on this bet, and Tim did not intend to lose. His cousins were going to see a ghost by the tree, even if he had to pretend to be the ghost himself.
He ducked behind the tree and stepped out as the cousins got close. They stopped in their tracks, and Tim could see their faces turn white. It was obvious that they were really frightened.
“He was right,” gasped Hollis. “It's a ghost!”
“Yeah,” said Elvin, “but he said there was only one ghost. Why are there two? Let's get out of here!”
They turned and ran back the way they had come without looking back.
Tim was puzzled. He couldn't figure what they were talking about when they said two ghosts.
Tim looked at the other side of the tree, and there stood the ghostly figure he had seen before.
Tim raced down the hill and rounded up the cows faster than he had ever done before. Hollis and Elvin were waiting at the house for him when he got there. They were all so frightened that they agreed to call off the bet.
Mr. Dutton wasn't quite convinced that they had seen a ghost, but after some consideration he decided to turn the cows into another pasture. Tim thought it was the best decision his father had ever made. The cows seemed to agree. From then on, they came to the barn by themselves when they were called at feeding and milking time.
A Boyfriend's Warning
The Gentrys were Roberta's relatives on her mother's side. One of the Gentry girls told this story at one of our neighborhood storytelling get-togethers.
Ruby and Doug had been in love since grade school. It started as puppy love, but it grew into a strong relationship, with each completely devoted to the other. Doug gave Ruby an engagement ring when they graduated from high school, but they didn't set a wedding date because Doug had received his draft notice and had to go fight in World War II.
Ruby thought they should be married before Doug left for training, but Doug wanted to wait until he returned.
“I don't want us to marry and then have to separate when I have to go off right away. When we get married, I want us to be together forever. I want to be there to take care of you always.”
“You always take good care of me,” said Ruby. “I have a feeling we shouldn't wait.”
Doug, along with Ruby's parents, convinced her that it would be best to wait and get married when Doug had served his time and got discharged. When they said good-bye, Ruby had a terrible feeling that she would never see Doug again.
After Doug left, Ruby was lonely. She decided to get a job and save some money so that she and Doug would have a little nest egg to start out on when they got married. There weren't many jobs available, but Ruby was lucky to find employment. She was hired as a waitress in the Magnolia Café, and she was good at her job because she liked meeting people.
The weeks turned into months, and she and Doug wrote to each other faithfully. Slowly, Ruby was able to push her fear of never seeing him again into the back of her mind.
Then Doug's letters stopped. The gnawing fear came back in full force. Ruby's parents and friends tried to give her reasons not to worry. They reminded her of top security in certain locations and that mail was censored or not forwarded at all. In her heart, though, she knew they were wrong. Then her fear was confirmed. A telegram informed Ruby that Doug had been killed in action.
The body was too mutilated to be viewed, so he was buried in a closed coffin. Ruby had been right. She never saw Doug again after the day they said good-bye.
Ruby was inconsolable. Why hadn't she believed her feelings? Why hadn't she insisted that they be married? At least that way she would have been his wife for a little while. Maybe they would even have had a child. But now she was completely alone. Her parents couldn't get through to Ruby through her grief. She felt she no longer had a reason to live. She wanted people to leave her alone. She only went out of the house to go to work.