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| The Cabin on Stilts |
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Some say it's haunted. Now, mind you, I don't say that, but I've heard a lot of folks talkin' 'bout it and the time those two brothers went out there fishin' and only one of them came back. It seems to me, it's just a simple case of drownin', but some folks think different. |
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| The story goes that these two brothers, Morton I think their name was, yeah, Tom and Billy Morton, went out to this old deserted cabin that was built on stilts over a century ago right out in the middle of this big bay. Well, they went out there to do some fishin', just like any other kid would do given his chance. And there weren't no way of gettin' to the cabin 'cept by boat, or by wing, but I ain't knowed anybody that could fly 'cept Old Fred back in...well, that's another story. The cabin weren't much to look at: it hadn't been painted in fifty years and all the winders were shuttered and nailed. But there was one thing good about the cabin: you could sit on the front porch and drop your line right in the water without even casting and yank them fish in all day. Now for a fella like me, that don't enjoy workin' no harder than I have to, that's ideal. |
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About two hundred feet south of the cabin was another cabin, but it didn't have no porch to fish off of, so not too many people went over to it. But the lack of people was more than made up for by all the pelicans that flew around and roosted on it. Every mornin' a row of the big birds would be sitting on the roof with expressions on their faces like Stan Laurel, the fella in the movies, after being yelled at by his fat buddy. Them pelicans would just sit there for hours until another would come over and want one of the resting places on the roof or one of the docking posts what used to hold up a dock. Then the smallest pelican would be bullied into the air to make room for the newcomer. The whole thing was sort of a game of musical chairs between Stan Laurels and bigger Stan Laurels. Come sunset, the big birds would all head for this one island where all the pelicans went at night. There they'd gather until the next mornin' when they'd start their game again. |
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| Well, back to the story. Seems these Morton boys had gone out to the cabin to do some fishin' and they'd forgotten to tie their boat up tight and it drifted away from them without them noticin'. Come time to leave, they discovered that their boat was gone. Billy, the youngest, musta been about seven or so, he started cryin' and raisin' a fuss, but his older brother calmed him down and told him everything would be all right, even tho' I imagine he was perty scared hisself. Tom, the older boy, musta known that it was too far to swim, but I guess he figured there weren't much choice, so he took off his clothes and started swimmin' to shore. Billy watched his brother until he could barely see him but still kept watchin' when Tom blended into the blue and disappeared. Billy had a lotta faith in Tom. Tom had teached him practically everything he knew and he knew that Tom succeeded in everything he tried. Billy figured he had nothin' to worry about, he'd be saved when Tom brought help. |
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It seems Billy sat lookin' at the horizon all day and into the night and still didn't see no boat comin' to rescue him. But he knew Tom would make it, so he waited.
Billy woke up the next mornin' and saw Tom's body bumping up against one of the docking posts. He was all covered with seaweed 'cause he was right in the middle of the current that carried all the trash that the shrimp fishermen pulled up with their nets. Billy just stared at him for a while, tryin' to figure out what Tom was doin'. He even thought about jumpin' in and playin' the game with Tom, but he was afraid the water was too deep. He finally got tired of watchin' Tom, so he baited a hook and started fishin'. He knew it wouldn't be long now, since Tom was back already. |
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A couple of hours later he heard a boat approaching on the other side of the cabin, so he ran around to meet it. The boat docked, and Billy jumped in. The man in the boat asked him how he'd got clear out here without a boat, and Billy told him it had drifted away. Billy couldn't decide if he should tell the man about Tom, 'cause he was afraid he'd get Tom in trouble. 'Sides, he figured that Tom had swam to shore and back once already, so he could do it again. So when the man asked if he was alone, he answered, "Yes."
The motorboat roared off as the pelicans on the uninhabited cabin raised their wings, then lowererd them again when the boat went in the opposite direction. |
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The next morning, the big birds were atop the cabin on stilts and the game of musical chairs was in full swing. The current had finally pulled Tom out to sea.
Now, I ask ya, does that sound like a ghost story to you? |
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POSTSCRIPT
"One death is a tragedy. A million deaths is a statistic."
JOSEF STALIN |
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NEXT SHORT STORY = TWO SIMILAR GAMES ON DIFFERENT SCALES
TO MY WRITINGS & THOUGHTS MAIN PAGE
TO MY HOME PAGE
E-MAIL |
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