Out of the Frying Pan

Grandpa's Encounter, Part 2

My brothers and I were by this time, totally mesmerized by the story. As Grandpa sang and played his fiddle, he increased and slowed the tempo with the tale and startled us with each resounding thump.

We sat perfectly still as he continued.

“That’s when I noticed that there was something in the bushes across from me, just where the light ended so I couldn’t make out what it was. But I could see the movement and could hear the rustling; it sounded as if something was pacing back and forth. I looked at the well and read the sign that was hanging above it. It said, ‘Welcome traveler, may this water bless you and give you strength on your journey. May God be with you, keep you, and guide you.’

“Again, an inner voice spoke to me as I leaned against that well. Drink to find your strength. There was a dipping gourd hanging on the side and the bucket had already been lowered. I leaned my stick up against the well, never losing sight from where the sound came from the bushes. I cranked the handle to bring the bucket up and whatever it was just across from me seemed to get more restless with each turn. The bucket made its way to the top so I reached in and pulled it to one side and set it down on the stone wall that surrounded the well.

“Still I kept my eye on that now totally dark area where the sounds could still be heard.

“I unhooked the dipping gourd from its peg and dipped it into the bucket, then drank deeply of the water I drew out.

“The thing began to thrash the bushes, even more so when I filled the gourd again and drank more. This time, before I was finished, I flung what was left in the gourd in the direction of the sound.

“All I can tell you is, the moment I flung that water, whatever it was ran fast and hard, faster than anything I had ever seen or heard of. I could easily follow the sound of its movements and it was over the crest of the hill in seconds.

“It occurred to me that I should fill my canteen and my carbide lights with the water from that well. After doing so, I lit my lantern and I don’t know, but it seemed to me that it was much brighter than it ever had been before. I picked up my stick and returned to the road. I paused there in the dark, but heard nothing and saw nothing. I even backtracked a little way to see if I could see any footprints left by the creature when it came up onto the road.

“I found them. They were not foot prints, not paw prints. They looked more like hoof prints. That wasn’t the strangest part about them though. They were made by something that had only two legs. The other thing I wondered about was why it didn’t come up on the road sooner.

“That voice inside of me said It walks only in the shadows.

It hadn’t been quite dark earlier. I was relieved that the source of light on that lonely road happened to be a house of God.

“I never saw the thing, so I can’t tell you whether it was a devil, demon, or just some kind of freak of nature. All I know is, the next day, which was my day off like I mentioned, I came back in broad daylight and I couldn’t find any prints. The dirt road was clear with no traces whatsoever to be found anywhere. Now don’t get me wrong, I know folks had been through there, probably in wagons, but that still doesn’t account for not even finding one. You would think at least at the road’s edge there’d be some trace of the prints I’d seen the night before, but they were well and truly gone.

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“I went back over to the Corner Church, to the well, trying to get my bearings on just where I had heard the sounds coming from. I looked at the bucket and even the gourd was still right where I had left them. I could even see my own footprints there.

“I had my canteen with me so I filled it up, then put the bucket back down in the well and hung the gourd back on its peg.

“Then it hit me. My footprints were clearly visible here at the well, but down back there at the road, the thing’s tracks were gone and so were mine. It was making me wonder if the thing came back and wiped them out with a tree branch or something. I know I was tired from working all those hours and a tired mind can play tricks on you, but I would know if I was trying to hide tracks and I didn’t. Mine should have been there.

“Now I was getting mad. There was one more place to look, in the woods across from the Corner Church.

“I guess I was ready. I had my canteen full of church water that must’ve been blessed, and just in case, I also had my rifle. So I took a deep breath and headed into the woods.”

...To be continued...