Summary: It started as an October pinecone, but I couldn’t stop. A little bit spooky but nothing to keep you up at night — probably.
Rating: PG  Word count: 1430

Ghostly Miracle

It was a miracle. At least Joe thought about it that way. His oldest brother, so serious and logical had shocked him with his answers to a question. On a pleasant late fall evening, the brothers were sitting around a campfire after having worked hard all day. Leaning back on a deadfall, Adam and Hoss sipped coffee from tin cups. Both were quiet. Joe wandered around the campsite unable to relax. There were some odd noises in the distance that had unnerved him. Worried, he decided to joke around a bit and ask his older and more mature brothers a question to help settle his nerves.

“Hey, do you guys believe in ghosts?”

“Now why would you ask a question like that. Could it be the darkness that looks like it could swallow us all up? Or is those sounds that are making you wonder if there’s a wounded animal out there that might think a little scrawny guy like you would be easier prey than an elk? Or maybe you’re worrying that those are Paiute calls as they sneak up on us and of course, which one of us has the best scalp to take?”

“Adam, cut it out. I was trying to have a decent conversation. You don’t have to always be such a smart mouth.”

“Little brother, think on it this way. Maybe older brother only thought on those things so fast cause he was worrying himself.”

That got a chuckle from Joe and a scowl from Adam who had no other response. Proud of himself for that, Hoss continued.

“As for myself, I only believe in what I can grab or touch, eat, drink, or rest on. Things that don’t have any substance don’t exist except for God and angels of course.”

Hoss had answered immediately. He challenged Adam to give a real answer to Joe’s question. Adam was strangely silent. There was no flippant answer. There was no sarcasm. Instead, he stared into the darkness with a look that said he was thinking not talking. Hoss decided to prod him a little more.

“Hey, Adam, you don’t believe in spooky things, do ya? That answer you gave before was just to avoid giving your real thoughts, wasn’t it?”

“I don’t believe in spooky things. I don’t believe in ghosts, but I should. They have been chasing me my whole life.”

When he said nothing more, both younger brothers waited until the silence stretched their patience to breaking. Joe was first.

“What do you mean by that?”

“I know they can’t be real. Logic tells me so. But I see them. In my dreams, I see them. In the dark like this, I hear them. When I’m scared, I feel them at my back holding me up so I don’t break. I must be hallucinating, but then I think I can’t be because everything else is real. Like now, Joe, you’re real, and Hoss is real, but the ghosts are out there, and they seem real too.”

Hoss had been hanging on every word.

“Who are these ghosts you think are real?”

“Mother, Ma, Mama, Grandfather, Mary Coffee, friends I have lost, men who worked for us and died, Paiute warriors, and all sorts of other people I have known.”

Unable to hold back, Joe blurted out his thought about Adam’s answers to his question.

“It’s a miracle!”

Although Joe meant it as a serious observation because he never expected such an answer from his logical, practical brother, he could see that Adam thought he was making fun of the answers. To lighten the mood, he decided to go with that.

“Yeah, a miracle that you think that many people care about what happens to me.”

Hoss was wondering though if there was truth to what his older brother had said.

“What are they telling you tonight? I mean, what are they saying about those odd noises out there?”

“Oh, that: there are just some coyote cubs happy their mama brought home some juicy rabbits for them to eat and now she’s letting them play. She knows there aren’t any big predators in the area except us, and we’re no danger to her cubs. Usually, you wouldn’t hear them especially when it’s dark. That’s what makes it sound so unusual.”

“You’re kidding us.”

“Yeah.” Hoss agreed with Joe’s assessment.

“You made it all up.” Joe was sure.

“I did?”

“Of course you did. You tell tall tales all the time. You’re better at story telling than anyone I know. Heck, Hoss and I even talked some about how you should write some of those stories of yours in a book. It would be great for parents who aren’t so good at making up stories to tell. They could read yours to their kids. So, yeah, you’re making this all up like you used to tell us all those spooky campfire stories when we were kids or how you tell stories in the saloons to get free drinks or get the ladies’ attention. We know how good you are at telling stories.”

“You know, Joe’s got a pretty good point there. You are pretty darn good at making up stories.”

“So maybe you knew I was a little nervous and made it all up.”

“Made it all up?”

“Yeah. I think you did.”

“Then how do I know, Joe, that for Christmas you want that new pearl handled pistol in the window of the mercantile even though Pa said it looks like a dandy’s gun. And Hoss wants a set of wood carving tools? Neither of you told anyone.”

Both were shocked. He was right on all counts, but neither one was ready yet to believe in ghosts based on only that. It had been a hard workday though and falling asleep wasn’t a problem. They were on the Ponderosa so they didn’t set a guard. It was almost a fatal error. The campfire was ashes over embers when Joe felt a hand over his mouth and a hand on his shoulder.

“It’s me. Wake up. Put this brush in your blanket and take your guns and get behind the log. Hoss is already there.”

“What?”

“Just move. I’ll explain when you’re there.”

As Hoss watched their campsite over the log, Adam whispered to Joe behind the log.

“Men are coming to steal our horses. They aren’t Paiute. They’re white so they mean to kill us first. Now watch while I explain to Hoss.”

Joe watched as Adam explained to Hoss. Neither brother questioned what Adam said. They could do it later if he was wrong, but at that time, there was no point in arguing. After fifteen minutes, they began to wonder, but then they heard it. There was some rustling in the pine needles. It wasn’t much and wouldn’t have been enough to wake them, but it wasn’t normal either. They waited. Three and then four dark figures loomed above their brush stuffed blankets. Almost in unison, they fired into the blankets and realized their mistake.

“Now you can drop those weapons or die where you stand.”

Adam’s voice in the darkness had to have been shocking to them, but they still tried to fight. It was over quickly. With the downed tree as cover and ready to fire, the three brothers took out the would-be murderers quickly. Adam advised them to wait a few minutes.

“In the dark, it’s hard to tell if any of them are playing possum. Wait a few minutes and we’ll make a couple of torches to go look.”

Hoss and Adam got some large sticks, split the ends, and stuffed in pine needles. Joe kept watch over the campsite. When the makeshift torches were ready, the three walked into the campsite, lit the torches, and took a good look at the men. They were dead. They dumped the torches into the campfire and rebuilt it. They dragged the bodies off to the side planning to go look for the men’s horses when it got light. Then they took turns sleeping not knowing if there was anyone else in the outlaw group. In the morning, they found the four horses, rolled the men in their own blankets, and put them over their saddles to take them into town. Joe finally had to ask.

“How did you know?”

Adam looked at his brothers, nodded, and went back to saddling his horse. As they rode down the mountain toward town, they passed a mother coyote with a brood of three healthy young coyotes not more than a half mile from their campsite. Hoss and Joe looked at each other but said nothing.