Chocolate Lies Part 3

"Can’t be. Are you serious?" asked Shirley. "It must have been terribly exciting to walk with him and gather information."
"Wow. You must be brave," said Paulette. "Very brave."
Marie smiled thinly.
Annie looked at the others while she wiped ice cream from the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "To think, we have a relative of Hitler walking in our midst, trying to hide out from the government. Right here in Hershey!" She turned to Marie. "Listen, honey, I’m sorry we ever thought anything different about you. I mean, after all, you’re the big city girl from Philly. But really, this kind of espionage is...is..."
"Like you were doing spy work," said Cathy. "And you know, my dad was even talking about reading about that Hitler relative in the paper. And that Hitler runaway was supposed to be much older, too! You got it right. Think of it - Dietrich Hitler, relative of Adolph himself."
"Well, I didn’t say I knew that for sure, Cathy," countered Marie. "I just said that it seemed awfully suspicious."
"Come on, Marie! What are the odds? You hit the nail on the head, girlie." Annie slid off the stool and jumped nervously. "Marie, I want to be the first to apologize. I am truly sorry for suspecting you of anything. Goes to show what happens when people jump to conclusions."
"Me, too. I apologize, really I do," said Paulette earnestly. The other girls shook their heads and lowered their eyes shamefully.
"Listen, girls, I want to repeat that I don’t know for sure, okay?" Marie said nervously. "It’s just that Dietrich and his father...or grandfather...well, they..."
"Don’t need to say anything else," interrrupted Cathy. "Look, we should act like Christians, huh? I mean, we’ve already made one mistake in jumping to conclusions. I think I can speak for all of us when I say that this will remain our secret."
"Okay, that’s good, keep it a secret," said Marie, but as they headed toward the door, she couldn’t shake a deep, sickening feeling.
As her mother pulled up, the girls walked off in the darkness, waving to Marie. "Don’t worry, we’ll keep it a secret!" They called after her.
They didn’t keep it a secret.
By the time Marie and her mother pulled into the driveway, the phone was already ringing. "What is going on?" demanded Grandad. "Has someone started a war right here? This is the third call that I’ve received, demanding to know why I’m harboring a Nazi. What are they talking about?"
Marie groaned in fear. Her mother looked at her sharply. "Marie, what is this all about? What have you said?"
Marie opened her mouth to answer, but was distracted by the headlights of other cars pulling into the orchard on the far side of the field. "The worker’s huts!" Marie cried, breaking into a run. Grandad a grabbed a flashlight and followed along with her mother, the three of them running down the neat rows of trees toward the worker’s huts at the end of the lane. By the time they arrived at the collection of cabins, four cars were shining their headlights on the cabin and more cars were pulling in.
"Second hut! I seen him go in there once before!" cried someone in the darkness. The flashlights aimed toward the hut and someone honked a horn loud and long.
"No! Wait!" shrieked Marie. A shadow y figure of a man marched up to the steps and pounded on the door with a heavy flashlight.
The door opened slowly and Dietrich leaned out slowly, wearing a pair of jeans and a ragged undershirt. The lights were directed into his face, but before he could shield his eyes, the crowd could see the scarred face and the crumpled nose. A few people gasped and one voice cried out in disgust.
"You! You the Nazi?" Marie recognized the voice as that of Shirley’s dad.
Dietrich looked confused. "Bitte. Please, explain what is going on," he said nervously.
"Hear that? Did you hear? He spoke German!" cried a woman’s voice.
"You," said Shirley’s father, self-importantly. "You, boy, are you the German kid that has been hiding out here?"
"Hiding?" Dietrich stepped out on the porch. "I have not hidden anything. I work for Mr. Warwick, every day this summer that he needs me."
Grandad stepped forward. "That’s absolutely true, Miller. He’s been a faithful worker for me and has caused me no reason to believe he’s anything but a great guy who’s had some hard breaks." Grandad turned and faced the people next to the cars. "Johnson, Bulger, you too, Gaydos...all of you! You can ask the young man questions, but I will not have a kangaroo court on my property. Understand?"
"Someone’s already called the cops, Warwick," called a voice from the back.
"And it’s a good thing, too," growled Grandad, clenching his teeth. Marie fought back a sob.
"Wait!" The voice was Cathy’s. "Marie told us that he wouldn’t give his last name, and that he was shielding an old man. Daddy, that’s what she told us. Just get him to answer that."
Dietrich began to step off the small wooden porch.
"Don’t move any further, boy," said a voice from the darkness. "Just answer. Why don’t you give your last name?"
A look of pure humiliation spread over Dietrich’s face, surpassing the confusion and fear he had shown. He looked down and gulped visibly.
"Answer us, boy," called a voice.
"Okay! I will answer! " Dietrich fought back the tears. "It is because of my father! Yes, my father...when we arrived at Ellis island, I thought my father would change. I thought that being in this Christian land would change his thinking and the way he treated my brother and me. Before, in Germany, he was cruel. As the money became less and the food was scarce, he grew more angry...he would make us live in fear. He thought Hitler would give us the answers we needed, but though there was more food, there was more fear. Yet when we escape Hitler to find freedom and joy in America, he grew worse. It was alcohol." Dietrich drew a hand in front of his face. "It was my little brother he grew most angry with. One night, he got a horse whip to hit my brother’s back. I got in the way. He struck me many times, especially here. " He stepped into the full power of the headlights and pointed toward the scarring on his face. More people gasped. "I was almost blinded, but hatred was even worse. My father’s name was Hundesauger. I vowed I would never use that name again. And I never have repeated it, until now, for you."
The crowd grew silent as Marie buried her face into her hands and wept deeply.
"Wait a minute. The papers said something about the Hitler relative being an old man, " said Shirley’s father. "And you have an old man in there. Explain that, boy."
Dietrich’s jaw stuck out as he looked around. "This is a Christian society, ja? I have heard that is what America is. Then you as followers of Jesus could help me." He spun on his heel and stepped to the front door of the hut. With a few brief German words, he called the man to come to the door. The lights all shone on a shriveled person blinking fearfully.
"Something’s wrong," remarked Marie’s mother. "That’s not a man. Th-that’s a..."
"Yes, Mrs. Warwick, you are correct. It is not a man." Dietrich drew the little person toward him. "This is my little brother Alec. He has what researchers call progeria. It is a mutation that makes him grow old. So old, in fact, that doctors told us that he ages ten years for every one year I age. It is a genetic problem, they tell me." He looked down at the little bald-headed boy clutching him and whimpering. " It is called Hutchinson-Guilford progeria syndrome. You see this seventy year old man here? He is actually eight years old. He cannot stand much noise or many people, so I must give him quiet... until the time... well, you know. Doctors give him five more years at the most. "
As the police car pulled up, there was not a sound among the people. A few turned quietly to go home, but Dietrich and his brother did not move.
"I came here to find peace, to find God outside of the four walls of a cathedral," said Dietrich. "I have been treated well by Mr. Warwick, and I figured that despite my ugliness and my brother’s condition, we can stay for a while and learn. Learn about tugend...goodness. Learn about God." He wiped away a tear. "We learned much tonight, bu not about God, for He could not be happy with this. No, He could not." He helped his brother up the steps into the house. Marie sobbed openly.
Dietrich turned and faced the silent dark crowd. "Tonight you wished to find a monster. You only needed to look among yourselves." He walked in and quietly shut the door. The policeman never even got out of his car, but slowly pulled away. Within two minutes the place had no cars around.
Dietrich did not answer the door the rest of the night despite Marie’s repeated pounding.
The next morning, Marie found the hut empty. Dietrich and Alec were gone. The only thing left was a bag, half-full of chocolate candy.

Incident at Jupiter Lighthouse Part 1

I brushed the sand off my jacket and pointed with my cane. “They say the man was struck by lightning as he tried to signal a ship. Some say on a stormy night you can still hear him scream, right from the top of the lighthouse, miss.”

Anna clung to her grocery box and shivered slightly. “What a terrifying history for such a little town with the strange name of Jupiter.” She was a fairly tall redhead that was about sixteen years old, but even though she was fairly skinny, every one of the young men in this town took notice right away. Well, that wouldn’t be too hard since in this town there were only three boys near her age. The town’s kinda small.

Her eyes squinted in the Florida sun as she peered at the lighthouse across the water. I could see her shiver. Her name was Anna Elizabeth and she was a sad creature, never smiling since the moment I met her. Good reason for it, though. Her daddy had been killed in a battle - I think it was Bull Run something or other - and though her mother tried to keep food on the table, they eventually left their home in Hannibal, Missouri. It was hard for Anna Elizabeth but the famine after-effect of the War Between the States didn't leave many options.

I pushed my hat back. “You like your new home, Miss Anna?” I asked.She turned toward me and shrugged. “It has it’s quirks, Mr. Burl. Mother knew it would need repairs when she bought it from my Aunt Nel, ” Anna told me as I put my cane in the rowboat. “A few of the windows are broken and the chimney is clogged up so much that we cannot use it but we’ll soon fix it with the money we have. I got this delivery job to help out a bit. Now, sir, tell me, “ She pointed at the island. “Are there spirits in that lighthouse?”
I ignored the question. “Ah, you’ll get to fix things up soon enough, miss,” I said as I eased myself into the boat and held out my hand for her. “So now you have some groceries to deliver to our mysterious lighthouse on the tiny island, eh? Come on then, rowing is the only way to get there. Bannister and his son work on it.”

“Isn’t that scary for them, Mr. Burl?” She took my hand and stepped in, placing the box of groceries carefully on the bottom of the boat. She sat and wrapped her arms around her knees, staring at the tall structure across the water. “Doesn’t your preacher deal with the lighthouse demons?”

I shook my head as I took up the oars. “No regular preacher in our town yet, miss. Only a circuit rider once a month. Besides, Bannister and his boy can handle themselves. The Jupiter Lighthouse might have a terrifying past, but the two of them have never seemed frightened by it.”

Anna looked up and squinted. “Still seems lonely. That lighthouse is over a hundred feet high, I’ll bet.” She shielded her eyes from the sun. “I see someone working at the top. A young man.”

I nodded as I rowed. “Ah, you’ve got good eyes. That would be Raleigh Bonaparte Bannister, an easygoing boy who lives and works with his pa. Just the two of them. Moved here to this section of Florida about a year after the Civil War ended. Nice boy, tough as a mule.” I pulled hard on the oars and we came to the shores of the little island. “You’ll need to deliver the groceries up to the top of the lighthouse, since Ral’s pa goes out fishing during the day and the house is locked. Are you afraid of heights?”

“No, sir, not if it means I lose this delivery job.”

I chuckled. “Good answer. Go, now, you’ve got quite a climb. That’s a pretty tall lighthouse. Go through that stand of trees and you’ll see the doorway.”

Well, Anna carried those groceries and climbed that reddish tower of over one hundred feet in hardly any time at all. Anna stopped at the top of the stairs and saw Ral as he slowly wound the steel cable around the lighthouse mechanical spool, his thick forearms bulging with the effort. Ral’s strength was nearly equal with any man along the Florida Atlantic coast; in fact, many people were surprised that the lighthouse keeper’s son was so young. He had the chest and shoulders of a man much older and stronger.

“Hi. I have your groceries,” said Anna, placing the cardboard box on the floor.

Ral turned around quickly. “Who are you? Never mind, you’re just in time. You got our groceries? Good. Watch this, “ said Ral, grinning as he ran over to the box. “I’ve been waitin’ to show somebody this, but the timing had to be right.”

“What do you mean, ‘timing’?” asked Anna.

“Well, I needed some one up here to watch it,” said Ral, turning and pointing over the railing. “And someone right down there to be my target.” Anna saw the small cluster of men at the base of the lighthouse, chatting and smoking pipes. When she looked back, Ral was carefully handling an armload of eggs.

Anna reached out her hand. “I don’t think you should- “
But it was too late. Ral had lobbed the half-dozen eggs into the air.

Ral watched the trajectory of the eggs carefully. “I kinda did some calculating and figured that if I let them out just right, they wouldn’t hit the side of the lighthouse.”

Anna saw the eggs splatter with surprising force on and around the clutch of men below. They leaped and yelled in surprise before looking up and shaking their fists. Ral leaned against the railing, laughing helplessly.

“I suppose you think that’s funny,” said Anna coldly as she saw one man vigorously rubbing yolk from his arm. “But where I come from, you don’t waste good food on some foolhardy joke.”

Ral laughed and wiped his eyes on the back of his sleeve. “Yeah, well, I don’t know where you come from.”

Anna shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. I meant to say, wasting good eggs during these hard times is wrong. Those eggs could have fed a family.”

“Well, that’s your view of things,” Ral said, still chuckling as he went back to the steel cable. “But around here, you take advantage of a situation when you can get away with a good joke, no matter what you gotta use to get a punch line.” He grinned at her. “That’s the view from Jupiter.”

Anna smiled thinly. “The town or the planet? Both ideas are equally far off.”

Ral shrugged his shoulders, gripped the cable and started to pull. “Whichever you want to figure. It’s my decision, it’s my choice, and as a matter of fact, this is my property.” He nodded his head toward the stairs. “So why don’t you take your fancy ideas, your red hair and gangly legs and get out of here?”

Anna spun on her heel and stomped every step on the way down the lighthouse. As mad as she was, though, she stopped when she saw the moldy wood-rotted casket propped just below the last steps of the staircase. Part of it was chopped open. She ran without turning back.

----------------------------

Anna didn’t see Ral for a week or so, when she had to make another delivery. She stepped out of the boat and saw Ral and his father talking. Anna approached them from the eastern side, unsure if she wanted to face this sassy boy again. She figured she could just leave the groceries at the bottom step and leave, but she was unnerved by that broken casket nearby. For a reason she couldn’t explain, she darted into the stand of trees near the doorway. She put down the box and peered through the branches.
Ral and his pa were sitting on a tree log, rubbing their forearms and breathing heavily. Ral seemed especially worn out. I might tell you that Ral and his pa shared the chore of oiling the lighthouse mechanism and cleaning the lamp itself. However, Ral alone bore the back-breaking work of winding the cable of the 250 pound lead weight around a cylinder - he had to do that so that it could drop slowly and keep the light rotating. That’s the way the light beam would swing around, you know.

“Mornin’ folks.” It was a deep voice. Anna saw a muscular man with a neck as thick as a tree trunk approaching, with two heavy-set men behind him, one bald and one with yellow hair. “We’s looking fer a man who sells a recipe.”

Ral’s eyebrows rose and he grinned widely. “‘Recipe’? There ain’t no cooks here, mister. Just me and my Pa. The nearest eating place is at least ten miles down the road.”

Pa lowered his eyes and spoke in a low tone. “Hush, son. It’s me they want to talk to.”

Anna retreated back deeper into the trees as she saw Ral shake his head. “Pa, this ain’t the right –“

The yellow-haired man took a step forward. “Sonny boy, best you shut yer mouth. Children are see’d and not heared.”

Pa looked up and set his jaw. “Mister, I’ll be glad to talk with you peaceable-like, but if you ever tell my boy to shut up, I’ll slap you so hard your clothes will be outta style.”

The yellow haired man’s eyes widened as the bald man giggled, but the thick-neck man scowled. “We ain’t here to talk about manners, we’s here to get some recipe. Now, old man, you got some or not? We boated a long ways to get here.”

Pa rubbed his chin, thinking. “Lemme think on this.”

Anna let out a small gasp. Was Ral’s father a moonshiner?

Ral stepped forward. “Pa, you promised. No more…”

And that’s right when the yellow-haired man balled a fist and caught Ral on the side of his head with a clout so hard that it knocked Ral clean off his feet. The two other men in the back laughed while Ral lay there, shaking his head and blinking his eyes.

Pa lowered his head mournfully. “Mister, I sure wish you wouldn’t a done that. Now you’re gonna have to pay up.”

The yellow -haired fellow turned and stuck out his chin. “Who’s a’gonna whup me? You, old man?”

Pa shook his head. “Nope.” He pointed at Ral. “He is.”

The man turned and looked at Ral getting up slowly and setting his feet level again. The man bellowed out a laugh so hard that it seemed to ring in the treetops.

Let me just say that it was the last laugh heard from the man while he was on the island.

Anna gasped as she saw the young man fly into those men, fists slamming in lightning-quick speed and with locomotive force. The bald man was sent spinning into the wall of the lighthouse. Shocked, Anna stepped back even more and her heel bumped against a crate hidden within the branches. She looked down, expecting to see bottles or jugs – that was the way of many a moonshiner, to hide things in small ditches or secret caches.

But she didn’t find liquor. What she did see made her scream out loud.

Incident at Jupiter Lighthouse Part 2

I was rowing toward the island when I saw the last part of the fight. For the sake of delicacy I will not go into detail of the fight Ral took to the yellow-haired man, but may I summarize it by saying that the poor soul ended up flat on his back in his boat. I can honestly say he never laid another punch on Ral whatsoever. For all of his trouble, the yellow-haired gentleman ended up with two black eyes, a chipped tooth, a bloody lip and his shirt tore clean off. As he lay in the bottom of the boat, the only noise he made was a low soft moaning sound, the kind you make when you stuffed yourself too hard during the Thanksgiving meal.
“Shouldn’t a done that, mister, it got me riled up,” Ral said, dusting off his hands. “You brought it on yourself, though.” The two other men glared in amazement, and Ral turned to face the bald man. “Mister, my fire’s just getting’ hot. Are you thinkin’ of goin’ a round or two?”

“No problem from me. You – you’re not normal, boy,” he said nervously.

But the other man quickly stepped toward Pa with his knife drawn. “Boy or no boy, nobody’s gonna try to...”

He finished his sentence in a choke, because Pa’s lightning-fast hand had gripped him around the collar, tightening it with a speed the man had never seen before.

“Truth to tell, my family’s kind of learned the art of fightin’ from the hills of Tennessee,” said Pa as the man fought for breath. “The boy here’s the strongest one, but as much as I hate to brag, I still rule the roost on quickness. As small as I am, mister, I ain’t never lost a fight, so I’d advise you re-think your position.” The man nodded slowly as Pa took his knife from the man’s hand and threw it in the water. “Truth be told, my moonshining days is over, and I don’t like bein’ reminded of it. I’ve had a change.” He shoved the man toward the boat. “Maybe someday I’ll tell you about it, but not right now. Yer always welcome here, but your attitude ain’t. Fix it, an’ we’ll have us a coffee on the front porch.” His eyes narrowed. “But if you come here with any motive outside of a friendly visit, just remember, I’ve got a mean streak that’s put me in jail more’n once. Think on that. Now git on out of here.” He glanced at the darkening sky. “Rain’s comin’. Try to beat the storm. Git.”

Clouds gathered overhead and the wind picked up as the boat pulled away with the big man still groaning and the two other men rowing as hard as they dared. The groaning man glanced at the rising waves but shot a look at Ral liked he’d be back to get his revenge.

Ral shrugged. “Sorry, Pa, but that yellow-haired man got the drop on me...”

The wind whistled through the tree branches above Anna. She leaned against the wall of the lighthouse, shivering violently as she glanced at them. In all the fighting, they never heard her scream.

Old Bannister saw me and waved. “Never mind that, boy, we got company. Mr. Burl is gracing us with his presence, so see what he needs. I got me a bit of a cut when I grabbed that knife away from the trouble-maker, so I need to go patch up and wash off the blood before I head to the market to sell my oranges. Load my boat with those boxes of oranges an’ let’s beat the rain, eh?” He turned and walked away quickly, heading to the bucket around the back of the lighthouse.

Ral rolled up his sleeves, happy that his father had chosen a new path. The change from moonshining was a dramatic one. He had secretly seen Pa at the top railing of the lighthouse with his feet dangling over the side, leaning his forehead against the railing and reading the Bible …

Ral stopped and looked at me. “Did you hear a sob…? A girl’s sob?”

I nodded and pointed through the small trees. There was Anna, leaning against the lighthouse wall with her hand over her mouth.

“What are you doing here?” he asked angrily. “Sneaking around on people isn’t highly thought of in these parts.”

Anna gasped out from between her fingers. “On that wooden box there… that’s a dead person.”

“A what?”

“Th-that face… his eyes are blank… look! Someone’s been killed…”

I ran over while Ral stooped and pulled apart the branches. Raindrops splattered on the upturned face of a crumpled body sprawled atop a crate. Anna cried out aloud. “What is it you do on this island?” She pushed past him and ran for her boat.

“Wait!” Ral stood up straight and turned toward her. Anna ran past me and sprinted for the shore. She knew she couldn’t outrun Ral, but she dodged toward the bushes along the shore, hoping to get lost in the shrubbery.

It was no use. Ral quickly overtook her and grabbed her arm.

“Let me go!” She screamed flailing at him with her free hand.

Ral grabbed her other hand and held it firmly. “No! Listen! I don’t know where it came from!” He stammered. “I- I’m serious. It’s - ”

Anna held still but still spoke sharply. The rain fell steadily. “How could a body lay in the trees right next to the lighthouse, and you not know about it? And what about that casket inside the lighthouse, under the steps?”

Ral scratched his head. “What casket?“

“Oh, don’t play the fool with me! I heard how your father threatened those men. Do you have the same murderous streak in you?”

“Wait. Hush. Be still,“ Ral said, taking a deep breath. “Look.”

Hands thrust through the bushes and parted the branches. A waxy-looking grayish face poked out from among the leaves.

“He’s alive!” screamed Anna.

“Well, that’s a sight better comfort that if he was dead,” said Ral. “Now hush.”

The man did not stir any further, but rolled his eyes to the sky, letting the raindrops spatter on his face. “Yes, child, I am alive and yet I can see the dead.”

“Who are you?” demanded Anna.

The man ignored her. “I have traveled afar and have learned many things. “

I rubbed my chin. “How did you get here, sir? Haven’t I seen you before?” I asked.

The man turned his eyes toward Ral. “Old man, I travel where I please and arrive in the manner of my choosing.” He pointed to the lighthouse. “This is the tower that calls the spiritual forces of the nether world, and it is my destination. By its side, I can predict the future.”

“Aw, you couldn’t do that,” said Ral, but he didn’t sound too sure of himself.

“Indeed I could,” said the man. “I have. I shall.”

“How can we know that you’re telling the truth?” asked Anna.

“Because,” said the man, “I am the Truth.”

“You can’t be,” said Ral.

“Why can’t I be?” said the man as he looked up again. “What is there in your world that is a reliable standard? You and your father claim to be people of peace but you just showed unnerving violence. You invent your own right and wrong.” He reached over and picked an orange from the ground, biting it right through the skin
“Well, “said Ral uneasily, “you just can’t become the whole Truth of the world just because you say so.”

“Oh?” said the man. “And you throw eggs down on people because you think it’s humorous? You assume the authority on what is acceptable and what is not?”

Ral blushed but Anna spoke up. “What is your purpose here?”

The man nodded. “And I’ve seen you, missy, moving into this town with your mother and taking up residence where you have no right.”

Anna sputtered. “My mother bought that old house!” She turned to me. “Who is this man, Mr. Burl?”

I squinted. “I’ve heard of him. They call him the Prophet. Be careful.”

“Well, I can’t have him acting as if he could tell if I were worthy enough to live in this town,” retorted Anna as she wiped the rain from her face.

“I have the authority. I have the power, “ said the man.

“Yeah?” challenged Ral. “Give me proof.”

The man raised his finger to the now-black sky as juice dribbled down his chin. “I predicted the hurricanes of the last two seasons within the correct hour, and the fire season outbreak within one day, saving many people’s existence. I searched long and far for the Fates to show me the gift of life itself, how the universe opens and closes the door.” He lowered his finger and pointed at Anna. “And I came to rest beside this tower to tell you the door will be closed for you.”

Anna’s knees began to tremble as he spoke. The pale man raised his hands as the lightning flashed. “If you insist on staying in this town even one more night, then put your house in order, young woman. By morning the town folk will be sobbing as they see you lifeless on the main street of Jupiter lighthouse. I brought the casket. It awaits you inside the walls of this tower.”


-----------------------.

Incident at Jupiter Lighthouse Part 3

Well, the rain kept coming and you think that would cool things down a bit. But the truth was, Ral was hopping mad. He brushed by me and headed toward the man known as the Prophet. “You got a mighty big nerve, mister…” said Ral.

Undaunted, the man stepped from out of the bushes and pointed. “My word is the authority. I have seen the heavens streaked with fire, and the sun turned to sackcloth.”

I waved my hand. “Any one of us has seen a meteor shower and an eclipse, my good man.”

The man held his two upraised hands toward the sky. “But ah, have you brought life to parched earth, such as I have?”

Ral hesitated.

The man nodded. “No, you wouldn’t be so foolish as to touch one who has been anointed.” He turned and pointed to Anna. “Hear it from me! Lest you turn from this island, yea and this town as well, then you will surely face death. Hesitate not! If you should delay one moment after this sunset, the spirits will surely snatch the breath from your body!”

Pa came around the corner, wrapping a towel around his hand. He looked up at the group. “The bleedin’s stopped. Say, what’re you doin’ standing in this rain, girl? And who are y-.” He glanced at the pale man.

“Why are you here on my property?” demanded Pa. “Take your spirits away.”

The man shook his head. Ral looked perplexed. “You know this fellow, Pa? He’s the one they call the Prophet?”

“That is true, son,” said Pa. “He’s done some incredible things, I hear.”

“I go where I wish,” said the man simply.

Pa glanced at Anna and pointed at me. “You know, Burl. Tell them.”

I nodded. “He was over in Coastville on that flat piece of dry land at the edge of town, where nobody could grow a stubble of anything. No rain for two months, mind you, when he came into town. He stayed out there at night, raising and waving his hands in prayer, people watching him bless the land.” He looked directly into Ral’s eyes. “Within a few days grass and some flowers grows up there, as sure as I’m standing here.”
Ral nodded. “I remember. Word was all over the town. And he’s been here at the edge of Jupiter on that small hill at the far lip of the town property, doin’ the same thing for the last two days. People been watchin’ him, say he’s got some Great Northern mysticism in him.”

The man closed his eyes and raised his hands. “I have the authority of the heavens. And I’m saying that this girl’s habitation is wrong! Both she and her mother are an intrusion upon the peace of this city! Would you have an outside come in an upset the spirits who wander the streets of Jupiter?”

The rain was letting up. Pa glanced over at the shoreline. “Company comin’. Someone’s rowin’ this way. They must have seen this prophet fellow from across the water.” The rain had slowed down to a drizzle.

“Leave, I repeat,” said the Prophet. “You face certain doom if you don’t leave.”

“But why?” sobbed Anna. “Why me?”

“You are not a native of the land, “ said the man, “nor do you have the rightful household. Think of it! A household with no man to oversee the ways of the home! Disgraceful. It’s not the way of the land.”

Ral shook his head. “The girl’s pa died during the war. Surely you can’t blame her for that.”

The man tapped his head. “I see and know things you cannot imagine.” He turned and faced Anna. “Hear me! That homestead is tainted by the likes of this fatherless child and her transient mother! Away with them before the nomadic spirits take offense and create a terror to the town!”

“Listen! Listen!” shouted a voice from across the waters.

It was Ned, the constable, waving his hands. His neighbor Gorline was rowing toward them with all his might.

“What is it, Ned?” shouted Ral’s father.

“The townspeople ran up and told me as we were pulling for shore! Everyone’s been talking about it!”

“Talkin’ about what, man? Speak up,” demanded Pa.

Ned stood up in the boat and waved his arms impatiently. “They’ve all seen it. The dry hill where the Prophet’s been praying. The one where nothing’s grown in over three years! Well, it’s changed. It’s covered with grass! And there are flowers!”

Everyone turned and looked at the man. He narrowed his eyes and pointed at Anna. “I have displayed my spiritual power, girl. Now get your body off this land before the sun sets, or you’ll be another grave occupant in Sutter’s Cemetery.”

“No!” Anna screamed and stomped her foot in the sand. “No! You can’t play God and command people here and there, even if you can do strange things. There is an Absolute Authority in this universe and He’s who I’ll answer to, not some mystic who makes incantations! We’re staying here.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Hasn’t my mother suffered enough? Don’t you have any kindness in your heart?” She looked around. “Don’t any of you?”

Ral stepped forward. “Anna, you won’t need to worry. I’ll make sure that nobody bothers your house…”

Pa nodded. “My son and me will protect you…”

Ned stepped forward. “Ah, no you won’t, Bannister. As constable, I’ve been sent over here by the people of the town to find out about you attacking some innocent men earlier today.”

Raleigh blinked. “Why those men weren’t innocent. One of ‘em attacked..”

Ned raised his hand. “Could be nothing, Ral, but my job is to see that the laws of the town are upheld. We just need you to come to the town jail and have a few things to say to the judge.” He set his jaw. “It’s not like you haven’t had run-ins with the law before, Bannister.”

Pa shrugged. “True enough. And now my sins are visited upon my son.” He nodded. “Okay, Ned, we’ll come along.” He looked at Anna. “We’ll see if we can be released soon, my girl. That Prophet means some scary business.”

----------------------------

Night had come. The full moon shone on the main street of the little town. Anna sat on the wooden bench next to the jail window and handed Ral a cup of tea through the bars.

“Thanks much. Fightin’ can work up a powerful thirst in me,” Ral said, gulping the tea. He stopped, realizing what he said. “Say, uh, Anna, I’m really sorry about the fight that you had to see…and, well, I’m really sorry about getting’ smart-mouth with you… and throwing the eggs…”

But Anna wasn’t listening. Her eyes were fixed far off in the distance. “Raleigh,” she said quietly. “What would you do if you knew you had one more day to live on this earth?”

He grinned. “Fill up on bread pudding, first of all…” He then became thoughtful. “Well, now, I believe I’d get my affairs in order.”

“What affairs?”

Ral shook his head. “Don’t know. I just heard someone use that phrase once and I thought it sounded good.” He drained the last drop of tea and handed her the cup. “And what would you do?”

Anna closed her eyes. “I’d be getting my hello’s and good-bye’s lined up.”

“What do you mean?”

Anna shifted and put the cup next to the teapot. “I would stop by everyone I know and give them a sincere good-bye and let them know – good or bad – what influence they had on my life while I was here on Earth.” She looked up at Ral. “And I would be preparing my first hello in heaven. I’ll be saying it to Jesus.” She looked away. “I want to have the right words to say, so I need to think it out.”

Ral leaned his elbows on the jail’s window sill. “And you think this day is your last on earth because of what the Prophet said?”

Anna stared at the lighthouse for a moment then shook her head. “No.” She turned to Raleigh. “No. This is where my talking faith becomes a walking faith.”

Ral’s eyebrows raised. “What do you mean?”

Anna saw Mr. Bannister come to the window and put a hand of Ral’s shoulder. “Come on, son, the constable says we might get free as long as we promise not to go pounding on any more people. But we’re a-going to have to convince the judge, who wants to see us right now. There’s three prisoners aheasd of us, but we gotta get in line.” He looked out at Anna. “Sorry, miss, but we won’t be outta here till way past midnight.”

Anna smiled. “That’s all right. I’ll be okay.”

“Your mother is out of town, so why don;’t you just stay at your aunt’s house tonight and we’ll sort this Prophet mess out in the morning?” asked Ral.

“No,” said Anna. “If there are spirits or demons that want to challenge the faith I have in Jesus, then now’s the time for them to make their play.” She stood up. “I’m staying in that house tonight. I’m not leaving that house. It’s our home.”

Before Ral could answer, Anna walked off into the darkness.

-------------------------

Incident at Jupiter Lighthouse Part 4

Anna was alone in the house. The wind was whipping and screaming through town. Anna buried herself inside her covers and prayed.

Dear Jesus. I have placed myself where I put my complete trust in You. It is more than a Sunday service, more than a social gathering. Since my call for salvation last year, I have not placed You as first in my life. Now I’m giving up any human effort and emotion and laying it within Your power.

The wind groaned and screeched for what seemed like hours. Every creak of the old house seemed like a demonic claw ripping at the planking.

“Jesus, protect me,” cried Anna aloud.

A muffled wind shot down through the clogged chimney with a whuff-whuff sound. It was a noise Anna had never heard before. She sat up. A branch slapped at the window pane in a panicked rhythm. The back doorknob rattled and shook.

Anna gripped her blanket but prayed boldly. “I call upon your protection from the spiritual enemies, Lord. I quote Your Word: ’Greater is He that is in me that He that is in the world,’” The back door shook violently and then heaved on it s hinges.

The door exploded open and a dark horrible beast rolled and writhed into the room. Anna fumbled for a light but the grunting, growling beast smashed against the nightstand and knocked over the matches and a candlestick. She shrunk back against the wall and saw the creature roll and pitch about, knocking chairs over and slamming into the walls. It had more than four feet. It had more than one head.

The beast slashed about on the floor, but Anna realized as horrible as it seemed, she had no fear.

“It’s not going to hurt me,” she said firmly. At that point she knew. As God was her father, He was her Shield. It was more than just talk, now. It was more than memory verses or a social label.

This beast would not hurt her. She knew now that she was a child of the King.

The shadowed beast let aloud a cry of pain. It flailed about wildly and crashed into the pantry.

A burst of footsteps rattled across the back porch and old man Bannister leaped into the room. I followed him.

“Come on, Burl,” yelled Bannister. “Hurry up with that light. You,too, Ned. Git that lantern shinin’ in here.”

The constable and I both entered the doorway and held high our lamps. The light fell upon the beast on the snarling beast on the floor.

“I tell you, he’s a-killin’ me,” cried the creature. “Git him off me and I’ll give up.”

Old man Bannister dove for the window and threw it open. I squinted at the thrashing form on the floor.

“Quit yer gawkin’,” yelled the beast, “ and turn him loose of me. He’s tearin’ me up.”

The constable’s light also illuminated the room. That’s when the mystery of the beast was answered.

It was no multi-limbed beast with two heads.

It was Ral in a vise-like grip on the yellow-haired man, wailing away at him like a combination of leopard, wild boar and mother bear. He was pounding the daylights out of the yellow-haired man, who was howling in pain.

“Okay, okay, young Raleigh,” the constable called. “Let him up easy-like and we’ll grip him good.”

Anna breathed a sigh of relief. “An intruder. Then it wasn’t a demon after all.”

“Yep,” said Pa,” but demon-influenced, no doubt. And here’s the influence.” He pulled hard at something in the window opening and to my amazement, pulled a man bodily over the sill. “Here’s the answer to your problem, Miss Anna.” He held up the man by the collar. It was the Prophet. “Standing here, a-peekin’ through the window.”

The Prophet tried to gather some dignity. “I tell you, this situation-

“Hush,” I said, turning to Bannister. “A pretty fair scheme to scare Anna away. But why?”

Ral lifted the beaten man to his feet. “A false prophet trying to play God. That’s a mighty serious thing to do, and he had a reason.” Ral squeezed the yellow-haired man’s shoulder. “Care to explain, mister?”

“Don’t say anything,” demanded the man who claimed to be a prophet.

“Ah, it’s all over,” huffed the yellow-haired man. “We was tryin’ to scare the girl and her mom out of this house.”


“You know how he got that grass to grow? He wasn’t doin’ any praying,” said Ral. “Remember how he kept people at a distance while he was flailing his arms and wailing?”

“Yes, the folks all kept a respectable distance from that property, thinkin’ it was sacred of somethin’,” said the constable.

“Well, he kept them from that ‘sacred ground’ because he was slingin’ wet grass seed all over the place,” said Ral. “An’ after I got suspicious, I came up there late at night last week and happened to spy on him giving the ground a bit of a sprinkle with a bucket of water.”

“That so?” remarked Pa.

“The reason they didn’t want you to stay in that house is because of the chimney,” said Ral.

“The chimney?” asked Anna. “The chimney? I cannot see how a chimney would be that valuable.”

“It’s not the chimney itself, Anna,” said Ral, grabbing a crowbar and heading to the hearth. “it’s what’s stuck inside it.”