Cape Breton's Magazine

She said, "She was the one I saw at the woodpile and at the well." She said, "Af? ter that, I didn't stay in the house alone. No matter where he went, I went. "So," she said, "we went down home, to your part of the country, for Hallowe'en. And my husband had butchered some animals and took them down, we were selling them, getting groceries for the winter, and all that. So we had decided we'll stay at home in Inverness that night. And friends gath? ered in, there was a violin player. And we had fuarag" (a mixture of cold water or cold milk and meal), "and we had stepdanc? ing, and we had sets. Lunchtime came. "So my mother sent me out to the outhouse there. It was a bright night in October. The moon was just full and you wouldn't even need a light or anything. And I took a pitcher to get some milk and cream, and a dish for the butter, I filled the pitch? er, I filled the dish with butter, turned around. The woman was standing in front of me, at the door. I'm blocked. I said, 'What in the name of God do you want?' NGlW ''/i' . ' -' t-'''-" air Bras dor THE MARITIME CONNECTION-HOME 1-800-565-9491 "'Well,' she said, 'I tried to talk to you twice, I tried to talk to your husband once.' She said, 'I promised $4.00 for Masses for my son when he was very sick, so that God would save him and leave him with me.' She said, 'You're married to him now. I never paid that money.' She said, 'You go to some priest tomorrow and give them $4.00, and I won't bother you or any? body else.' "Now. How do you refute that?" See, there's a sequel to that. I was a vis? itor. And these old horties had bedrooms off the parlour. It's something like this. You've got a parlour here, and you've got a bedroom right in there, eh? So I was put to bed--no electricity--with a lamp. And by the time I had finished my prayers, the sparks were coming out of the wick, indi? cating very little oil. And I wasn't too bloody brave--!'11 tell you God's truth-- at this stage of the game. And I knew that if anybody died, they'd likely die in the bed that I was in, and the wake would be out in the next room. Which added to the situation! They had a verandah the length of the house. So I blew the lamp out, and I pulled the clothes over my head, and I started trying to sleep. And I'm just dozing off, and I heard walking a- cross the verandah-- over, back, over, and back. Well, my heart didn't stop, but it went pretty close to it. I reached down and got my pants and pulled it up and found the--I had matches-- and lit the lamp. And just when I was about halfway across the room, the walking was going in the opposite direction. So I went o- ver and I pulled over the shade. Couldn't see a thing. And the lamp went out, I got back to my bed fast. Put it on the floor a- longside of the bed. I was just getting ready to yell out to the people in the oth? er end of the house to come down because, I said, the old lady's not finished, she wants to see somebody else. I heard, "Baaa?" It was a pet lamb! And the pet lamb was walk? ing right from end to end of the verandah. And you'd swear to God it was a woman's shoes " YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE IN THE MARITIMES 95 CONVENIENT & DIRECT ,'0-'''