Well, after about 30 minutes everyone started to leave me and go home. There I was all alone, by myself in this grave yard, sitting on a grave, on a cool and brisk dark Halloween Eve.***What everyone doesn't realize was I was well familiar with this cemetery....heck, I had lots of relatives and family friends in here. I had even cut through this graveyard many a time coon hunting. Scared?? Heck no..........but none of the big kids knew that!! ***** I also had a plan!!
Here's the plan!! After about an hour, when all was clear and no-one was around. I walked back home to get my ol bluetick coonhound-Glassy.
Glassy was an exceptional coon dog. She had won several state trials, had competed against male coonhounds and was well known among coonhunters in my neck-of-the-woods!!
The reason we called her Glassy was that she had one brown eye and one gray eye-Glassy. She could see fine and was a sweet hound. When my dad let her run around the yard and house. She would lay on the porch and wait for me to get off the school bus. She was friendly among other hounds and among other people when she sensed it was okay. If for some reason, she had in her mind that the situation wasn't good for me, she let the other people know real quick who was ready for a fight and who was going to protect me!!!
I don't know if Ol Glassy loved me, or just had a great deal of respect for me. Whatever it was.....it was mutual. When she wasn't in a pen or chained up, she went every where I went. Feeding cows, bailing hay, fishing...she and a few other hounds were there. Some how, some way, they knew it was either for fun or chores around the farm. None of them took off hunting own their own.....they knew when it was time to hunt and when it was time to hang-out.
Walking back to the house, I got a real long dog chain. The kind you have when you stake out a dog with a dog house. Attached Glassy to it and headed back to the graveyard. I had in the back of my mind those big kids were coming to scare me. I just didn't know when, but I knew someone who could see in the dark, hear them coming, and would explode like a volcano if one of them tried to get me.
Walking back to the grave yard, Glassy on her chain in front of me, she didn't act like I was taking her hunting. Not the strong pull on the chain, not the howling and barking of excitement before the hunt, just a quiet walk down the road .......waiting for the excitement that was about to happen.
Arriving at the cemetery, it must have been 9:00-10:00p.m. and I knew what lay ahead. I just didn't know when. I unrolled my bedroll, and tied Glassy to a cedar tree. As luck would have it, there was a cedar tree a few feet away. A perfect spot to hook up the chain to the base of the tree and have Glassy lay down. I changed my mind and moved my bedroll next to Glassy. No-one would know if I was on the grave or not. Heck, I was in the cemetery and that was all that mattered.
Patting Glassy and talking to her, she laid next to me and we fell asleep together. I'm not sure of the time as to what happens next. Maybe, 11:00-1:00..????
Glassy woke me with a soft growl. Not a loud growl, a growl letting me know .."somethings" out there. The same kinda growl she would give when she knew there were a few coyotes in front of us(a few yards away). The type of growl, that she wanted to warn just the both of us.....no-one else.
It was dark. The kind of dark that,when you put your hand in front of your face, there was no change in the visibility. I couldn't see the big kids, and really I couldn't hear them. But Glassy knew they were out there.
I patted her and told her"It was okay." "It was okay", she quited down but was an eagle eye looking in the direction of the kids. A few minutes later I thought I could hear the gate of the cemetery open. This time Glassy was on all four of her feet, pointing like a bird dog on quail. I patted Glassy, to re-assure her to wait. Every hair on her body was pointing straight out. She must have looked like and angry porcupine. Her tail was pointing straight up and her body language told me she was ready for business. Just like she had done many a time coonhunting, she was ready.
About 20-25 feet away from me I could hear the kids talking very softly. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I was now on my feet in a squatted position. Ready to make my counter move, to what they were going to try to do to me.
All of a sudden two kids light up there flash lights and put them close to their faces. Then all of a sudden several of the kids cried out, like lost souls in Purgatory. At that moment, they thought for sure that I was on my way running back to my house. Heck, they may have thought I had wet my pants and was crying. I know in their minds, they were laughing to beat the band.
All of a sudden, at the speed of light, in the twinkling of an eye, Glassy let out a blood curdling roar. She followed it with a few barks like she had been hit by lighting, then she flew toward those kids hitting the end of that chain like a calf being roped by a championship roper. Howling and flashing her teeth toward the darkness, those kids ran into each other. Some fell down and a couple tripped over some grave stones. All I could hear was kids screaming, yelling, cussing and one of them yelling which way back to the truck.
In a flash, it was over. It took a few minutes for Glassy to settle down and for me to quit laughing. I almost pee'd my pants, not from fright, but from the excitement and fun that, that old dog gave me at that moment!!
I calmed Glassy down and we went back to sleep. Those kids weren't coming back. Heck, Glassy roared loud enough to scare the dead!! I wasn't afraid and I dang sure wasn't afraid with her by my side.
We woke at sunrise and there was a frost on the ground. Packing up and checking out where the big kids had been. I found a flash light, a few white sheets, some tore up ground, and a gate to a cemetery wide open.
Getting back to the house, mom had coffee and breakfast ready. Dad asked me when I was going to do chores. Dad sipped his coffee and indirectly looking my direction ask me how my night was. He also mentioned that if I learned that the bigger kids would get me in trouble and cheat me out of my bet with them. I leaned back in the chair and pulled out a five dollar bill from my pocket. I had a grin bigger then the State of Texas. He then turned to my mon and told her that making money came from his side of the family.
Early Monday morning, waiting for the school bus, I wondered what was going to be said to me. No-one had showed up to see me leave the cemetery Sunday morning, so I wondered what lay in wait on the school bus.
As the doors opend and I climbed up the stairs, the bus became dead quiet. No-one said a word. I walked to my seat, the one I had walked to a million times, the one with my cousin waiting for me. I sat down, the doors closed, and the bus took off.
A few miles down the road my cousin turned to me. "How was it?" "Sorry I didn't show up on Sunday morning, I thought you would get scared and wouldn't be there." Looking at him I said"Thanks, thanks alot!!"
He asked me if I got my full ten dollars. No I had not, but I got more then the original three, I got five dollars. I knew those big kids wouldn't give me the full ten dollars, but I got five and that was as good as a million.
No-one ever spoke of what happened that night. I think I "bested" the big kids and they knew it. I didn't have to remind them what took place that night. We drove past that old cemetery every day. That was a good enough reminder for me.
The End.
My how times have changed. Who in todays world would let a 12 year old kid walk miles with .22 rifle, a flashlight, and a pack of coonhounds.
How times have changed.
Cohiba
Here's the plan!! After about an hour, when all was clear and no-one was around. I walked back home to get my ol bluetick coonhound-Glassy.
Glassy was an exceptional coon dog. She had won several state trials, had competed against male coonhounds and was well known among coonhunters in my neck-of-the-woods!!
The reason we called her Glassy was that she had one brown eye and one gray eye-Glassy. She could see fine and was a sweet hound. When my dad let her run around the yard and house. She would lay on the porch and wait for me to get off the school bus. She was friendly among other hounds and among other people when she sensed it was okay. If for some reason, she had in her mind that the situation wasn't good for me, she let the other people know real quick who was ready for a fight and who was going to protect me!!!
I don't know if Ol Glassy loved me, or just had a great deal of respect for me. Whatever it was.....it was mutual. When she wasn't in a pen or chained up, she went every where I went. Feeding cows, bailing hay, fishing...she and a few other hounds were there. Some how, some way, they knew it was either for fun or chores around the farm. None of them took off hunting own their own.....they knew when it was time to hunt and when it was time to hang-out.
Walking back to the house, I got a real long dog chain. The kind you have when you stake out a dog with a dog house. Attached Glassy to it and headed back to the graveyard. I had in the back of my mind those big kids were coming to scare me. I just didn't know when, but I knew someone who could see in the dark, hear them coming, and would explode like a volcano if one of them tried to get me.
Walking back to the grave yard, Glassy on her chain in front of me, she didn't act like I was taking her hunting. Not the strong pull on the chain, not the howling and barking of excitement before the hunt, just a quiet walk down the road .......waiting for the excitement that was about to happen.
Arriving at the cemetery, it must have been 9:00-10:00p.m. and I knew what lay ahead. I just didn't know when. I unrolled my bedroll, and tied Glassy to a cedar tree. As luck would have it, there was a cedar tree a few feet away. A perfect spot to hook up the chain to the base of the tree and have Glassy lay down. I changed my mind and moved my bedroll next to Glassy. No-one would know if I was on the grave or not. Heck, I was in the cemetery and that was all that mattered.
Patting Glassy and talking to her, she laid next to me and we fell asleep together. I'm not sure of the time as to what happens next. Maybe, 11:00-1:00..????
Glassy woke me with a soft growl. Not a loud growl, a growl letting me know .."somethings" out there. The same kinda growl she would give when she knew there were a few coyotes in front of us(a few yards away). The type of growl, that she wanted to warn just the both of us.....no-one else.
It was dark. The kind of dark that,when you put your hand in front of your face, there was no change in the visibility. I couldn't see the big kids, and really I couldn't hear them. But Glassy knew they were out there.
I patted her and told her"It was okay." "It was okay", she quited down but was an eagle eye looking in the direction of the kids. A few minutes later I thought I could hear the gate of the cemetery open. This time Glassy was on all four of her feet, pointing like a bird dog on quail. I patted Glassy, to re-assure her to wait. Every hair on her body was pointing straight out. She must have looked like and angry porcupine. Her tail was pointing straight up and her body language told me she was ready for business. Just like she had done many a time coonhunting, she was ready.
About 20-25 feet away from me I could hear the kids talking very softly. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but I was now on my feet in a squatted position. Ready to make my counter move, to what they were going to try to do to me.
All of a sudden two kids light up there flash lights and put them close to their faces. Then all of a sudden several of the kids cried out, like lost souls in Purgatory. At that moment, they thought for sure that I was on my way running back to my house. Heck, they may have thought I had wet my pants and was crying. I know in their minds, they were laughing to beat the band.
All of a sudden, at the speed of light, in the twinkling of an eye, Glassy let out a blood curdling roar. She followed it with a few barks like she had been hit by lighting, then she flew toward those kids hitting the end of that chain like a calf being roped by a championship roper. Howling and flashing her teeth toward the darkness, those kids ran into each other. Some fell down and a couple tripped over some grave stones. All I could hear was kids screaming, yelling, cussing and one of them yelling which way back to the truck.
In a flash, it was over. It took a few minutes for Glassy to settle down and for me to quit laughing. I almost pee'd my pants, not from fright, but from the excitement and fun that, that old dog gave me at that moment!!
I calmed Glassy down and we went back to sleep. Those kids weren't coming back. Heck, Glassy roared loud enough to scare the dead!! I wasn't afraid and I dang sure wasn't afraid with her by my side.
We woke at sunrise and there was a frost on the ground. Packing up and checking out where the big kids had been. I found a flash light, a few white sheets, some tore up ground, and a gate to a cemetery wide open.
Getting back to the house, mom had coffee and breakfast ready. Dad asked me when I was going to do chores. Dad sipped his coffee and indirectly looking my direction ask me how my night was. He also mentioned that if I learned that the bigger kids would get me in trouble and cheat me out of my bet with them. I leaned back in the chair and pulled out a five dollar bill from my pocket. I had a grin bigger then the State of Texas. He then turned to my mon and told her that making money came from his side of the family.
Early Monday morning, waiting for the school bus, I wondered what was going to be said to me. No-one had showed up to see me leave the cemetery Sunday morning, so I wondered what lay in wait on the school bus.
As the doors opend and I climbed up the stairs, the bus became dead quiet. No-one said a word. I walked to my seat, the one I had walked to a million times, the one with my cousin waiting for me. I sat down, the doors closed, and the bus took off.
A few miles down the road my cousin turned to me. "How was it?" "Sorry I didn't show up on Sunday morning, I thought you would get scared and wouldn't be there." Looking at him I said"Thanks, thanks alot!!"
He asked me if I got my full ten dollars. No I had not, but I got more then the original three, I got five dollars. I knew those big kids wouldn't give me the full ten dollars, but I got five and that was as good as a million.
No-one ever spoke of what happened that night. I think I "bested" the big kids and they knew it. I didn't have to remind them what took place that night. We drove past that old cemetery every day. That was a good enough reminder for me.
The End.
My how times have changed. Who in todays world would let a 12 year old kid walk miles with .22 rifle, a flashlight, and a pack of coonhounds.
How times have changed.
Cohiba
