“You have to understand, this was way back at the end of the 19th century. Most of these folks came over here from Europe, and although they were very religious, they were also very superstitious. They held onto many of the old-world ways and beliefs.”
“After my Daddy came out of the mine screaming about ‘Devil Dan’ and what went on down there, Coogan couldn't get one single man to set foot inside that mine.”
Elizabeth asked, “But what did the men do for work? They had to eat and support their families.”
Willie replied, “Some went to work in one of Coogan's other mines, some did whatever they could to survive, and some didn't survive so good. But, no matter what happened, no one would ever go back in that mine, so Coogan just left it closed. He didn’t have the manpower or money to open it, so he just forgot about it. I suspect he hoped that someday when all of the commotion died down and the stories stopped that people would be willing to come back and work the mine again. Or maybe he thought that someday he would find people from far away to come and work, who didn’t know or didn’t care about it. But it didn’t seem to ever work out and the mine remained closed. ”
“And what about your father?” she asked,” What happened to him?”
Willie continued, “As I said, for a while he went a bit crazy, drank way too much and for the most part went over the edge. But, if you remember he was just a young pup when all of this happened, so he had many years ahead of him to get over it. And as they like to say, time heals all wounds. Time allowed him to gloss over things and for the most part forget about them.
“Eventually, after a year or so, he calmed down and stopped spouting his stories. He learned that folks around these parts would just as soon forget as keep dredging up the past. And, as the years went by the ‘reality’ of what happened changed and sort of became a local legend. People can rationalize anything if you give them enough time. The deaths were all blamed on the mine collapse, the creature became a figment of my father's vivid imagination or God knows what. For a while I think my Dad actually started to believe that he might actually have imagined the whole thing himself…. For a while that was.”
Elizabeth became very curious. “For a while huh? Earlier when you said that your father recounted this story to you, ‘just before he died’. Then you hesitated for a second. I suspect there more to this story than you have been telling me. Is that true?”
Willie hesitated for a moment. “Yes ... there's more alright.”
Then he took a deep breath and continued, “Like I said, it took a while, but eventually my Dad began to live as normal a life as he could. He never went back into any of Coogan's mines. He was fortunate enough to get a job right away as a farm hand working for a local farmer down in the Wiggins Valley. And although the money was not as good as mining, he did earn a decent enough living and was able to reap the additional benefits of taking home some vegetables, as the farmer would allow him. He also got another benefit when he met the farmer's daughter.
“Eventually, when he was about twenty-one years old he fell in love with the farmer's daughter, my mother, and they married. Things were beginning to work out well for my Dad. They gave birth to me a year after they were married and my younger sister about two years later. For a while there was just us two kids. This was not a good thing for a future farm owner. Back in those days you needed lots of kids to run a farm. They tried for years to have more kids, but had no luck.
“Dad had pretty much forgotten about the mine incident and the creature or just had managed to block it from his mind. I think his mind made him forget if you know what I mean. I would hear tales around town. When I would ask him about it he just would clam up and not talk about it. He would just tell me to stay away from the mine. As I grew up I went to school and worked the farm with my Dad and my Grandfather. Eventually, I moved out and got my own place, but continued for work the family farm.”
“But back when I was about thirteen and my Dad was about thirty-five he and my Mom had a bit of a surprise. They had another baby, my younger brother, Frank. Yep, that’s right. Dad named him after his friend Frank from the mine. Thinking back, that was probably not the best idea…. especially, if you are someone who is superstitious. Frank was definitely not the best name to have.”
Chapter 25
Willie continued with his tale, “Back in the early 1920’s, when my brother Frank was about thirteen he and some friends, on a dare decided to go up and fool around at the mine. They had been hearing bits and pieces of this legend all of their young lives as we all had.
“Keep in mind that the creature had been down in that mine for over thirty some years by this time. It had more than enough time to dig itself a nice little series of tunnels down there.
“If anyone else had ever set foot inside that mine during that time was uncertain. We always assumed that some drifters or hobos might have stumbled in looking for a place to sleep and never got out again.
“Several area children had been reported missing through the years and were pretty much written off as runaways or just never heard from again. Folks never would mention the mine, but many likely suspected it might be the source of the disappearances.
“Just like last night, the area children could not seem to keep away from the mine. It was that damned legend. It attracted them to the mine like a magnet. And my little brother Frank and his friends were no exception.
“As it worked out, one night Frank was at the head of the line of his friends hanging around outside the mine and, unfortunately he was the first to enter. Long story short, Frank and almost all of the rest of the boys never came out again.
“Only one of the boys managed to make it home and he eventually went insane, he is still in a rubber room up at the nut house in Danesville, muttering stories of Devil Dan and his slaughter of his friends pretty much nonstop.
“Needless to say, my young brother's death set my father off all over again. It drove him completely crazy. He began recalling everything from that day at the mine and he couldn't handle the memories. It just broke him.
“My father came over to my house the night Frank died and told me everything that I have just told you. He told me the entire story of his experience and about the creature.
“He said he feared that poor Frankie was now part of that accursed wall in the mine. He said that unless someone did something about the creature, more souls would be lost and more children would die. I asked him what could possibly be done with a creature that could not be killed?
“He just looked straight at me. Then he got a far off look as if just he got some kind of idea or something. Then he turned and rushed away. I called after him but he just kept going.
“Later that night, my father got good and drunk. Looking back, he probably did this to numb himself for what he planned to do next. He was over fifty years old by this time. He seemed so old to me then, but he was actually much younger than I am now.
“Just before sunrise he went up to one of Coogan’s other working mines. He broke into the mine supply shed…. and then into the dynamite box…”
“He wrapped himself in dynamite from head to toe…and went back to the abandoned mine. Then we went down inside…
“That was how my Daddy died. I knew that at the very least he had caused enough damage to the mine to slow the creature down a bit. But, I had always hoped that somehow he had found a way to kill the creature. I even started to believe that maybe he did kill the creature… until what happened with the boys last night. Now I know better.”
Chapter 26
Elizabeth looked with sympathy at Willie. “My God, Willie, that is really some unbelievable story. I don’t WANT to believe it…. I can't ALLOW myself to believe it.. but ….. my God what a tale!”
Willie replied sadly, “Yes, what a tale indeed.”
Elizabeth continued excitedly, “So you believe now that the creature is still alive and in that mine?”
“Yes,” Willie replied, “and he is just waiting for hi
s time to get out.”
Elizabeth pondered to herself, “…waiting to get his ninety-ninth soul, and to win his freedom.”
“And God help us when he does,” Willie cautioned, “There will be no stopping him.”
Elizabeth hypothesized, “Okay. Now, let’s assume for a second that this story really is true. How would we know how many souls he still needs?”
“We won’t, obviously,” Willie said, “And that’s the problem. It might be fifty. It might be ten. No one knows how many of the missing folks around here ended up in that mine, or how many drifters are now in that accursed wall. All we know is that he doesn’t have them all yet, or else he would be out here walking among us.”
Elizabeth thought for a moment, “You don’t suppose…”
Willie stopped her short. “No. I don’t suppose any such thing. If he was out among us we would surely know it. He’s an un-killable creature with a thirst for souls. If he was out, we would have lost many more people since last night. There would be a lot of dead Coogans to say the very least. That creature is still in there all right. But I feel that he is getting close, real close.”
“So now what? What happens next?” Elizabeth inquired.
“I just don’t know,” Willie said, “The mine still belongs to Coogan. It’s his property. Maybe he will seal it back up. He would be wise to do so, but I doubt he will. I just don’t know what will be done…. But I suppose someone is going to have to do something…”
Willie hesitated for a moment and looked off into the distance as if thinking and repeated, “…. something.”
Elizabeth stared at him in silence with a bit of concern; there was something about that look, she did not like. Before she could speak, Tim, the young police officer, abruptly broke the silence.
“Alright folks shows over let's move out of here,” Tim commanded.
He was ordering the news vans away from the scene as Chief Seiler had requested.
Elizabeth turned off the tape recorder, and she and Willie jumped down from the back of the van. All of the other news vans were already backing down the access road. Off in the distance barely visible Elizabeth noticed a large white Cadillac.
The officer warned them again, “Time to move out. You got your story now be on your way. We have police business to conduct here, and time’s a wastin’.”
Elizabeth looked around and saw Chief Seiler still up at the top of the hill near the mine. Seiler turned and looked in their direction. Elizabeth thought she noticed a satisfied smirk on his face.
“Let's go ma’am,” Tim continued, “You’re the last one. Let’s clear on out…. NOW!”
Elizabeth shouted back angrily, “Take it easy, Barney Fife, I’m on my way.”
Tim looked indignant as Elizabeth walked over to Willie and shook his hand goodbye.
Elizabeth said honestly and with a touch of concern, “Willie. Thank you for taking the time to tell me your tale. I don’t know what will eventually happen with the story, but I can guarantee that as soon as I have time I will find a way to transcribe that recording onto paper and maybe someday it will be published; maybe as part of a collection of tales. At the very least, the story will exist as a recording and on paper. But I promise you it will not be forgotten.”
Willie looked satisfied, but seemed to be a million miles away. She asked, “Willie? Are... are you sure you are going to be alright now?”
Willie looked up the hill toward the mine, giving a slight smile, “Yes. I’ll be all right now… soon… everything will be all right. …Again.”
Willie turned and walked away from the van, heading down the mine access road. Elizabeth closed the door to her news van, walked around to the passenger side and climbed into the cab where Jason waited at the wheel and ready to go.
Elizabeth looked up at the mine. “Come on, Jason, let’s head home. This has been quite an eventful day and we have a story to prepare.”
Their news van joined the caravan of many others heading away from the mine area.
As they got out to the main road Elizabeth got a better view of the large white Cadillac parked near the access road on the passenger side of the news van.
Elizabeth looked down into the back of the Cadillac and saw Bill Coogan seated in the back seat with another man. Both were dressed in business suits. A driver stood outside the car near the driver’s side obviously giving the pair privacy.
Elizabeth did not know this other man. He was Coogan’s assistant, a man by the name of John McHale.
Coogan looked out the window as the news van drove by and his eyes met Elizabeth’s for a brief moment before he turned away in a motion of dismissal and resumed speaking with his assistant. Elizabeth and Jason drove away from the scene with the rest of the vehicles.
Inside of the big white Cadillac, Coogan appeared to be angry and frustrated. “McHale, I can’t tell you how much this pisses me off. “
McHale agreed, “You’re right, boss! This is a rotten stroke of bad luck. We were within a few months of reopening that mine, and now this bear or wild cat or whatever the Hell it was has ruined everything.”
Coogan continued, “Well, McHale my boy, as you know, I didn’t turn my father’s small fortune into a large one by allowing some insignificant creature or some unfortunate incident such as this one to stand in the way of me making serious money.”
“You are correct, sir,” McHale said, “But with all the bad press surrounding the McKinley boy’s death, I have to assume that this would slow us down considerably.”
Coogan assured, “On the contrary. It can’t slow us down. We simply can’t let it. You understand that. We’ve been planning this for years. Somehow, we have to find a way to turn this thing around. You have studied my Grandfather’s mine maps in detail as I have, McHale. There are literally thousands of tons of coal down there just waiting for us to take. All we have to do is start digging.”
Coogan shook his head in concern. “This may be our last shot at this mine. The demand for coal is declining rapidly, but as you know we still have some markets that want all the coal we can give them…. immediately. If we can get that coal out of that mine and turn a quick profit then nothing else will matter. When we are finished, we can seal the damned mine and bulldoze over this entire area and in a few years this whole mess will be forgotten. Hell, we can build a park for the town on this very site if we wanted to. They’ll love it, and they’ll love us for doing it. And they will forget about the, the legend, the McKinley kid and everything else.”
McHale inquired, “But who will we get to go into the mine to work? It may be 1965 but these folks are still superstitious and not all that sure whether or not they believe that whole legend thing. I suspect many still do.”
“Look, McHale,” Coogan countered. “Jobs are very tight around here. We’ll offer them good pay - better than they can get anywhere else. But, in addition, we have to find a way to change their superstitious minds. And the way to do that is to give them proof that the legend is nonsense. This combined with the offer of a good salary will get us all the workers we need and more.”
“That’s going to be a tough one,” McHale countered, “especially with this latest incident. Folks all around town are all talking about it.”
“Not to worry, Johnny my boy,” Coogan assured, “I have a plan. The way I figure it is like this. If you and I can bag that bear or mountain lion or whatever did this, and we can get Bill Johnson over at the Times to do a big front-page story about it, we will be heroes to the townspeople. The legend will be just that, a legend. When they see us with that dead carcass in the paper, everything else will be forgotten. And you did the math, McHale, there is over a million dollars worth of coal in that mine, just ripe for the picking.”
McHale agreed, “Not a bad plan, boss. But do you really think that animal is still down in that mine?”
Coogan said with concern, “No, not likely. I suppose all of the commotion and people hanging around has probably scared it away, at least for no
w anyway. But if it has a home down there it will likely be back when things calm down around here, most likely around night fall.”
“Boss, you know I’m an avid hunter,” McHale continued, “and I’ve got quite an arsenal of weaponry at my place. But, even with my guns and experience this type of hunting is still pretty risky business, especially in the tight confines of a coal mine…. I guess what I am asking is … is there going to be anything extra in it for me?”
Coogan replied sheepishly, “I figured you would get around to that sooner or later. That’s what I like about you, McHale, always thinking and planning. I’ll tell you what. If you help me bag that critter there, will be a ten thousand dollar bag of cash money in it for you.”
McHale stammered in disbelief, “Ten…. thousand… dollars? Cash? That’s mighty generous boss.”
“Nonsense,” Coogan assured, “Believe me, if we can wrap this thing up quickly and get to work on opening that mine, it will be well worth it to me…. And just to make sure that you don’t get creative, I’ll go along with you into the mine to witness the kill.”
McHale feigned surprise, “Boss. You know I would never try to pull….”
Coogan interrupted, “Yes, I’m sure. You are completely honest.” Then he snickered, “Regardless. With me along to witness the kill, I can brag things up properly to the newspaper. And who knows, maybe we will even get some more television coverage, but this time on the positive side of things.”
“May I assume you will take full credit for the kill yourself, right?” His assistant inquired.
Coogan agreed, “Very good, McHale. Maybe there is still some hope for you to advance in my organization after all. Now you know why I am the boss.”
“Right…. Boss,” McHale agreed with a disappointed tone.
Coogan continued with his plan, “Alright then, so here is what we will do. We’ll meet back here tonight at about seven thirty or so. You bring your weapons and be ready to hunt.”
99 Souls Page 11
