I heard Rubin yell, 'Here he comes!'
He churned his way through the shallows and ran right between us. Rubin swung his pole, missed the coon, and almost hit Little Ann. The coon headed for the river bottoms with her right on his heels.
The bawling of Little Ann and our screaming and hollering made so much noise, I didn't hear Old Dan coming. He tore out of the river, plowed into me, and knocked me down.
We ran through the bottoms, following my dogs. I thought the ghost coon was going back to the sycamore log but he didn't. He ran upriver.
While hurrying after them, I looked over at Rainie. For once in his life, I think he was excited. He was whooping and screaming, and falling over logs and limbs.
I felt good all over.
Glancing over at me, Ramie said, 'They ain't got him yet.'
The ghost coon crossed the river time after time. Seeing that he couldn't shake Old Dan and Little Ann from his trail, he cut through the river bottoms and ran out into an old field.
At this maneuver, Rubin said to Rainie, 'He's heading for that tree.'
'What tree?' I asked.
'You'll see,' Rainie said. 'When he gets tired, he always heads for that tree. That's where he gets his name, the ghost coon. He just disappears.'
'If he disappears, my dogs will disappear with him,' I said.
Rainie laughed.
I had to admit one thing. The Pritchard boys knew the habits of the ghost coon. I knew he couldn't run all night. He had already far surpassed any coon I had ever chased. i 'They're just about there,' Rubin said.
Just then I heard Old Dan bark treed. I waited for Little Ann's voice. I didn't hear her. I wondered what it could be this time.
'He's there all right,' Rubin said. 'He's in that tree.'
'Well, come on,' I said. 'I want to see that tree.'
'You might as well get your money out,' Rainie said.
I told him he had said that once before, back on the riverbank.
XIII
COMING UP TO THE TREE, i COULD SEE IT WAS A HUGE BUR oak. It wasn't tall. It was just the opposite, rather low and squatty. The top was a thick mass of large limbs, and it hadn't shed all of its leaves yet.
It stood by itself in an old field. There were no other trees within fifty yards of it. About fifteen feet to the left were the remains of a barbed-wire fence. An old gate hung by one rusty hinge from a large corner post. I could tell that at one time a house had stood close by.
Rubin saw me looking around. 'A long time ago some Indians lived here and farmed these fields,' he said.
I walked around the tree looking for the coon, but could see very little in the dark shadows.
'Ain't no use to look,' Rubin said. 'He won't be there.'
Rainie spoke up. 'This ain't the first time we've been to this tree,' he said.
Rubin told Rainie to shut up. 'You talk too much,' he said.
In a whining voice, Rainie said, 'Rubin, you know the coon ain't in that tree. Make him pay off and let's go home. I'm getting tired.'
I told Rubin I was going to climb the tree.
