'Go ahead,' he said. 'It won't do you any good.'
The tree was easy to climb. I looked all over it, on each limb, and in every dark place. I looked for a hollow. The ghost coon wasn't there. I climbed back down, scolded Old Dan to stop his loud bawling, and looked for Little Ann.
I saw her far up the old fence row, sniffing and running here and there. I knew the ghost coon had pulled a real trick, but I couldn't figure out what it was. Little Ann had never yet barked treed. I knew if the coon was in the tree she wouldn't still be searching for a trail.
Old Dan started working again.
My dogs covered the field. They circled and circled. They ran up and down the barbed-wire fence on both sides.
I knew the coon hadn't walked the barbed wire. Ghost or no ghost, he couldn't do that. I walked over to the old gate and looked around. I sat down and stared up into the tree. Little Ann came to me.
Old Dan, giving up his search, came back to the tree and bawled a couple of times. I scolded him again.
Rubin came over. Leering at me, he said, 'You give up?'
I didn't answer.
Little Ann once again started searching for the lost trail. Old Dan went to help her.
Rainie said, 'I told you that you couldn't tree the ghost coon. Why don't you pay off so we can go home?'
I told him I hadn't given up. My dogs were still hunting. When they gave up, I would, too.
Rubin said, 'Well, we're not going to stay here all night.'
Looking back to the tree, I thought perhaps I had overlooked something. I told Rubin I was going to climb it again.
He laughed, 'Go ahead. Won't do any good. You climbed it once. Ain't you satisfied?'
'No, I'm not satisfied,' I said. 'I just don't believe in ghost coons.'
Rubin said, 'I don't believe in ghosts either, but facts are facts. To tell you the truth, I've climbed that tree a dozen times and there just ain't no place in it for a coon to hide.'
Rainie spoke up. 'Our old blue hound has treed the ghost coon in this tree more times than one. Maybe you two don't believe in ghosts, but I do. Why don't you pay off so we can get away from here?'
'I'll climb it one more time,' I said. 'If I can't find him, I'll pay off.'
Climbing up again, I searched and searched. When I got through, I knew the ghost coon wasn't in that tree. When I came down, I saw my dogs had given up. That took the last resistance out of me. I knew if they couldn't find the ghost coon, I couldn't.
Digging the two one-dollar bills out of my pocket, I walked over to Rubin. Little Ann was by my side. I handed my money over, saying, 'Well, you won it fair and square.'
With a grin on his face, Rubin took my money. He said, 'I bet this will break your old grandpa's heart.'
I didn't reply.
Reaching down, I caught Little Ann's head in my hands. Looking into her warm friendly eyes, I said, 'It's all right, little girl, we haven't given up yet. We'll come back. We may never catch the ghost coon, but we'll run him until he leaves the country.
She licked my hands and whined.
A small breeze began to stir. Glancing up into the tree, I saw some leaves shaking. I said to Rubin, 'Looks like the wind is coming up. It may blow up a storm. We'd better be heading for home.'
Just as I turned, I saw Little Ann throw up her head and whine. Her body grew stiff and taut. I watched her. She was testing the wind. I knew she had scented something in the breeze. Stiff-legged, head high in the air, she started walking toward the tree. Almost there, she turned back and stopped. I knew she had caught the scent but could only catch it when a breeze came.
