The Cut-off

The devil was in the Mississippi River that night. You could feel it with every
eddy swirling against the helm of the boat. You could hear it in every jangle of
the bell. You could see it in the dim light of the lantern as it tried to pierce
the swirling fog. You could sense it in the sound of the chugging engine. The
devil was in the river. It was a bad night to be out in a paddleboat. But he had
sworn when he set out that nothing could make him turn back.

No other pilot dared brave the Mississippi that night. They were all huddled in
the tavern, gossiping. After an evening of listening to their empty boasts, he
had made one himself. He knew the Mississippi River so well that he could guide
his paddleboat on his run even through the thickness of the night's fog. When
the other pilots heard his boast, they laughed and told him he would be back
before midnight. He had grown angry at their jeers, and had sworn in front of
them all that he would not turn back this night for any reason, should the Devil
bar the way!

The paddle wheeler was rocking oddly under the strange eddies of the river. But
he knew every turn and guided her along despite the fog. He was almost to
Raccourci when he saw shore where no shore had ever been before.

He turned the boat this way and that. It could not be! The river ran straight
through on this branch. He had guided his paddleboat through this place a
hundred times.

But the devil must have been listening at the tavern and had heard his boast,
for the Mississippi had shifted! He swore every curse he knew, and kept
searching for a way through. He had vowed to complete his run without turning
back and he was determined to carry out his vow. He would never go back. Never!
He would stay there until daybreak, and beyond if need be.

Suddenly, the paddleboat gave a massive jerk. The engine stalled. The boat
shuddered and overturned. When the fog lifted the next day, they found his
paddleboat sunk to the bottom with a gaping hole in its side, and the pilot
drowned.

On foggy nights, you can still hear the ring of the bell, the sound of the
engine and the curses of the ghost captain trying to complete his run.

Shan <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/alien.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />