The little boy shivered as his father tucked him in and kissed him good night. "Leave the lamp burning, please, Pa," he begged.
Ben hesitated. "I'm sorry, son, but we just don't have enough oil and I can't afford to buy more until I get paid tonight." He blew the light out and left for his job as a bouncer at the Silver Dollar Saloon. He wouldn't return until dawn.
Adam stared wide-eyed into the blackness, but, as his eyes grew used to it, he began to see shadows gathering in the corners. One shadow seemed to be in the rocking chair, and Adam stared at it until he realized it had taken a shape. He wanted to pull the covers over his head, but he was frozen in fear.
Suddenly the thing in the chair stood up and walked over to the bed. It stared down at the terrified child. "Get out! Get out of my house!" it hissed.
Unable to move, unable to breathe, Adam fainted.
Over at the saloon, Ben tossed a drunk cowboy out the door. When he came back inside, Lula, the girl who'd been grabbed by the drunken man, brought him a beer and sat down beside him as he took a swallow. "Thanks, I needed that," Ben said. They began to talk, and Lula asked, "You know that old house where you and your boy are boarding is supposed to have a haunted room. Have you seen or heard anything?"
Ben laughed. "No, nothing. I heard the stories before we rented a room there, but I don't believe in ghosts. Everyone knows they're just made up to frighten children."
Lula shook her head but said nothing. She knew Ben had no money to pay someone to stay with his son, and the saloon was no place to bring a child. She stood and walked back over to the bar. Ben finished his beer, and, after looking around for trouble and not spotting any, walked behind the bar and picked up a tray. He began to move around the room, collecting dirty glasses, wiping tables, and straightening chairs.
The saloon's gambler, Robin Day, motioned to him. "Ben, can you get me a beer, please?" When he nodded, Robin handed him a few coins. Ben brought him the beer and his change, and Robin indicated that he should keep it. "No, thanks," Ben said.
Robin pulled his eyes away from the cards in his hand and looked up at Ben. "It's for your kid." Ben pocketed the change and thanked him. Robin was focused on the game again and didn't notice.
Finally the saloon closed for a few hours. Mike, the owner and bartender, handed out pay packets to Ben and the girls. Ben pocketed his pay, and then helped with the washing up and sweeping before going back to the boarding house. He slipped into the room he shared with Adam, and looked at his son. He was sound asleep and didn't stir.
Ben slipped off his clothes, donned his nightshirt, and lay down for a few hours. He woke when he heard the cock crow. The sun was streaming through the window, and Ben got up and stretched. Adam was still asleep when he went outside to the privy and to pump fresh water into the pitcher. He came back, washed up, and shaved. "Adam," he called softly. "Adam, wake up. It's almost time for breakfast."
Adam didn't stir, and Ben went over to his son, and gently shook his shoulder. "Adam, wake up." The child moaned, and Ben felt his forehead. It was warm, and his eyelids fluttered before finally opening. Ben picked him up and sat down on the side of the bed with the boy in his lap.
"Pa?" Adam laid his head on his father's shoulder. "Pa, there was a man here last night, and he told me to get out." Ben rocked the boy. "Shh, son, there was no one here. It was just a dream, a fever dream. I'll take you to the doctor today, boy, and we'll get you some medicine."
"No, Pa, I saw him. He was in the rocking chair, and he stood over me and told me to get out." Tears of frustration appeared in Adam's eyes as he tried to make his father understand.
Ben continued to rock his son in his arms, and Adam finally gave up. His father put him down on the bed, and reached for his clothes. He helped Adam into them, washed his face, and then took him out to the privy. By the time Adam had finished washing up, breakfast was ready and they went to the dining room.
The other boarders were seated when they took their places, and Mrs. Rogers began bringing in platters of ham and sausage, gravy and fried potatoes, eggs and biscuits. Ben served Adam's plate as well as his own, and they began eating as their landlady brought Adam a glass of milk and filled coffee cups for the adults. She stood back and looked at the table to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything. Little Adam Cartwright looked pale this morning, she thought. There were circles under his eyes. She wondered if he'd seen anything in the room but forced the thought away almost as quickly as it had come. He was a child. Surely the thing in the room wouldn't appear to a child.
Dr. Angel felt Adam's forehead and neck. "He's warm, Ben." He studied the little boy's face. "His color isn't good, and he has circles under his eyes."
Ben seethed with impatience. He could see all that for himself. He mentally counted to ten. "I know all that. What's causing this? Is he coming down with something?"
The doctor motioned him over away from Adam. "The child looks like he's under some kind of strain. How's his appetite?"
"He didn't eat much this morning, but Adam's never been a big eater." Ben admitted.
"Are the two of you getting along?" The doctor asked. Before Ben could respond, Dr. Angel hastened to add, "I know it can be difficult to be both father and mother to a child, Ben. No one would blame you for losing your temper with the boy."
Ben stared at the doctor in horror. "I would never lose my temper with a little child, especially not with my own son. He's having nightmares. He told me this morning that he saw something last night that told him to get out of our boarding house. It's a fever dream, isn't it?"
"He isn't running enough of a fever to be having that kind of dream. Has anyone told him the stories about Mrs. Roger's house? Could he be responding to something he heard?"
"No, I don't think so," Ben said. "We have little contact with the other boarders, and none of them would be so cruel as to frighten a child."
"He looks more like a frightened child than a sick one, Ben. Is it possible for you to change rooms?"
Ben thought for a minute. "The house is full, and I can't afford to move to another boarding house. I can barely afford Mrs. Rogers' place."
Dr. Angel shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't have a solution for you."
Ben took his son out for a walk, hoping the fresh air would make him feel better. As they walked along, he asked Adam, "What can you tell me about the thing you saw last night?"
Adam walked beside him, kicking rocks. "You think I made it up," he accused.
Ben stopped walking and picked Adam up, holding him so that he could look straight in his eyes. "Son, I believe that you believe you saw something scary last night. I just want to understand what it was."
Adam put his arms around his father's neck. He was silent for a few minutes, and Ben could see that he was thinking. At last he spoke. "There were shadows at first, and then there was a big shadow in the chair. It started out small, but then it began to grow, Pa. It had stubs that turned into arms, and, when it grew tall, it came over to the bed and bent over me." Adam looked at him with tears in his eyes. "I was scared, Pa, so scared." He cried and buried his face into Ben's shoulder. Ben patted him and rubbed his back. Adam straightened up in his arms and wiped the tears off his face. "He was mean, Pa, and he told me to get out, to get out of his house."
Ben listened to Adam in growing horror. "Has anyone told you any stories about the house, son?"
Adam shook his head 'no', and laid his head down on his father's shoulder. "Pa, can we leave this town?"
Ben put Adam down, and squatted down to face him. "Son, there's no such thing as ghosts or monsters or anything else. I know you want to leave, and I do as well, but I've got to make some money before we can move on. If you have another bad dream, just remember what I'm telling you now - there's no such things as ghosts." Ben's tone was kind but firm, very firm, and he looked Adam in the eye as he spoke. "Now can you be Pa's brave little soldier and stand up to bad dreams for him?"
Adam looked at his father. He loved Ben, and hated to let him down. Finally he nodded. "Yes, Pa," he whispered.
"Good, that's my good boy," Ben said, and they walked back to town. They made a stop at the mercantile, and Ben bought lamp oil. When they got back to the boarding house, Ben filled the lamp and placed it on the table between the beds in their room. He picked up Adam's small collection of books, and they went out to the porch. He sat down with his boy in his lap, and read to him the rest of the afternoon.
When they went in for supper, Ben noticed that Adam ate more than he had in the past few days. Well, all he needed was some attention and assurance that there's no such thing as a ghosts, Ben thought. After supper he gave Adam a bath and put him to bed. He lit the lamp, and Adam realized that he was going to work. He grabbed at Ben's shirt. "Pa, stay with me, please. Don't leave me alone." he begged
Ben stood over his son. "Now, Adam, we talked about it this morning. You said you'd be my brave boy - you know I have to go to work. What do you say to any nightmares?"
"That there's no such thing as ghosts and monsters," Adam mumbled.
"That's right," Ben said. He peeled Adam's fingers off his sleeve, and, kissing the boy's forehead, said good night.
Adam woke up. The lamp had gone out, and the room was very dark. He couldn't see anything, and he waited for his eyes to grow used to the darkness. Suddenly he noticed a small white glowing orb floating in the room. He watched it as it moved around the room, and then saw that it was moving closer to him. He found it hard to breathe, but he remembered what his father had said that day. "There's no such thing as ghosts and monsters," he repeated over and over. The orb continued to move closer until it was directly above him. He stared at it until he saw the features of the thing he'd seen the night before. Its eyes were black and cold and dead-looking.
"Get out! Get out of my house!" it hissed.
Adam tried to speak, to repeat what his father had said, but his voice wouldn't work. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Once again he fainted.
Over at the saloon Robin Day, Lula and the other girls, and Ben prepared to close at midnight. The next day was Sunday, and, as a concession to the town's more strait-laced citizens, the saloon was required to close at midnight on Saturday and remain closed on Sunday. Although he regretted the lost opportunity to earn more money, Ben welcomed the chance to spend more time with Adam.
He was more concerned about the boy than he wanted to admit to himself, and he ran back to Mrs. Roger's boarding house. He slipped into the room he shared with Adam, closing the door noiselessly. The room was dark and cold. Ben quickly lit the lamp, and put the quilt from his bed on top of Adam. He could see his breath in the room's cold air. He poured water from the pitcher into the bowl, and began to wash up before bed. He looked in the mirror, and saw a terrible face staring back at him. Its skin was dead-white, and its eyes were black and cold. "Get out! Get out of my house!" it hissed.
He stared at it in horror. Then he picked Adam up out of the bed and ran out of the house, back to the saloon. Shifting Adam in his arms, he pulled the key to the door out of his pocket and went inside. He could hear the girls stirring upstairs, and then he heard Lula's voice. "Who's there? I've got a gun! Come out where I can see you!"
Ben called to her. "Lula, it's me, Ben Cartwright. Don't shoot - I've got my son with me."
Lula appeared on the stairs with a lamp. "Ben? What are you doing here?"
Ben was at a loss - could he admit he'd been frightened out of the room by a ghostly face and a little hissing?
Lula came down the steps with the lamp. She saw the look on his face, and kindly chose not to ask any more questions. Noting the child in Ben's arms, she motioned to him. "Bring him upstairs, Ben. You can put him to bed in my room and stay with him tonight. I'll go in with Marcie."
Ben carried Adam upstairs and laid him in Lula's bed. He took off his boots, and lay beside him, pulling him close. Oh, Adam, he thought, I owe you an apology. He left the lamp lit, and, finally, managed to drop off to sleep with Adam cuddled in his arms.
The sun was streaming through the windows when Ben woke the next morning. Adam was sitting up in bed next to him, patting his cheek. "Wake up, Pa. Where are we?"
Ben slid off the bed, and pulled on his boots. "We're at Pa's work, son." There was a knock on the door, and Ben opened it. Two fresh-faced young women stood there, and Ben stared. They laughed at his look of surprise. "Ben, it's me, Lula, and Marcie. You didn't think we wore our saloon dresses all the time, did you?"
He blinked. "I-I guess I never thought about it," he said.
"Come on downstairs and bring your son. We've made breakfast."
"I don't have Adam's clothes," Ben said. Marcie and Lula looked at each other.
"It's all right, Ben. He's just a little boy. Come one downstairs." Ben turned and held his hand out to Adam. They went downstairs where they found Robin Day, Mike, and the saloon girls eating breakfast. They welcomed Ben and Adam, and handed them filled plates. Lula poured Ben a cup of coffee while Marcie filled a beer mug with milk for Adam.
After they ate, Mike motioned to Ben and they walked outside. Adam had moved into Marcie's lap, and seemed happy enough to stay with Lula and Marcie.
"Ben, I've got a spare room on the third floor. If you clean it out, you and Adam can stay there. No one will bother you there, and you can do some maintenance in the building to pay the rent on the room."
Ben considered Mike's offer as the bartender continued. "I know you don't believe in ghosts - I don't believe in them myself, but I stayed at Mrs. Roger's when I first came here. I don't know what I saw - what I heard - but I couldn't wait to move to a room over the bar."
Ben thanked Mike, and went back inside. Adam looked up at him. "Are we going back, Pa?" His eyes filled with tears.
"No, son, I'm going back. I have to pay Mrs. Rogers what we owe her and get our things."
Adam jumped down from Marcie's lap, and grabbed Ben's leg. "No! No, Pa! It isn't safe there! Don't go back!"
Ben picked him up and Adam locked his arms around Ben's neck. "I have to, son, unless you want to run around in your nightshirt all day."
Lula and Marcie rubbed Adam's back. "Adam, why don't you stay here and help us this morning? Your Pa can get your things, and we can get to work on your new room."
Adam allowed them to lift him off Ben, and, standing between them, waved goodbye to his father.
Ben walked down to the boarding house. He could hear the boarders in the dining room, and he went back to the room he and Adam had shared. He pulled their carpet bags out from under the bed, and began to pack them quickly. There was a knock on the door, and he turned to see Mrs. Rogers standing there. "Are you leaving, Mr. Cartwright?"
"Yes, ma'am. Adam and I are moving to a room over the saloon. He'll be closer to me while I'm at work." He pulled out several bills. "I'd like to pay you for the week."
She took the money and continued to stand in the door. "Did you see anyone - anything?" she asked.
Ben sighed. "I don't believe in ghosts, Mrs. Rogers."
Carrying a bag in each hand, Ben left the boarding house and walked back towards the Silver Dollar Saloon. The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and he turned to see a dead-white face in the window watching him leave.