It was Eph who taught him how to tell the time of day by the sun; how to
insert a "dutchman" in the place of a lost suspender button; how to make
bird-traps; and how to "skin the cat." Eph initiated him into the
mysteries of magic and witchcraft, and showed him how to locate a
subterranean vein of water by means of a twig of witch-hazel. Eph also
confided to Johnnie that he himself could stanch the flow of blood or
stop a toothache instantly by force of a certain charm, but he could
not tell how to do this because the secret could be imparted only from
man to woman, or vice versa. Even the shadowy domain of spirits had not
been exempt from Eph's investigations, and he related many a terrifying
experience with "ha'nts."
Johnnie was first introduced to the ghost world one summer night, when
he and Eph had gone fishing together.
"If ye want to ketch the big uns, always go at night in the dark o' the
moon," said Eph, and his piscatorial knowledge was absolute.
They had fished in silence for some time, and Johnnie was nodding, when
Eph suddenly whispered:
"Let's go home, sonny, I think I see a ha'nt down yander."
Johnnie had no idea what a "ha'nt" might be, but Eph's constrained
manner betokened something dreadful.
It was not until they had come within sight of home that Johnnie
ventured to inquire:
"Say, Eph, what is a ha'nt?"
"Huh! What is ha'nts? Why, sonny, you mean to tell me you don't know
what ha'nts is?"
"Not exactly; sompin' like wildcats, ain't they?"
"Well, I'll be confounded! Wildcats! Not by a long shot;" and Eph broke
into the soft chuckle which always preceded his explanations.
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