The wishing well

Chapter 2

"What's in that field down there?" asked Stanley Jenkins. "The one with the well inside it."

"That's the wishing well," the farmer replied. "But you're not allowed to go down there. I hope your teacher told you that."

"Wishing well?" said Stanley Jenkins. "You mean if you throw some money into the well, you can make a wish?"

The farmer let out a grim laugh. "I wouldn't know," he said, "That's what they call it, but nobody around here goes near the wishing well. In all the years I've lived here, I've never set foot in that field."

"What's the matter with it?" asked Stanley Jenkins.

"All I know is, the cows and the sheep keep away from it. Even my old dog wouldn't go through that field and neither should you boys, if you've got a brain in your heads. They say it's haunted."

"Haunted?" Stanley Judkins scoffed. "Haunted by who?"

"Three women and a man," said the farmer gravely.

"Who are they?" asked Stanley Jenkins.

"It all happened before my time," said the farmer, "but I was told they died in the well... or were found dead in it... I saw them once. It was twilight and I was standing on this very ridge. My old dog saw them too. They came out of the bushes and went crawling around... Four of them... Just black rags and white bones. It seemed as if I could hear their bones clacking as they moved. I couldn't make out their faces... All I could see was their teeth."

The boys let out a collective gasp.

Stanley Jenkins chuckled. "What happened then?" he asked.

"I don't know," said the farmer. "My old dog took off running and I took off running after him. So take my advice, boys. Steer clear of that wishing well if you know what's good for you."

With that, the farmer tipped his hat and walked off. The boys stared after him.

"What a load of bull," said Stanley Jenkins. "I don't believe a word of it."

The next evening, the teacher gathered the scouts and did a head-count. He noticed one of the boys was missing. After doing a roll call, he discovered that the missing boy was Stanley Jenkins. None of the other scouts seemed to have any idea where he was.

Then one boy spoke up. "Maybe he went down to the wishing well, Sir," he said.

The teacher's face went pale. "The wishing well?" he gasped. "But you were all given strict instructions not to go down there!"

The scouts followed the teacher as he walked up to the top of the ridge and looked down into the valley below. The light was fading and it was getting cold, but there wasn't a breath of wind in the air.