Posted May 10, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall

After Jemima had finished, Addy put in, "Little Montgomery's gone ta be with all them others...Patches, Scout, Buck, Skitter, Skeeter, Katie, Walter, Pearl, Boo, Frankie, Mike, an' th' bear what kilt him...may they all rest in peace."

Jemima looked Addy full in the face. “They your folks?” she asked in all seriousness.

"Amen," Weedy muttered, then stepped forward and dropped a handful of purple and yellow wildflowers that he'd picked from along the fence line onto the small mound of dirt. "I'm sorry, Mr. Montgomery," he muttered again, then looked up at Addy.

"Reckon we oughta be on our way," the woman said, glancing at Mr. Browne. "Lemme know when ya wanna leave fer Helena."

“Er, certainly, certainly. I shall wire Helena tomorrow and calculate when all the supplies should be there and we can work out the best time to set off. I’m sorry this visit ended on a rather funereal note! I hope that our future undertakings together shall be a little more convivial!” Rather funereal?! It had ended with a literal funeral!

Jemima drew Weedy to one side and spoke to him in a low confidential voice. “Don’t you worry about Monty none, Port’, I’m gonna to speak to him on Sunday: we get through to all the dead folks, even animals. As long that selfish Mrs Mortimer don’t try and use up all the time trying to speak to that stupid little girl of hers, Olivia. Even when she comes through, it’s all just ‘oh Mummy, Mummy, I do miss you Mummy, but I’m awful happy here Mummy.’” Jemima scowled, doing a sarcastic impersonation of the little girl whom Arabella had dressed for her funerary photograph.

Posted May 12, 2021 / Weedy

While the adults discussed business, Weedy stayed with Jemima at the graveside, looking up when she mentioned that 'they' were going to talk to him on Sunday? What did that mean? Well, he knew what it meant, it just didn't make any sense, you couldn't talk to a gopher...well, have a conversation with a gopher, much the less a dead one.

And she was talking about talking to a girl who was dead, too. How did you do that? Could you really do that?

"You can't talk to dead gophers," he finally declared, but then hesitated, "can you?" He'd heard talk of something like that, but it was demonic or something. And at that thought, he gasped, then whispered, "Are you a witch?" How else could she talk to dead things?

Posted May 12, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall

"You can't talk to dead gophers," he finally declared, but then hesitated, "can you?"

“Sure you can.” Answered Jemima with an unanswerable assurance of conviction. “They answer the way most dead folks communicate: one rap for yes, two for no. Course, they can’t speak through the Ouija board or the Planchette, that’s just for the higher spirits.” She explained in a way that probably made the whole thing even more unclear to the poor boy. To be honest, that’s not how it worked at the Church meetings where the congregation more usually just talked about spirit communications they had received personally. There were times, though, when the dead spoke directly at the meetings (or seemed to). One of these she recalled vividly now:

“And sometimes they take over a person present and talk through their mouth. Like, do you know that girl with the one leg, Bridget Monahan? One time she come along to our meeting and turns out she a real strong spirit medium: them dead folks was fairly formin’ a line to talk to us through her!”

He'd heard talk of something like that, but it was demonic or something. And at that thought, he gasped, then whispered, "Are you a witch?" How else could she talk to dead things?

“No, I ain’t a witch, that’s in the bible, it’s called Talkin’ in Tongues, it shows a body’s holy and pure in deed and thought.” She assured him placidly, but then narrowed her eyes. “But I went round that Bridget’s house once to see if she wanted to have a séance on our own, and she didn’t, but guess what? I asked her and she showed me her stump! And guess what again? She even let me feel it!” The odd scullery maid lifted her arm and, pulling back the sleeve, bent it so her elbow formed a round bald ball, which she felt it lovingly with the fingertips of her other hand.

Then she suddenly moved it toward him, no doubt to give him a fright, with a whisper of “You wanna feel Bridget’s stump?!!”

Posted May 14, 2021 / Weedy

“Sure you can.” Answered Jemima with an unanswerable assurance of conviction. “They answer the way most dead folks communicate: one rap for yes, two for no. Course, they can’t speak through the Ouija board or the Planchette, that’s just for the higher spirits.”

Weedy's nose wrinkled up skeptically. "How do they know that? Who tells them?" And if they don't talk, because they are animals, how would they understand what they were supposed to do, or for that matter, what people were asking?

“And sometimes they take over a person present and talk through their mouth. Like, do you know that girl with the one leg, Bridget Monahan? One time she come along to our meeting and turns out she a real strong spirit medium: them dead folks was fairly formin’ a line to talk to us through her!”

Well, that sounded pretty scary, to have someone talking 'through' you, however that happened! And it made him really want to see for himself!

“No, I ain’t a witch, that’s in the bible, it’s called Talkin’ in Tongues, it shows a body’s holy and pure in deed and thought.” ]/i]

Well, he'd heard of that, but he was pretty sure that wasn't what that meant, although at the moment didn't remember what it was, and he'd been taught not to question his elders, and he didn't want to make her mad so she wouldn't take him to talk to Montgomery...

“But I went round that Bridget’s house once to see if she wanted to have a séance on our own, and she didn’t, but guess what? I asked her and she showed me her stump! And guess what again? She even let me feel it!”

"Really?" Weedy's eyes widened, his curiosity piqued. He knew what a 'stump' was, he knew Bridget and that she limped, but he hadn't realized it was because she had a stump...after all, she'd had two shoes on at the dance!

“You wanna feel Bridget’s stump?!!”

"Yes. Ma'am!" he answered enthusiastically, with a nod to add emphasis, although he cringed away a bit as Jemima offered her elbow. "That's your elbow," he pointed out, shaking his head, "I thought you really meant her...stump." Somehow, he didn't think that Addy would approve of him talking about someone's deformity, but she wasn't here.

"Does having a stump make it easier for the dead people to talk though her, do you think?"

Posted May 15, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall

“You wanna feel Bridget’s stump?!!”

"Yes. Ma'am!" he answered enthusiastically, with a nod to add emphasis, although he cringed away a bit as Jemima offered her elbow. "That's your elbow," he pointed out, shaking his head

“Yeah, but that’s what it feels like, all sorta smooth and shiny.” Indeed, Jemima’s elbow was about the only part of her arm that wasn’t covered in a soft but quite dark and thick down.

"I thought you really meant her...stump." Somehow, he didn't think that Addy would approve of him talking about someone's deformity, but she wasn't here.

“Oh, she lets you, if she likes you” Jemima informed him, pulling a long strand of greasy black hair out of her eyes.

“But you’re a boy so it might not be right to be touching a lady’s leg, even a chopped off one.” Satan was everywhere, and was real sneaky at tricking people into sinning like that; you had to be on your guard.

"Does having a stump make it easier for the dead people to talk though her, do you think?"

“Well, I thought it might be because she’s feeble-minded , there’s no brains in her head so’s more room for the spirit to get in” the morbid girl had clearly given this some thought, “But her friend Arabella Mudd reckons it IS because of the leg what got chopped off: like it’s dead now and gone to Heaven so Bridget’s already got one foot in the afterlife, sort of bridgin’ the Great Divide.” There was no pun intended.

“That Arabella ain’t my friend exactly, I’d have you to know.” She added quickly, lest Weedy get the wrong idea “I mean, I know she plays the thingummybob in the Church on Sunday, but the rest of the week she works in that den of wickedness and sin, the saloon. She’s only six sevenths respectable.”

Posted May 17, 2021 / Weedy

Weedy nodded, as if he understood what was being said, and he did sort of get the part about Bridget's leg being in Heaven and acting as a link. As for having no brains, that didn't really make sense, since you sort of had to have brains to live, right? But what did he know?

"Arabella?" Well, Weedy knew that she made a lot of fuss over a lot of things, but how would she know about anything spiritual, unless maybe playing piano in church made you closer to God, but then, Jemima was right about working in a saloon...

But Weedy was really distracted by another thought..

"Do you really think that Miss Bridget's leg is in Heaven helping her talk to the dead people? Do you think if I cut off my finger or something I could talk to my Ma?"

Posted May 18, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall

"Do you really think that Miss Bridget's leg is in Heaven helping her talk to the dead people?”

Jemima nodded knowingly.

“Course it’s there: everyone knows that idiots always go to Heaven, so it’s gotta be there waiting for her. You never heard of an Angel with one leg did you?” Well, there was some logic in that. “And when she was there at Church, that’s the only time I ever heard the spirits come through so loud and clear.”

What Jemima had failed to mention was that Bridget had visited the Spiritualist meeting along with Arabella Mudd. Arabella Mudd who could make it sound like someone was stuck in cupboard, crying to get out, or had fooled Bridget into thinking that one of her creepy china faced dolls had learned to speak. Arabella Mudd who had no qualms about making people think that their dead relatives were talking to them, just for a joke.

“Do you think if I cut off my finger or something I could talk to my Ma?"

“You don’t need to do that. I’ll try and get a message from her on Sunday. Or if that Mrs Mortimer hogs it all again, we could have our own Séance. We’d need four people. But they gotta take it serious.” She advised him.

“What’s your Ma’s name?” she said, using the present tense, as might be expected of one who believed that the spirit lived on.

Posted May 27, 2021 / Weedy

“You don’t need to do that. I’ll try and get a message from her on Sunday. Or if that Mrs Mortimer hogs it all again, we could have our own Séance. We’d need four people. But they gotta take it serious.” She advised him.

Eyes wide, Weedy nodded soberly, hoping that Mrs. Mortimer didn't hog, but also wondering who he could get to have his own since...maybe Wyatt would do it? Especially if they might see a ghost! But he'd have to find someone else, he didn't think that Miss Addy would believe it, or Jay either, but maybe Professor Browne?

“What’s your Ma’s name?”

"Ma..." Well, all right, that was just what he called her, but of course, that wasn't what Miss Jemima was asking. "Chloe. Chloe James. She was real pretty when..." He shrugged. "You really think you can talk to her?"

Posted May 29, 2021 / Jemima Wigfall

“What’s your Ma’s name?”

"Ma..." Well, all right, that was just what he called her, but of course, that wasn't what Miss Jemima was asking. "Chloe. Chloe James. She was real pretty when..." He shrugged. "You really think you can talk to her?"

“Well, we’ll try and get a message through.” Jemima informed him matter-of-factly, like her brother might reply to somebody asking to make a telegraph communication to some out of the way place (as in even-more-out-of-the-way than Kalispell itself).

The others seemed to be departing, so Weedy and Jemima must soon depart, too. But before they departed, they needs must arrange to meet again, to talk about the dearly departed.

“If I don’t see you before, come here this time next week.” She told him flatly. “I’ll let you know what’s come through.”

~*~  ~*~  ~*~

It would so happen that the coming Sunday, it was only the ‘hard core’ Spiritualist congregation that met up. Mr. Mortimer had put his foot down; much as he missed his darling little daughter Olivia, his wife had other children to care for, clothes to darn, dishes in the sink, and what not. This obsession with contacting the child in the afterlife was making his life, well, not Hell exactly, but a mite more inconvenient than he liked it to be. She was forbidden to attend the ‘Spook chasers’ as he derisively called the little group of worshippers.

With just the dream team of Jemima, Mrs Orr, Mrs James Feathers, and the strange old blind man, Mr. Gallows, along with the younger man who always accompanied him, but never joined in, they were able to make some exciting and strong communications, and Jemima looked forward to giving young Porter James an important message when they met again in the Professor’s garden.

Posted May 31, 2021 / Weedy

It had been a very long week indeed for Weedy, as he anxiously anticipated what Miss Jemima may have discovered in her meeting with the other science people, and he hoped that Mrs. Mortimer hadn't been there, or at very least someone had told her to shut up and let someone else have a turn, even if that might be a little rude!

Then there was the ever-long day, chores, school, more chores, before he could finally escape and hop over the back fence, to the Professor's back porch, where Buster accompanied him as he waited for Miss Jemima to appear!