Now Blighting Gently was a stocky, handsome man, sharp featured and robustly muscled. He traveled from town to town just into the territories. Carefully cracking that ancient whip of his above his old horse and yelling "Ya", he'd pull right into town and offer up his services. See now his was a wagon covered in signs, and for a quarter Blighting would take you into the back and have you close your eyes and he'd have a peak into this box of his. He'd tell you queer things. It wasn't so much as he'd tell you the future, as much as he could round your troubling dreams. He'd never explain things, as much as help you get an understanding of them.
Covered in signs mam, the wagon was. Gold lettering on black, they were. On each side the signs were, the letters in gold and strange shapes, and the wagon it was painted black. Covered in signs mam, yes.
Well Blighting he could be known to stay a spell, if there was work out there. And sometimes he'd be real friendly and have a nice and easy manner, and sometimes he'd be drawn and bottled up and mixed up like he was fighting something in him. But he never hurt no one and seeing as he was cheerful and mysterious, fit and independent, sometimes the ladies would take a fancy to him.
Friendly and bottled up, yes he was. Kinda like a dog was playful but sometimes got distracted and lept at something you couldn't quite see. Friendly and bottled up, yes he was.
No one knew much about Blighting's family or where he was from. Blighting never said much like that that I ever heard about. But there were stories. Lots of stories about his father - think most of them were made up. One story that his father was a sailor that ran back off to sea and was drowneded in a gale. Another was that his father was a town drunk that had just run out. But they all say the same about his mother. She had gone into the wood one night with a bottle of wine and they said she screamed and breathed and laughed so loud that she drew the clouds nigh over the moon in the night, and when she came out, she was gray haired and with child.
Gray haired and with child, hmmm, the mother was.
And Blighting they would ask him about the box, of course. He always took the quarter, bid the guest to close his eyes, and he was strict about it now, because he'd never, ever, proceed unless he saw his guest's eyes sealed and sometimes took to a blindfold and charged you more for it.
"Now how come Blighting", they'd ask, "Now how come you don't let anyone else look into that box?"
"My mama told me, never, ever, let anyone look into that box", he would always say, "and so I never do". And for Blighting, that was that.
It was in that old river town, Belle Station, I think, was the last anyone heard of Blighting Gently. Blighting had pulled in, the story goes, and had himself a good business, and gave a fortune for two quarters to a sister and her brother, grown fully both of them were, although some would say without much sense.
Two quarters and no sense now, that's right.
Peter, that was the brother's name, he said to her "Evelyn, I have to know! I just have to know what's in that box!"
And Evelyn she flashed a wicked smile to her brother, and fancying herself some of that Blighting she said "Well Peter how about when he draws that wagon of his by the wood, I'll stop by with a bottle of wine and maybe lead him on a little walk. Then while he's gone, you can go see what's in that box."
And Peter thought for a moment that his sister might sin, but he told himself it would just be a walk and a little wine, and then he'd get to look in the box. He thought not to discrace her by even asking.
"Yes", Peter agreed.
So the dusk fell and Blighting pulled his wagon by the edge of town near the deep woods. Evelyn dressed herself up nice and brushed her long hair up a bit and fetched herself a fine wine and hid it about her person. She walked right up to that wagon and smiled at Mr. Gently and set herself next to him, and then against him, and the two commenced to having that wine that Evelyn found herself swooning and off they went into the woods.
And she laid with him, hmmm, yes, they did.
And she screamed and she laughed and she howled until the clouds moved to her voice and covered up the moon and the night was black. And she laid with him and drifted off fitfully in his arms, filled up rested with his passion.
Meanwhile now Peter laughed but he thought to himself it would turn out alright. He just needed to see what was in that box. And he snuck back into that wagon and opened up that box and looked inside and something grabbed him and he was gone. Some people say that they saw smoke and fire and soot coming out of the back of the wagon and that was the end of Peter. Others say that folks tried to help old Peter out of the box by prying it open with a stick but whatever was in that box got a hold of that stick too. And others say that there wasn't nothing left but a button from Peter's shirt.
They all say though that Evelyn woke up when Peter screamed and Blighting was all but bones and dust and a skeleton, like all the life he had he gave to Evelyn, or maybe it was a trade for disobeying his mother.
No one knows much about that, no they don't.
But they do say that Evelyn kept the box and that wagon and had herself a baby, and she raised him to be a stocky, handsome man, sharp featured and robustly muscled. And they say when time came close for her own passing, she gave that box to her boy and said "son, that box will show you things but don't you dare ever let anyone see what's in that box but you."
And they say he rides out from town to town, yelling ya with an ancient whip, cracking above a horse as it pulls that wagon along, black, and covered in signs.
Yes mam, black, and covered in signs.