“Ah, God, the poor woman.” Martin flinched from the photograph. “Was this a woman?”

“Yes.” Mr. Leeds answered. “Her name was Dorothy Richards. She was a rancher’s wife.”

“It looks as if someone hit her with a large hammer.” Matthew said. “Again, and again, and again.”

“No.” Joseph disagreed. “This is more like…tiny explosions.”

“Like a scatter gun at close range, right?” Mr. Reeves suggested.

“Yes, exactly Mr. Reeves.” Joseph said.

“I thought the same thing until we learned a ghost did it.” Mr. Reeves said.

“It must have been quite a savage one.” Joseph said. “Poor Ms. Richards looks like the Brute of Ipping got ahold of her.”

“We think it may be the ghost of an animal.” Mr. Reeves said. “Like Whisper, but of a vastly different temperament.”

“And species.” Joseph said. “If she was trampled to death, it couldn’t have been by a horse, but then again, if the khet spiritual component is strong enough, a ghost can appear as small as an ant and still be able to toss around a mountain like a toy.”

“Mr. Reeves, can you continue informing Ernst, Morton, and Glass about the Red Ghost?” Mr. Leeds asked. “I would like to rest my voice.”

“Yes, sir.” Mr. Reeves said. “If you all would turn your chairs to me, I’ll bring you up to speed on the situation. It’s like this, on June 5th, at a ranch along Eagle Creek, two women were left by themselves. There was a spate of Indian attacks in the area, and their men had gone to investigate a possible attack on their neighbors’ properties. According to Ms. West, their dogs started to howl around sundown. She got her rifle and tried to find Ms. Richards, who had left the house to draw water for their cattle, but was unable to locate her. She stood by her window and watched, expecting Indians to come rushing to her door any moment. But they never came. The dogs kept barking at something over the hill, and eventually she figured that what they were barking at wasn’t an Indian. She began to fear that Ms. Richards had gotten herself hurt outside and that the dogs were trying to call someone over to help her. She opened the door and began calling for Ms. Richards. That was when she saw it--what people are calling the Red Ghost.”

Joseph rolled his eyes. “Oh. Another Red Ghost.”

“He’s not our first Red Ghost.” Matthew explained. “There was the Red Ghost of Essex, named such because he kept bleeding, and the Red Ghost of Nottingham, named such because he was dressed up all in red.”

“Any of those Red Ghosts go on four legs?” Mr. Reeves asked.

“No.” Matthew answered.

“This one does. Ms. West said that it was like a horse but bigger, much bigger. And it was hairy, like a bear, but even larger than a bear. Its legs were long and she compared them to the legs those steam beasts standing over Blackwall.”

“It was as big as a steam beast?” Joseph asked.

“No, but if really was bigger than a house, she probably would have made a more comprehensive report. She said that there was something large and white on its back, but with the distance separating her from the Red Ghost and fear clouding her mind, she couldn’t be sure what it was. She said it might have been a man, hunched over and covered with a white cloak, like what Mr. Leeds is wearing, but she also said that it might have been luggage strapped to the animal’s back and covered by a white cloth.”

“If it’s luggage, we may be dealing with an exaggerated manifestation of a mule.” Matthew said. “They’re fairly common in the territory, correct?”

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

“Yes. Animals of all kinds are common out here.” Mr. Reeves said.

“Good God in Heaven.” Joseph muttered. “The deranged killer ghost of a mule. That’s one of the books.”

“Ms. West went back inside, and from the window watched the Red Ghost lift its long neck back and roar to the sky.” Mr. Reeves continued. “Then it started to lift its legs and stomp the ground. She said it was like thunder. The dogs ran whimpering back to the house. Eventually, the Red Ghost stopped and vanished, not even turning before it popped itself out of the world. The men finally arrived back at the ranch, and they found the body of Dorothy Richards.”

“Has this been the only sighting?” Matthew asked.

“No. It was only the first. The Red Ghost has been seen up and down Eagle Creek. The sightings are all the same--like a horse but bigger, shaggy, red like the color of blood, and has something white attached to its back. Fortunately, there haven't been any more attacks, only sightings.”

“Let’s work fast to make sure there won’t be another.”Joseph said. “But a question---Mr. Reeves, are we certain this is a ghost and not a shapeshifter? Could we be dealing with another mad shapeshifter, like the Snallygaster?”

“We know it’s a ghost because we have samples.” Mr. Leeds answered. Once again, he moved the edge of his cloak over the desk, and when he took it away, there was a clump of red hair.

“Let me show you.” Mr. Reeves said as he drew a heavily modified LeMat revolver from its holster. It was the first of its kind, the next step in the development of gaeite candles, a gaeite lantern. Unlike normal gaeite candles which could only project olprt radiance, Mr. Reeves’ LeMat could project a concentrated beam of olprt from an aperture along the gun barrel.

This beam could work manesological Operations, just like the gaeite candles used by Ernst, Morton, and Glass, but it could also serve as a weapon against spirits. Bullets fired down the beam could weaken and stun ghosts. Mr. Reeves could actually shoot ghosts, and he became the first man in history to shoot a man and his ghost when one of the many outlaws he put down during his long career attempted to take ghostly revenge on him.

Mr. Reeves pressed a button on the side of the revolver and its amber colored gaeite core slid free, bathing the room in silvery-white olprt radiance.

The clump of red hair revealed itself to be composed of ectoplasm as the olprt radiance rendered it a black silhouette, as it did with any spiritual object.

“Good.” Joseph said. “I much prefer dealing with ghosts than shapeshifters. It feels like I’m playing a game with someone who cheats whenever I flash my gaeite candle at a shapeshifter and the olprt does nothing but make me look silly.

“There are other photographs you need to see.” Mr. Leeds said before placing a stack of photographs down neatly next to the photographs of Dorothy Richards. “These were taken at various sightings.”

The photographs were of tracks.

“They’re cloven!” Martin gasped.

“Yes. Split right down the middle, like a goat or a deer.” Joseph said.

“Or a sheep.” Martin said. “Lord! Imagine if this is some sort of sheep--a giant, angry, red sheep!”

“It wouldn’t be the strangest ghost we’ve encountered.” Joseph said. “Though I would rank it among the top 20…no, 15.”

“Assuming that this isn’t the manes of an animal, but the manes of a man manifested in the form of an animal, are there any ideas for a motive?” Matthew asked Mr. Reeves.

“We have a few. The Red Ghost may be the ghost of an Apache raider. That’s what we thought it had to be originally, because Mr. Richards once shot and killed an Apache during one of their raids, but if it is an Apache, we have to wonder why he hasn’t taken to raiding other homesteads, and why he didn’t go after Mr. Richards himself. It could also be the ghost of a jealous settler, someone upset he died making his way West while others settled the land. Or it could be the ghost of your general waste-of-breath outlaw. God knows there’s a lot of evil men buried out here. I put some in the ground myself.”

“Regardless, our next step is clear.” Martin said. “I’ll perform the Aldi Operation and turn this little clump of hair into a compass that’ll lead us to the Red Ghost. Once it’s ready, we’ll hunt up and down Eagle Creek until we find it. Simple work, though it’ll be tiring, especially on my end. Since I’ve never encountered the Red Ghost, it’s going to take me most of the day to perform the Operation. Is there a room I can use?”

“Yes.” Mr. Leeds answered. “The room in the back where we stored the ghost piano of Albright saloon.”

“So long as it doesn’t play itself, that should suffice.” Martin picked up the clump of hair. “Leave some food and water outside the door. I’ll get hungry.”

“That sounds like the perfect excuse to get something to eat. I’m hungry!” Joseph stood up. “What’s there to eat around here?”

“You can eat after seeing all those photos of Ms. Richards? Mr. Reeves asked.

“Of course.” Joseph smiled. “I’ve seen worse, and not just in photographs. Oh, the things I have seen Mr. Reeves…why don’t I share some ghost stories with you over a pint?”

“There’s a saloon about a mile away.” Mr. Reeves said.

“Just a mile? Whisper will have us there in a blink of an eye.”

“Then we can bring back some scrambled eggs and bacon for Dr. Glass.” Mr. Reeves said.

“Just leave it by the door.” Martin said. “I’ll nibble at it whenever I come out of my trance.”

“Hope you like the food.” Mr. Reeves said. “It’s a little different from what you’re used to.”

“I’ve had eggs and bacon before.”

“But have you tried it with bird pepper sauce?”

“Bird pepper sauce? What on Earth is a bird pepper?”

“You’ll find out.”