Ghosts of the Carolinas

The Ring

The Ring DEATH BRINGS A COVETED RING-AND DISASTER-TO A GREEDY YOUNG WOMAN Mary was the proud, petulant one of the two sisters , while Kate was gentle hearted and kind. Orphaned during their teens the girls lived in a small cottagefrom whichcould be heard the roar of thesurf when the wind was high. The men of Dare County along the OuterBanks of North Carolina first begin to test their mettle against the honing of the sea while they are still boys. And young David Blount was one of the bravest of this "bred to the sea" breed. No night was too wild or treacherous waters too turbulent for his rescue boat when the call came to bring in terrified passengers from a wrecked ship. David courted Kate with the same fierceness of purpose that made him thrust his eager young face into the driving rain over thestormy Atlantic. At first Mary tried to divert his attentions from her meek younger sister to herself. And when that failed she took an intense dislike to him. David knew it and cared not a whit. After a short time Kate agreed to marry him and David produced a diamond ring of surpassing beauty which he placed upon her finger. When the winds battered the little cottage at night and the sound of the sea rose in a crashing crescendo, Kate 23 24 Wreck of a wooden sailing vessel at dawn on Hatteras Island would look at the flashing ring and say, liThe fire from this ring somehow warms my spirit and I know he'll corne horne to me again." But one night the sea was the victor. Savage waves assaulted the cape and the tiny, stormtossed. boat which David rode like a young Viking was struck a shattering blow. The mountainous waves crushed it as if it were a child's toy. When they carne to tell her, Kate said nothing. From then on she went silently about her tasks at home and in the village. She rarely spoke, never 25 26 smiled, until as a neighbor woman said, "The girl is like a flower which the frost has touched." As Kate became more and more remote Mary's vivaciousness seemed to increase. There was an almost expectant air about her. Occasionally someone would see Kate looking at her ring and only then did she resemble her former self for her face would take on a strange glow. One morning the wife of a fisherman who lived nearby heard a pounding at her door and Mary's voice crying out, "Help me! Help me! Kate is dead." That night Mary refused to let anyone keep her company as she sat with the body. Her griefseemed too great to share. A small candle burned near the head of the coffin and Mary satat its side. Forseveral hours she barely moved. Then she leaned forward and looked over the side of the wooden box. Her body swayed backward slightly as if hesitating, then leaned forward poised over the casket. This time her hand crept over the edge. She grasped something, tugged, gasped slightly then tugged again, every muscle tensed. Successful, she sank back into her chair with a sigh of deep satisfaction. A moment later she rose and held her hand up to the light of the candle. On her finger glowed the diamond. At the funeral the sobs of Kate's sister were pathetic to hear, and as she raised her hands dramatically and wrung them in her sorrow the magnificent diamond showed off to advantage. Several nights later Mary sat alone in the cottage. The night was a wicked one and wind and sea played an eerie duet. Then came a calling at the door above the sound of the weather, "Mary, J'm so cold. Oh, Mary, please let me come in." This happened night after night until Mary could stand it no longer. Finally , she sought the advice of a neighbor woman who suggested she ask her visitor to come in and warm herself. That night when she heard the same pleading voice at the door, she called out to it to come in. The wind blew the door open with a clatter and a shadowyform drifted through itcoming to rest quiteclose to where Mary stood. "Why, Kate," said Mary. "Where are your beautiful white...