A Good Night for Ghosts Read online

  “Me too,” said Jack. “But what about giving your gifts to the world?”

  Dipper laughed. “I can’t afford gifts for Lady the mule. How am I going to afford gifts for the world?”

  “What about your musical gifts?” asked Jack.

  “Okay, good idea. I’ll sing a song to Lady on her birthday,” he said. “Let’s go now.”

  Dipper tossed his shovel into the bucket. Then he reached into his pocket and took out some change. “Tomorrow I’ll be getting paid fifteen cents for this load,” he said. “In case I don’t see you again, here’s your share: five cents for you and five for you.”

  “No, no, keep it,” said Annie. “You should keep it all for your family, Dipper.”

  “What? That’s not right,” said Dipper.

  “It is right,” said Jack.

  “Then what did y’all do that work for?” asked Dipper.

  “We didn’t do that much,” Jack said. “Not nearly as much as you did. It was a lot harder job than I thought it would be.”

  “Then why did y’all keep working?” asked Dipper.

  “It was fun hanging out with you,” said Annie.

  Dipper laughed. “Well, you two sure are a couple of potato heads,” he said.

  “What’s that mean?” asked Annie.

  “It means you don’t have any more brains than a pair of potatoes,” said Dipper.

  Jack and Annie just laughed.

  “Sure you won’t take any money?” said Dipper.

  “Absolutely!” said Annie.

  “Well, thanks a million for your help,” said Dipper. He climbed back into the driver’s seat of the cart. “Hey want me and Lady to give y’all a ride back to the coal yard?”

  “Yes!” said Jack and Annie together.

  “Good. Climb on!” said Dipper.

  “Thanks, man!” said Jack.

  Annie grabbed their trumpet. Jack grabbed his bag, and they sat on the cart bench next to Dipper. Jack was still hot and sweaty. He was tired and his arms were sore. But for some reason, he felt great.

  “Let’s go, Lady,” said Dipper.

  Lady the mule began pulling the creaky cart along the Mississippi River. And Dipper began singing again:

  I’ve got those coal cart blues.

  I’m really all confused…

  The sky had grown cloudy, and a warm breeze was blowing.

  Dipper stopped the cart and listened. “Hear that?” he said. “Parade’s coming this way.”

  Jack heard band music in the distance.

  “Is that parade for All Saints’ Day?” asked Annie.

  “Maybe. Or maybe for a million other things,” said Dipper. “Folks in this city will find any excuse for a parade.”

  Soon the parade came into view.

  Horseback riders wore plumed hats and black masks. Following them were people dressed up as clowns, kings, queens, fairies with fluttering wings, ghosts, and skeletons.

  “We read that New Orleans might be the most haunted city in the country,” Annie said to Dipper, “especially on the eve of All Saints’ Day. We heard there’re real ghosts in a cathedral, a hotel, and a blacksmith shop.”

  “Yeah, and plenty more places, too,” said Dipper. “But I’m not afraid of ghosts. I’m not afraid of anything.”

  “Me neither!” said Annie.

  “Um, me neither,” said Jack.

  A band followed the people in costumes. The musicians were playing trumpets, tubas, trombones, and drums—lots of drums. The joyous music filled the New Orleans air. Jack and Annie couldn’t help nodding their heads in time to the beat. Jack noticed that Dipper was nodding his head, too.

  “Hey, there’re the fellas!” said Annie.

  Happy, Little Mack, and Big Nose Sidney were walking alongside the band, singing their hearts out.

  “Looks like they’re having fun!” said Annie. She nudged Jack. “Doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah!” said Jack. “A lot of fun! Music is so much fun! I wish I had musical talent! You’re so lucky, Dipper!”

  “You really are, Dipper!” said Annie. “Musical talent is really a great gift to share with the world!”

  Dipper just shook his head, as if he thought they were crazy. “Biggest potato heads I’ve ever met,” he said.

  Jack and Annie laughed.

  Dipper gave the reins a shake. “Go ’long, Lady. Keep me on my path.”

  How weird that Dipper said that, Jack thought. Their mission was to keep him on the right path, too—the path to becoming the King of Jazz.

  As Lady plodded along the bank of the Mississippi, Dipper started singing nonsense words:

  Skid-dat-de-dat

  Skid-dat-de-doo!

  “That sounds so cool,” said Jack. “What’s that song?”

  “Not a song. I’m just scat-singing, man,” said Dipper.

  “Scat-singing?” said Annie. “What’s that?”

  “When you can’t think of words, just sing sounds,” said Dipper. “Make ’em up. If you put your heart in it, folks will understand you.”

  “I didn’t know a person could make music like that,” said Jack.

  “Heck, yeah, you can make music any way you want,” said Dipper. “Just listen to the world: There’s church bells, the washerwoman singing about her wash, the ragman blasting his tin horn for folks to bring out their rags. Folks selling things, like that pie man. Listen to him.”

  Dipper pointed to a man sitting in a red wagon, calling out in a strong, rich voice, “Sweet potato! Sweet potato pie! Lemon pie! Apple pie! Any pie you like!”

  “Listen to that voice,” said Dipper. “That’s music. And listen to those sounds—” Dipper pointed to some women walking beside the road.

  The women carried baskets on their heads and called out in singsong voices, “Blue-berries!” “Rasp-berries!” “Black-berrieeeeeeeeeeeeeees!”

  “I see what you mean,” said Annie. “Music is everywhere.”

  “You got it, girl,” said Dipper. “You can even hear it in Lady’s hoofbeats. Listen.”

  Jack listened to the rhythmic clippity-clop, clippity-clop of the mule.

  “See? There you go!” said Dipper. “That’s a song—Go ’long, mule, go ’long, mule.”

  Jack and Annie listened to the steady music of Lady’s hoofbeats, until finally the mule came to a stop.

  “Well, here we are at the coal yard,” said Dipper. “I’ll leave Lady here till tomorrow.”

  They all jumped to the ground.

  “Thanks for your music, Lady.” Dipper patted the mule on her nose. Then he turned to Jack and Annie. “Afraid I have to leave y’all now,” Dipper said. “But it’s been great.”

  “Yeah, um…,” Jack began, trying to think of a good reason to stay with Dipper.

  “I’d like to hear you blow that horn when the time’s right,” Dipper said to Annie. “And don’t forget to say hi to Teddy and Kathleen for me.” He winked, then waved and started walking away.

  “But—but, Dipper!” called Jack.

  “Sorry, man! I’m late!” Dipper shouted over his shoulder. “Thanks a million!” He waved again and kept going.

  Jack and Annie looked at each other in a panic. “We have to stay with him!” said Annie. “Wait, wait, Dipper!” She and Jack ran after him.

  “Where are you going now?” Jack asked.

  “My next job,” said Dipper. “I have to haul bananas till dark.”

  “Really? Another job?” said Jack.

  “Hey guess what?” shouted Annie. “We love to haul bananas!”

  “Yeah. Yeah, we do,” said Jack.

  Dipper stopped and stared at them. “What is wrong with y’all?” he said. “Don’t you know how to have fun?”

  Jack didn’t know what to say.

  “Seriously,” said Annie. “We do love to haul bananas. And you make everything more fun with your singing.”

  “Yeah, you’re a good singer!” piped up Jack. “That’s a gift!”

  Dipper just shook his head.
“Remember when I said you didn’t have any more brains than a pair of potatoes? Well, I take it back. I don’t think you have one potato’s brain between you.”

  Jack and Annie laughed.

  “Well, come on, then,” said Dipper.

  Jack and Annie hurried with Dipper down to the loading dock on the riverfront. At least fifty workers were hauling huge loads of bananas out of the cargo hold of a ship.

  “Wait here,” Dipper told them.

  Dipper walked over to a man checking people in to work. He pointed to Jack and Annie. The man shrugged, then nodded. Dipper waved for them to come join him.

  Jack and Annie ran down to join Dipper and the other workers in the cargo hold. Dipper picked up a giant bunch of bananas. The bunch was almost as big as Annie! He hauled it onto his shoulder and then picked up another one.

  “Grab a bunch of bananas and follow me!” Dipper said. He headed to the counter, where men in white suits were inspecting the banana bunches.

  “No way either of us can pick up one of those bunches,” Jack said to Annie.

  “Let’s try it together,” said Annie.

  Annie hid their trumpet behind a large wooden box. Jack put his bag there, too. Jack and Annie loaded a bunch of bananas into their arms. They walked closely together, taking short, clumsy steps, following Dipper. They delivered the bunch to the inspectors and then hurried back to get another.

  As the sun sank toward the river, Jack, Annie, and Dipper hauled bananas back and forth between the cargo hold and the inspectors. They hauled bananas until it was almost dark. Jack was so tired he could hardly see straight. He was afraid Dipper would never call it quits.

  “Last one,” Dipper said finally.

  Yes! thought Jack. They grabbed their last loads.

  Suddenly a large rat jumped out of the cargo hold! Dipper let out a scream. He dropped his bananas and took off running. Annie and Jack dropped their bananas, too. Annie grabbed her trumpet. Jack grabbed his bag, and they ran after Dipper.

  Running like crazy, Dipper led Jack and Annie far from the loading area—and the rat. When he finally stopped, Jack bumped into Dipper, and Annie bumped into Jack. They all started laughing. Dipper laughed the hardest. He collapsed on the curb of Decatur Street and laughed so hard his whole body shook. Jack and Annie sat down next to him, laughing until they cried. Finally they all managed to calm down.

  “I know… I know I said I wasn’t afraid of anything,” Dipper said breathlessly. “But I lied. I’m afraid of one thing: rats. Rats give me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Annie said, catching her breath. “I know how you feel. Spiders give me the heebie-jeebies.”

  “Yeah,” Jack said, panting. “Yeah, actually, ghosts give ’em to me.”

  “That’s cool, that’s cool, man,” said Dipper. “Between the three of us, we got all the scaredy stuff covered.”

  That made them all start laughing again. As the twilight deepened, they sat on the curb, catching their breath. They laughed now and then, out of relief and friendship.

  Then Dipper stood up. “Before we part ways, I better get our pay from the boss. Hold on.”

  Jack and Annie kept sitting on the curb as Dipper ran back down to the dock. “Part ways? We can’t part ways yet,” said Jack.

  “I know!” said Annie. “We haven’t even begun to accomplish our mission.”

  “Umbrella! Buy an umbrella!” a man shouted as he walked by. He carried a load of umbrellas on his back. “Storm a-comin’! Big storm comin’ for the eve of All Saints’!”

  “Oh, no, now a storm’s coming,” said Jack. He was confused about what they should do next.

  A moment later, Dipper returned. “Thirty cents!” he said. “We each get ten.”

  “No, no, Dipper,” said Annie. “Please use it to take care of your family.”

  “Yeah, do that,” said Jack.

  “We insist,” said Annie.

  Dipper smiled. “Oh, you do, do you? Why? What’s this game y’all are playing?”

  “It’s no game,” said Jack.

  “We’re just a couple of potato heads,” said Annie. “Get used to it.”

  “Well, then, you two potato heads, let me give you something else,” said Dipper. “Come along with me.”

  “Great!” said Jack. They weren’t “parting ways” yet! He and Annie jumped up from the curb and bounded off with Dipper.

  Streetlamps were coming on as Jack, Annie, and Dipper walked away from Jackson Square. When they came to Bourbon Street, vendors walked the sidewalks, calling out, “Ice cream!” “Lemon pie!” “Ham biscuits!”

  “Hmm. Sounds good,” said Annie. “There seems to be lots of good food in New Orleans.”

  “Best in the world!” said Dipper.

  People were sitting outside dance halls and restaurants, laughing and talking, eating and drinking. Outside and inside, musicians were blaring away on their instruments.

  “Hey, there’s Dipper! Sing something for us, Dipper!” the ice cream lady yelled.

  Dipper waved and kept going.

  “Hey, girl, can you play that trumpet?” a man called to Annie.

  “Not till the time’s right!” Annie shouted.

  “When’s that?” the man said.

  “She’ll know it when she feels it!” Dipper shouted.

  At the end of the block, under a streetlamp, a trio was singing in harmony. It was Little Mac, Happy, and Big Nose Sidney.

  “Look, Dipper, it’s your friends again,” said Annie.

  “I see ’em,” said Dipper. But he ignored the three boys and crossed the street.

  Dipper led Jack and Annie down a narrow alley to the back of a shabby, run-down building. Good cooking smells came from inside. “Y’all wait for me outside this greasy spoon,” he said, and he slipped through the back door.

  “What’s a greasy spoon?” asked Annie.

  “Smells like it must be a restaurant,” said Jack.

  Annie put down the trumpet. Jack put down his bag. They sat on the back steps of the greasy spoon. While they waited in the muggy twilight for Dipper, Jack wiped his forehead. He was starving and ached all over.

  Soon Dipper pushed open the back door with his foot. He was carrying a big bowl and a tall glass. “I got us some gumbo stew and some lemonade to share!” he said. “Talk about good!”

  “Oh, man, thanks,” breathed Jack.

  Dipper sat between Jack and Annie on the steps. He pulled spoons out of his pocket for each of them. “Dig in, y’all!” he said.

  Together the three of them tackled the gumbo stew. They all ate their fill of spicy chicken, ham, tomatoes, okra, onions, and rice. When the bowl was empty, they shared the tall glass of lemonade. Then they sat back on the steps and heaved big sighs. Jack felt stuffed and happy.

  “Mighty fine,” breathed Dipper.

  “Mighty fine,” echoed Jack.

  “Mighty fine,” said Annie.

  “Nothing tastes as good as gumbo after a hard day’s work,” said Dipper. He stood up. “Well, I have to leave y’all now. Thanks a million for your help today. And don’t forget to thank Teddy and Kathleen for sending y’all to find me.” Before Jack and Annie could stop him, Dipper climbed down the steps and vanished into the dark.

  “Dipper?” called Jack.

  There was no answer.

  “He’s gone again!” said Annie.

  “And we totally failed in our mission for Merlin,” said Jack. “We didn’t help Dipper get on the right path to give his gifts to the world.”

  “I know. We have to find him. Come on,” said Annie. She hopped up and headed after Dipper.

  “Wait, the trumpet!” said Jack. He grabbed the magic trumpet and his bag and followed her.

  When Jack left the steps, it was too dark for him to see where Annie had gone. Thunder rumbled in the distance. The air felt heavy and thick as if the storm were about to break at any moment.

  “Annie!” Jack called.

  “Here!” Annie called back f
rom the front of the restaurant. Jack joined her. Together they peeked through a window that looked into a large kitchen. Dipper was alone, washing a mountain of dishes.

  “Why’s he doing that?” whispered Jack.

  “Hey Dipper!” said Annie.

  Dipper turned and smiled. “You caught me,” he said. He looked embarrassed.

  “Why are you washing dishes?” asked Annie.

  Dipper shrugged. “Got to pay for our dinner somehow,” he said.

  “We’ll help you,” said Annie.

  “We love washing dishes!” said Jack.

  Dipper laughed. “Then come on in, potato heads,” he said. “I could use some help.”

  Jack and Annie slipped through a side door into the hot, steamy kitchen.

  Jack put down his bag and the trumpet. He and Annie picked up dirty plates from the counter. They began scraping leftovers into a garbage pail. They scraped fish heads, oyster shells, crab legs, shrimp tails, chicken bones, grease, and gravy off dozens of plates.

  The work was messy and smelly. But Jack and Annie worked hard to keep up with Dipper. Every time he took a plate from them, he smiled and said, “Thank you.” He never frowned or complained or even seemed tired.

  “Dipper,” said Annie while they worked, “your life seems really hard. How do you stay so cheerful?”

  “Why not? It’s more fun to be cheerful than sad,” he said.

  “Don’t you ever feel like getting mad or complaining about stuff?” said Jack.

  “Sure I do, I’m human,” said Dipper. “I feel all kinds of things. All day long I feel things. You could say I have a rich life. I might not get to have everything. But I get to feel everything!” He laughed.

  “I’m the same way,” said Annie.

  “I thought so,” said Dipper. “That’s why I sure would like to hear you play that trumpet sometime.”

  “Maybe you will,” said Annie.

  By the time they finished washing dishes, rain was falling outside.

  “Where to now?” said Jack.

  “One more treat for y’all,” said Dipper. “Let’s leave this greasy spoon and head back down to the river. To the River Café for dessert! Come on.”

  “We better not,” said Jack. “The waiters there don’t like us.”