With those words, the ghost had vanished. Pinkney woke up the next morning convinced that he had not dreamed the encounter. He noted in his testimony, “I was sure that my father’s spirit had come back from the grave and spoken to me.” Acting upon the instructions supplied by the ghost, Pinkney had asked his mother about his father’s old overcoat. When she informed him that the garment had been given to his older brother, he made a hasty twenty-mile trip to the farm residence of John Chaffin in nearby Yadkin County.
After Pinkney told his brother the story of their father’s most recent visit, the two took the overcoat from the closet with the expectation of finding a will. Pinkney’s testimony revealed what they discovered instead: “When I examined the inside pocket, I found the lining had been stitched to the coat. I cut the stitches, and inside the lining was a little roll of paper tied with a string. Written on that piece of paper, in my father’s handwriting, were these words: ‘Read the twenty-seventh chapter of Genesis in my daddy’s old Bible.’”
Pinkney promptly started out on the journey back to his mother’s, where his grandfather’s Bible was located. In the course of that trip, he realized that it might be prudent to have an impartial witness on hand when he examined the Bible. To that end, he persuaded a neighbor, James Blackwelder, to accompany him.
Mrs. Chaffin could not readily put her hands on the Bible. After an exhaustive search, it was finally located in a chest in the attic. With his mother, his wife, his teenage daughter, and Blackwelder looking on, Pinkney picked up the Bible. He described to the court what happened next: “The Bible was in bad shape, and while I was handling it, it fell into three pieces. Mr. Blackwelder picked up the part containing the book of Genesis and turned the leaves with the twenty-seventh chapter. At that place, two leaves had been folded together, forming a pocket.” And there it was—James L. Chaffin’s last will and testament. Introduced into evidence at the trial, it read,
After reading the 27th chapter of Genesis, I, James L. Chaffin, do make my last will and testament and here it is. I want, after giving my body a decent burial, my little property to be equally divided among my four children, if they are living at my death, both personal and real estate divided equal; if not living, share to their children. And if she is living, you must take care of your mammy. Now this is my last will and testament. Witness my hand and seal.
James L. Chaffin
This January 16, 1919
Even though the handwritten will was not witnessed, it was valid under state law because several witnesses offered testimony that it bore the handwriting of James L. Chaffin.
After the will was presented, the twenty-seventh chapter of Genesis—which chronicles how Esau was tricked out of his birth-right by Jacob—was read to the court.
By that point in the trial, Marshall’s widow had heard and seen enough. Before the matter could be submitted to the jury, the parties reached a settlement.
At the conclusion of the legal proceedings, skeptics descended upon Mocksville after reading accounts of Mr. Chaffin’s ghost. Pinkney was quick to respond to the doubters: “Many of my friends do not believe that it is possible for the living to hold communication with the dead, but I am convinced that my father actually appeared to me on several occasions—and I’ll believe it to the day of my death.”
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
