Short Fiction · Chapter
II: The Flying Horned One explained
Cole Wickett, a starving and weary former Confederate soldier, recalls a night in 1876 near Welcome Rock on the Missouri-Arkansas border.
What happens
Cole Wickett, a starving and weary former Confederate soldier, recalls a night in 1876 near Welcome Rock on the Missouri-Arkansas border. He witnesses a monstrous flying creature with bat-wings and horns, then intervenes in a flogging where two masked men are beating a captive. After a struggle, he rescues the victim, Peter Dole, and is aided by the Reverend Mr. Jaeger, formerly a Union sergeant. Despite Jaeger's baptism, Peter dies from his injuries. Jaeger provides Wickett with food and promises explanations about the local mysteries.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural Evil and Occultism
The Flying Horned One, a monstrous bat-winged creature with horns, and the masked men's use of unknown incantations suggest occult forces at work.
Evil and Moral Corruption
The brutal flogging of Peter Dole by masked men and the presence of a demonic creature highlight the moral decay and violence in the community.
Sacrifice and Redemption
Peter Dole's desperate plea for baptism before death and Jaeger's act of baptizing him suggest a search for redemption amidst suffering.
Characters to notice
- Cole Wickett
Narrator and protagonist, a gaunt and hungry former Confederate soldier and tramp, who intervenes to rescue Peter Dole from a flogging.
- Peter Dole
Victim of a brutal flogging by masked men; he begs for baptism from Jaeger but dies from his injuries.
- Reverend Mr. Jaeger
Former Union Sergeant Jaeger, now a preacher, who aids Wickett and baptizes the dying Peter Dole.
Key passages
“I remembered that adventure, strangest moment of all my war-boyhood on a late night in the fall of 1876.”
Cole Wickett recalls the most bizarre event from his youth during the war, which occurred on a late autumn night in 1876.
Sets the scene for the chapter's supernatural encounter.
“Something winged slowly across it. What I say seems unreal to you, as the sight then seemed unreal to me.”
A winged creature flew across the moon, appearing as unreal to the narrator as it would to the reader.
Introduces the Flying Horned One, a key supernatural element.
“I threw my stone, and it struck the knife-holder’s black horned brow with a sound like an axe on wood.”
Wickett threw a rock that hit one of the masked attackers on the forehead, making a sound like an axe hitting wood.
Highlights Wickett's decisive action in the fight.
“He was mumbling words in an unknown tongue: 'Mirathe saepy Satonich yetmye—but it won’t work !'”
One of the masked men muttered an incantation in a strange language, but it failed to have any effect.
Suggests the use of occult rituals by the attackers.
“God grant that the baptism Peter asked for will bring him peace in the grave.”
Jaeger hopes that the baptism Peter requested will grant him peace after death.
Reflects the theme of redemption and the power of ritual.