Short Fiction · Chapter
XII: Jager explained
Jager approaches Fearful Rock on horseback, tethers his horse, and proceeds on foot.
What happens
Jager approaches Fearful Rock on horseback, tethers his horse, and proceeds on foot. He observes a blue light and six figures performing a counterclockwise dance, which he connects to the six dead guerrillas of Quantrill. After hearing shots and a yell from Lanark, he investigates the grave-trench and discovers the empty skins of Persil and Larue Mandifer. As he looks up, a towering silhouette blocks the sky.
Themes in this chapter
Supernatural Evil and Occultism
The blue light, the ghostly figures performing a withershins dance, and the empty skins of the Mandifers evoke occult and supernatural evil.
Fear and Control
Jager's creeping approach, his cold sweat, and his hesitation at the ambush-like ravine highlight the theme of fear and the struggle for control.
The Power of Belief and Ritual
Jager recites a charm from the Long Lost Friend book for marksmanship and signs himself with the cross, showing the power of belief and ritual in the face of the supernatural.
Characters to notice
- Sergeant Jaeger
The chapter focuses on Jager's approach to Fearful Rock, his observations of the supernatural scene, and his discovery of the empty skins.
- Kane Lanark
Mentioned as having written the memoir on which the narrative is based; Jager hears a shot and a yell that sounds like Lanark.
- Enid Mandifer
Jager recalls that Lanark accepted the assignment of bodyguard to Enid Mandifer.
- Persil Mandifer
Jager identifies one of the empty skins as belonging to Persil Mandifer by its distinctive features.
Key passages
“He preferred the New Testament to the Old, though he was apt to misquote his texts from either; and he loved children, and once preached a telling sermon against the proposition of infant damnation.”
Jager favored the New Testament but often misquoted it; he was fond of children and gave a memorable sermon opposing the idea that unbaptized infants are damned.
Describes Jager's character and religious leanings.
“The moonlight showed him a stunted tree, with one gnarled root looping up out of the earth, and to that root he tethered his animal.”
In the moonlight, Jager saw a small, twisted tree with a root sticking up, and he tied his horse to it.
Sets the scene for Jager's approach to Fearful Rock.
“Jager had never seen such a maneuver in four years of army service. Now the circle was moving, rolling around; the figures were tramping counterclockwise—'withershins' was the old-fashioned word for that kind of motion.”
The six figures moved in a counterclockwise circle, a maneuver Jager had never witnessed during his military service; he recalled the archaic term 'withershins' for such motion.
Highlights the unnatural and ritualistic nature of the ghostly figures' dance.
“He knew that collapsed face, even without the sharp stiletto-like bone of the nose to jut forth in its center. He knew that narrowness through the jowls and temples, that height of brow, that hair white as thistledown. Persil Mandifer's skull had been inside.”
Jager recognized the empty skin as Persil Mandifer's by its distinctive narrow face, high forehead, and white hair, even without the prominent nose.
Jager identifies the skin as belonging to Persil Mandifer, confirming the supernatural horror.