It was a photo of a seated man in a Union army uniform. Behind him was draped an American flag and what could have been a regimental flag. The reproduction wasn’t a very good one, but the man’s features were clearly visible. He had a short beard and a thin, hard-­looking mouth. He wasn’t grinning in the photo.

10

Chapter Ten

“You’re upset by the picture,” Father Fogarty observed.

I nodded.

“Do you know the man?”

“The caption says ‘Brigadier General Duffin Caine.’ ”

“Yes, that’s who it is. I found this book in a secondhand store several years ago, and I bought it because of the picture. I had been curious for a long time to know what he looked like. The Ashland Times thought they had a photo of him in their files, but when I asked them to look, they couldn’t find it. It seems that General Caine didn’t like to have his picture taken, and after the one occasion when he did permit it—for this book—he regretted it and went around buying up and destroying all the copies he could find. He evidently missed this copy somehow.”

“Why didn’t he want his photo published?” My teeth were chattering.

Father Fogarty got up again, went to a cabinet and took out a bottle of John Jameson’s and two water tumblers. He poured me a good slug and himself a better. “Down it,” he said. “There’s nothing better for the nerves than Irish whiskey. Now, in answer to your question, maybe it was one of the rules of the religion he practiced. It’s not unusual, you know. The ancient Hebrews didn’t like graven images, nor did the old-­time Mohammedans. Even today there are people in wild areas of the world who think that taking their photographs means taking their souls. However, there is also another possibility. Maybe our friend here just didn’t want to be recognized as General Duffin Caine.”

“But why?” The whiskey was helping some.

“Maybe he thought that he was going to be around for a long time and it seemed wiser that he not be associated with a man who lived so long ago.”

“But how could he be around? General Caine died and was buried years ago.”

“Nevertheless he seems to be still with us. Isn’t he the man you saw in your kitchen, and before that in your automobile?”

“I’ll agree that man resembled General Caine.”

“I’ll tell you something else. The man I saw doing his business in the church resembled the General too. The church was dark and I only caught a quick glimpse of his face when he came at me, but now that I study the photo I can see that it could’ve been the General.”

“But you told me you caught a boy who had done it.”