More Harry Hogan stories!
Harry Hogan glanced up from his desk as the door opened. “Silas! What brings you out on a frosty morning?”
Silas Blogger, retired lightkeeper, sat on a chair opposite Harry’s desk. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
Harry grinned. “What’s on your mind?”
“You know me too well. Have you heard the story of Hobie the Hermit?”
“No, I haven’t. Is that where the name Hobie’s Hill came from?”
Silas nodded. “His name was Obediah, known as Obie. My grandfather heard that his last name was Winterbotham.”
“Obediah Winterbotham… that’s a mouthful,” Harry said.
“Obie lived around here when Gramps was a kid but nobody knew exactly where. Skinny as a rake and strong, he came to town spring and fall with an old canvas knapsack, and picked up some basic supplies. That’s the only time anyone saw him. Gramps said Obie knew how to live off the land like a hermit.”
“Did he pay for the things he picked up?” Harry asked.
“He stopped at the bank first so I guess he had money.”
“Savings, funds being transferred from somewhere else, or an inheritance,” Harry said.
Silas took a long sip of coffee. “I knew there was something else. Obie made one more stop when he came to town… the post office. Apparently he mailed one letter and there was always one letter waiting for him.”
“Maybe from a relative, or a lawyer,” Harry said. “And no one knew where he lived.”
“All I heard is that everyone thought he lived up on that hill.”
“He wouldn’t have picked up fall supplies if he wasn’t going to be there for the winter,” Harry said. “It’s an interesting story, Silas, but why are you telling me this now?”
Silas drew a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “That recent ice storm uncovered something that got me thinking. Maybe Obie lived in a cave.”
Harry looked at him. “What makes you think that?”
“Just up past the lighthouse there’s a wide ledge about halfway up the cliff. I was out there checking after the storm and… there’s something just up over that ledge, like an opening in the cliff.”
“And you never saw it before?” Hogan was sceptical.
“The ledge was filled with scrub but that storm did some damage. Part of the outer rim is gone, and the cliff is more visible.”
“What happened to it?” Harry asked.
Silas shrugged. “Time and nature is my guess. A lot of water has run down over that cliff through the years.”
“That makes sense,” Harry said. “How old was Obie when your grandfather knew him?”
Silas laughed. “Maybe ten or eleven, and he thought Obie was probably in his forties.”
“When was your grandfather born?”
“Well, he was 88 when he died in 1981, so he was born in 1893. Why?”
Harry chuckled. “That’s a possible birth year of 1863, give or take a few years.. It’s amazing what you can find on the Internet these days and I doubt if Obediah Winterbotham is a very common name.”
Silas shook his head. “A person’s life isn’t very private these days.”
