The Ghost of Jed Harding

 by: Hankster

© 2012 by the Author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

1857-1861

Jed Harding and Isaiah Hauser were classmates at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY.  They met on their first day there in August, 1857, when they were assigned side by side cots in the Plebe barracks.  The cots were assigned alphabetically.  They became instant friends even though they had little in common except that they were both entering The Academy, and seeking careers in the military.

Jed grew up on a plantation in Georgia.  His family owned over two hundred slaves who worked tirelessly in the cotton fields, and in the mansion he called his little home.  He had two younger sisters, and his father was a widower.  His mother had died in a small pox plague about ten years earlier.  He was a handsome lad of British descent.  He stood six feet tall; his hair was a dark blond and slightly wavy; his eyes were blue; and his body reflected the truth that he had worked side by side with the slaves in the fields when it was necessary to do so.  He was only eighteen when he entered The Academy, but he left behind two bastard mulatto sons, from two different slave mothers.  He also left behind more than a few sore male slave asses which he had fucked.  He had also forced both the women and the men to suck his cock.  That was his secret, and he swore to slaughter the slave victims he had raped, if they told anyone.  They all kept the secret, and received special favors from the young master.  Of course his words were empty threats.  Except for forcing sex on his slaves, he had never been mean or cruel to any one of them in his life.  Still they were merely disposable property to him, and nothing more.

Isaiah was born to a farming family also.  He was of German descent, and a true Yankee from Connecticut, where his family grew tobacco.  He wasn’t poor, but he was far from rich.  Still, compared to many of his friends, he was a person of means.  He looked nothing like Jed except for the brawn.  He was 6’2” tall; his hair was black and straight and fell to his neck; his eyes were brown and seductive.  Seductive eyes did him no good at all.  He came to The Academy an eighteen year old virgin.

As they made up their cots, they introduced each other and when they shook hands, they knew that they would be friends.  Jed couldn’t wait for them to shower together.  He was anxious to check out his new friend, and he was not disappointed.  Isaiah was about five fat inches of flaccid beauty.  His foreskin was skimpy and Jed liked that.  Jed himself was about a quarter of an inch shorter, but just as fluffy, and he grew to about seven inches.  He had too much foreskin and only about half of it retreated when he was hard.  Isaiah’s ass was round and bubbly, and Jed hungered to put his cock as far up that ass as he could.  For the first time that he could remember, he pictured Isaiah’s cock entering his own ass and even his mouth.  He was smitten with desire.  He started to grow hard in the shower and forced himself to turn away and think of terrible things.

The Plebes had no break from their arduous routines until Thanksgiving.  Jed lived too far away to go home for so short a time.  He would not be returning to Georgia until Christmas break.  Isaiah begged him to come home with him.  Of course, he accepted immediately. 

It was a short coach ride to Poughkeepsie, New York, then a ferry ride across the Hudson River, and another coach ride to Greenwich, Connecticut.  Isaiah’s father, Hans, would be picking them up at the coach station in Greenwich, and transporting them to his farm some twenty miles away.  They would be leaving The Academy early Wednesday morning and arriving home late Wednesday afternoon.

Hans embraced his son warmly, and Jed was jealous.  His father never showed him any affection.  When the coach approached the Hauser’s home, Jed was surprised at how small it looked next to his magnificent plantation home, but when he entered, he was struck by the cozy, inviting feeling he felt.  The house had only four bedrooms.  Isaiah’s parents occupied the largest room, and his two younger brothers had the two smallest bedrooms.  Isaiah’s bedroom was smaller than his parents’ and larger than each of his brothers.

“We’ll be rooming together,” he told Jed.  “Come, I’ll show you my room and we can freshen up before dinner.”  The room contained a single size bed that was no bigger than the cots they slept on at The Academy.  Jed was overjoyed, even when Isaiah said, “If we’re too uncomfortable, I can sleep on the floor.”

‘No way,’ Jed thought.

While they were changing from their uniforms into civilian attire, farm attire at that, Zachariah and Benjamin burst in on them.  They had just come in from doing their chores.  Zach was sixteen and Ben was fifteen.  They wrestled Isaiah to the floor and played with him lovingly.  Again Jed grew jealous.  He could never play with two younger sisters like this.  When everyone settled down, and introductions were made, they went downstairs to meet Isaiah’s mother, Greta.

Jed was expecting to meet a short plump hausfrau.  Imagine his shock to meet a tall, attractive, blue eyed blonde.  She did not look much older than Isaiah.  She and Isaiah hugged until Jed thought they would break each other’s bones.  Much to his surprise, she gave Jed a big hug also, and a kiss on the cheek.

“Isaiah has written so much about you,” she said.  “I am so delighted to meet you.  Now all you men can get out of my kitchen and dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

When they were in the living room, Jed asked how many acres the family owned.

Eighty,” Hans answered proudly.

“That’s wonderful,” Jed replied.  “We have about fifteen hundred.  How many slaves does it take to run the place?”

Hans and his sons turned white.

“Good heavens, man.  We run the place ourselves.  At harvest time, I hire farm hands from amongst our neighbors.  Some men even join us from the city to make extra money.”  Jed found this unfathomable, but wisely he said nothing.

Greta made a stick to your ribs, Yankee winter dinner;  New England clam chowder, pot roast, home made bread, apple pie and hot tea.   The weather had dropped a good twenty degrees in the past hour and the family appreciated what she had cooked.  The house had chilled considerably and Hans and his sons added wood to the several fireplaces, and they stoked the fires.  It was Jed’s first time away from Georgia.  He knew it would be much colder than at home, but still he was surprised.  He also realized that winter had not really set in yet, and he wasn’t looking forward to what lay ahead.  The efforts of the family had considerably warmed the lower level of the house, but Hans said, “Be sure you all have extra blankets tonight.”  He looked at Jed.  “The only fireplace upstairs is in the master bedroom,” he explained.  Jed was delighted.

After dinner, Jed and Isaiah were questioned by the family, who wanted to know what life was like at The Academy.  Jed kept sending Isaiah telepathic messages.  He was afraid they would talk all night.  Finally Isaiah got the message.  Jed and I have been up since before dawn,” he said.  “Would you all please excuse us?  I, for one, need to get some sleep.”

The cadets put on coats and went outside to use the outhouse.  “I hate chamber pots,” Isaiah proclaimed.  “I only use them as a last resort.  I have a couple in our room.”  Jed barely heard him.  All he could think about was that in just a few short minutes they would be lying in bed together.

When they entered Isaiah’s room they found a basin filled with warm soapy water and some dry towels.

“Your mom’s a wonder,” Jed said.  “She thinks of everything.”  Jed surprised Isaiah when he stripped off his long johns and washed his balls and cock as well as the rest of him.  Then he put his underwear back on.  Isaiah was embarrassed into doing the same.

The bed was small and they were indeed forced to lie close to each other.  Jed loved it, but Isaiah was uncomfortable.  The silence in the room was very dramatic, especially since the two friends usually talked non-stop. 

Finally Isaiah said, “I’m glad we got the extra blankets.  It’s nice and warm under here.”

“It’s too warm for me,” Jed lied.  “I’m taking off my long johns.”  He jumped out of bed, stripped naked, and climbed back into the warm bed.  The lack of space permitted him to push up against Isaiah’s body.  Now Isaiah may have been a virgin, but he knew the feel of a hard cock pushing up against his thigh.

He froze, not knowing what he should do.  Then he thought better of making a thing of it.  Young men of eighteen got hard all the time.  It didn’t mean a thing.  Why he had a boner himself right now.”

“Why don’t you strip also?” Jed asked.  “Our body heat will keep us warmer than any blankets.”

Isaiah didn’t have to be told twice.  In seconds, both boys were naked, and now instinct took over.  They were facing each other and Jed’s lust made him throw caution to the wind.  He pushed hard against his best friend and began to rub his boner against Isaiah’s hard cock.  As he did so, they both began to purr.

Suddenly Jed ducked under the blankets, and Isaiah felt the strangest, most wonderful sensation.  His cock was warm and wet.  It took a few seconds to realize that Jed had taken his cock into his mouth, and was running his tongue up and down the underside of the hardest ever, biggest boner, Isaiah had ever had.  He was unfamiliar with an orgasm.  When it started to build in his body, he was scared, but it felt so good, he would not have stopped it if he could.  He figured if Jed was trying to kill him, he’d have to explain Isaiah’s dead body in the morning.

Jed could sense that Isaiah was near and he sucked harder.  Isaiah came gushing in Jed’s mouth.  He started to scream and forced himself to stifle it.  The walls in the house were paper thin.

Isaiah was afraid to move.  He had no idea what had happened to him, but he did know that he wanted more, and he wanted to give Jed the same pleasure.  In a few minutes they were lying side by side again.  Their bodies were pushed together and Jed put his lips on Isaiah’s lips.  It was Isaiah’s first kiss, and he didn’t know what to make of it, but he liked what he felt.  Soon Jed’s tongue was forcing open his lips, and their tongues were tickling each other.  Isaiah was breathless.  He was even more shocked when Jed whispered, “I love you Isaiah.  Please fuck me.”

Isaiah was overwhelmed by Jed’s admission of love, but he had no idea how a man fucks another man.’

“I’ll do whatever you want, but you’ll have to show me how,” he told Jed.

“Please,” Jed pleaded “love me too.” 

“I want you to let me suck your cock too,” Isaiah said.  “Then you can teach me how to fuck.”

That night, after recovering from the joy of fellatio, they fucked each other twice, using only spit as a lubricant.  In the early morning hours, they lay huddled together.  As he fell asleep, Isaiah whispered, “I love you too, Jed.”

Jed almost didn’t want to go home for Christmas and for the two week summer break, but he had to.  He would have preferred to have stayed behind with Isaiah and to make love with him.  It got easier when they were upper classmen.  They had many weekends off.  They would go into the nearest town.  One of them would book a single room at some hotel, and they would make love all weekend.

They were due to graduate on May 15, 1861.  One month before graduation, Fort Sumter was fired on, and the long expected War Between the States began. 

“I have to go home,”  Jed announced.

“What about us?  This isn’t fair,” Isaiah sobbed.  “I love you.  This conflict has nothing to do with us.”

“Have you learned nothing from these past four years?  We have to put  country and duty above all personal considerations.  I just received a wire from my father instructing me to go to Clarksville, Tennessee.  My commission in the Confederate army is assured.  Apparently we are amassing our troops there as a focal point for an invasion of the north.”

Jed grabbed Isaiah and kissed him passionately.  ‘Stay safe, my love.  We’ll meet after the war no matter who wins.”  He ran off leaving Isaiah sobbing.

Two weeks later while a good hunk of the confederate army was amassing in Clarksville, they were beset upon in the middle of the night by almost five thousand Union soldiers.  The surprise attack decimated The Rebel stronghold.  Among the dead was a young officer named Jed Harding.

The ghost of Jed Harding was convinced that Isaiah Hauser had betrayed him.  He could not get any rest, and he devoted his eternity to taking revenge on Isaiah’s descendents.

2012

Carlton Hauser made an important family decision.  He took a semester off from Yale to do so.  Shortly after he inherited his four time great grandfather’s house in Greenwich, CT, he decided to raze it to the ground and sell the property.  The house had been the site of where all his ancestors, and he himself, had been born, and where they all lived as children.  But the house was almost one hundred and forty-five years old.  There had been too much renovation and band aid repairs to save the old house.  It needed to be totally torn down and rebuilt.  Now it was a question of whether he should throw good money after bad, or not.

There was another consideration in making the decision.  Every one of his ancestors had died in this house.  The deaths occurred under mysterious circumstances, shortly after their wives gave birth to their first son.  It was deemed to be a terrible family curse, but every succeeding Hauser said that it was pure nonsense and lived, or rather died, to rue their words.  Carlton knew that he could live here safely, but decided not to tempt the fates.  He knew that he would never have a son.

On the evening before the bulldozers were due to arrive, Carlton went through the house one more time to assure himself that nothing of value, sentimental or monetary, was left behind.  He thought he spotted something on a shelf high up in the armoire in the master bedroom.  Sometime over the years, the armoire had been affixed to the wall, and so it had become part of the house, and would be destroyed along with it.

He reached up and was surprised to find a dusty old journal on the top shelf.  He wondered how it could have been missed by his father, and all the grandfathers before him, but he could not come to any clarifying conclusions.  He himself would never live as a married adult in this house, so he could not imagine how it could have been missed by so many fastidious housekeepers.

He dusted the book off with his handkerchief, and concluded his search of the house.  When he was satisfied that nothing was left, he went back to the small apartment he had rented in Greenwich.  The book was tucked under his arm.  When he got home, he dusted the book further with a clean rag, and laid it carefully on his bedside table.  Then he showered to wash away all the grime he had acquired in the decaying house.

He was too tired to read the book that night, and he decided to tackle it in the morning.  He fell asleep more quickly than he had ever fallen asleep before.  In his sleep he had a vivid dream.  It was so real that when he awoke, he remembered every detail and every word.

A handsome young soldier in a confederate uniform got into bed with him, and kissed him full on the lips.  He could feel the kiss, warm and wet, and he got an erection.  The officer spoke to him.  You look just like your grandfather, Isaiah.  It hurts me to see harm come to you.  You are the end of his line.  The curse will end with you.  The apparition kissed him again and he had an orgasm.

The orgasm woke him up.  He had to get out of bed and change the bed sheet.  He was very disturbed by the dream, and the fact that at the age of twenty he had a wet dream.  This time he could not fall asleep so quickly.  He tossed and turned most of the night.  He finally fell asleep about four in the morning and slept until eight.

When he awoke, he clearly saw the young officer sitting on the edge of his bed and smiling at him.  He blinked his eyes and the ghost was gone.  He was sure that he was imagining it all, and at some level he was disappointed.  The young man was so handsome.  If he was real, Carlton would have made a move on him.

After breakfast, Carlton made himself comfortable on the sofa and opened the journal.  The script was old fashioned, and each letter was executed with a flourish.  He found it difficult to read, but he didn’t give up.  Somehow as he stared at the script, it got clearer and clearer to him.  He read the first entry.

April 15, 1861:  Yesterday the War Between the States began at last.  I fear that I am the first casualty. I lost my beloved Jed, not to gunfire, but to separation.  He has been summoned to Clarksville, somewhere in Tennessee, to receive his commission in the Confederate Army.  I am certain that should we both survive this conflict, we will find each other after the war.  We love each other too much to be separated forever.  I have no idea how I am to survive without him.  How can I engage in combat knowing that Jed might be at the other end of my rifle.  I may die of a broken heart before any rebel bullet can pierce it.

Carlton could not believe that his ancestor Isaiah Hauser had written these words.  Fuck! He thought.  He was gay.  Why didn’t he wait for Jed?  Why did he marry?  He read on, hoping that the journal would answer these questions.

April 22, 1861:  Graduation was moved up three weeks because of the war.  I received my commission today, and all of us new officers were assembled in the dining room at The Academy.  We were addressed by a General, who was more than a little drunk.  He told us that a spy in rebel territory had informed the proper authorities that the rebels were massing in Clarksville for an invasion of Union territory.  I grew sick.  I wanted to vomit.  I knew that Jed was among them.

He went on to tell us that we would be among the officers leading the surprise attack on the rebels before they could attack us.  I wanted to die, but I had to hide my emotions, lest my fellow officers attributed my feelings to cowardice.  I cheered as loudly as they did when the General concluded his speech.

When we were dismissed, we went back to clear out our barracks.  The best part of our clothing would be shipped home.  We kept only our combat gear, some of which we were newly issued.

May 15, 1861:  Today should have been my graduation day.  Instead it was the worst day of my life.  At the crack of dawn, we fell upon hundreds of rebels in a camp in Clarksville.  Most of them were still asleep and never knew what hit them as our bayonets pierced their hearts.  I did not kill a single rebel.  Instead I searched every face looking for my beloved in a useless quest to keep him safe.  By nightfall the few of them remaining alive surrendered, and we returned to our camp with the prisoners.  Jed was not among them, and I feared the worst.  Optimistically I prayed that he had not been in the camp at all.

May 28, 1861:  Our high ranking officers have intercepted a list of rebel dead at Clarksville.  As I feared, Jed was among them.  I want to die, but I must go on.  I am too full of grief to write anything further today.

December 14, 1863:  I hate this war.  It took away my life, my Jed.  I haven’t seen my family in two years.  My brothers are in the war.  Every day I pray for their safety.  I hate living in a tent in an open field.  I fear I will get sick and die, if a rebel doesn’t get me first.  I would welcome death.  Perhaps there is a heaven and I will be reunited with my love.  I have no need to live another day in this hell.

June 11, 1866:  The war has been over for some months now.  I was wounded in the leg in the final hours of the war, and I will limp badly for the rest of my days.  I have been discharged from the army with a small pension.  My father has arranged a bride for me.  I will meet her tomorrow and we are to be wed in a fortnight.  I fear that I might not be able to perform my husbandly duties, but I will give it the same effort I gave to the army, when my heart was never in it.  Is there a man on this earth more tortured than I am?

June 13, 1866:  Molly is a beautiful young girl.  I must admit I like her very much, and I think she likes me.

June 1, 1867:  In just a day or two I shall be a father.  For the first time since Jed was torn from my arms, I feel that I may have something to live for.

June 5, 1867:  Today, unto me, a son was born.  I named him Jed.

Here the journal ended, but Carlton knew why.  Isaiah was thrown from his horse and killed a few days later.  It was considered a freak accident.  Isaiah was a cavalry officer and a wonderful horseman. So how could this have happened?  In his head, Carlton heard a voice say THE CURSE!

For some reason, Carlton could relate to his distant ancestor who was as gay as he.  He lay prone on the sofa, closed his eyes, and began to cry for Isaiah’s loss.  He prayed that someday he could have a love as deep as Jed’s had been.

He imagined that he heard someone else crying.  He listened and he was certain he did.  He opened his eyes, and there was the young rebel kneeling on the floor next to the sofa.  He was as solid as any living person Carlton knew.

The two sobbing men reached out and touched each other.

“You’re real,” Carlton said.  “Are you Jed?”

Jed nodded.  “He was innocent all along,” he sobbed.  “How could I ever have believed differently.   Forgive me, Isaiah, and ask all your progeny to forgive me as well.”  He laid his head on Carlton’s chest and Carlton began to stroke his hair.

“I can only manifest for an hour or so,” Jed said.  “Please make love to me Carlton.  You look just like your great grandfather, Isaiah.  That is, except for one thing.  You are circumcised.”

Carlton laughed.  “Yes, yes, Jed let’s make love.  Come with me into the bedroom.”  When Jed stood up he was as naked as the day he was born.  Carlton quickly shed his boxers, and they fell naked together on Carlton’s bed.

“What did you and Isaiah like to do the most?” Carlton asked.

“We would get each other as hard as possible with our tongues and then we would fuck each other.”

“That sounds perfect.”  Carlton twisted around into a sixty nine position.  He went right to work, and ghost or no ghost, he felt Jed’s hot warm tongue bathing his throbbing cock.  Even more incredible, he could taste Jed as clearly as any other guy he had ever been with.  He even had a little struggle pushing back Jed’s foreskin.

Later he unloaded easily into Jed’s man hole.  When Jed fucked him, he was aware when Jed had his orgasm, but he felt no body fluid entering his gut. He did feel Jed getting softer and falling out of him.  They lay perfectly still for awhile, basking in the afterglow.

“I have to go now,” Jed announced.  “I’ve stayed too long seeking revenge, and it was all for nothing.  I’ve got to go find Isaiah and all his descendents and ask them to forgive me.  Oh Carlton, I can see a great white light beckoning to me.  I really have to go now.”

Jed got out of bed.  He was draped in a beautiful white robe and his essence glowed with a bright white aura.  Carlton stared after him in total awe, as Jed slowly faded away.

“I hope you find Isaiah,” he yelled at the disappearing ghost.  “I hope you find all of them, and when you do, please tell each one that I love him.”

Posted: 03/16/12