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B J Laubscher – Where Mystery dwells

Mr R Hendriks is a well known Afrikaans detective story writer.  The Hendriks family moved into a flat in Johannesburg from their previous home in Northcliffe. One evening his wife had to go somewhere urgently to keep an appointment, but they had no one to leave in the flat with their little son of six years. They did not at all like the idea of leaving him alone, but had no alternative except to wait until he was asleep and then to go by car as quickly as possible. They felt that this would be the best solution because he was a heavy sleeper, and hardly ever woke during the night.

He fell asleep and they slipped out quietly to keep the appointment. On their return half-an-hour later they found the little fellow sitting up in bed wide awake.

“Where were you"? he asked. "I woke and called and called to you, but there was no answer."

“And what did you do then?" asked his parents.

"At first I cried," he said, "but then an uncle (oom) came out behind the curtain there and said to me ‘Don't cry big man, your Pappa and Mamma will be here any minute.’"

"What sort of an uncle," (oom) asked his completely astounded father. "What did he look like?"

"Oh," said the little fellow: "He wore spectacles and had on a long black frock (robe) and on his head was a small black hat."

"And then?" went on the father, "what did you do?"

"Oh we played. The uncle was very funny and made me laugh."

"But where is he now?" asked his father.

"He disappeared behind the curtain there and said you would be arriving."

Mrs. Hendriks laughed and believed that her little boy had imagined and fabricated the whole story, and added that "he had his father's talent."

They dismissed the whole episode until some days later someone who knew the flat casually remarked about an old Jewish Rabbi who had lived and died in that flat.

This pricked Mr. Hendriks' curiosity and the next morning he asked the African who had cleaned these flats for a long time whether he knew about the Rabbi, and the servant confirmed that he had died there and had worn spectacles, a long black robe and a small black cap.