The Lady In Black as summarized by Rodolfo Pena, Jr. There have been rumors for many years that a lady draped in black clothing appears at the intersection of Highways 141 and 281, between the cities of Premont and Ben Bolt. Of course you could just say "Oh, It's just another ghost story," and turn your head, but what are you to do when groups of people come up to you and describe her to you? Among these witnesses were four men on the way to work at an Exxon refinery. They all claim to seeing her right in front of their vehicle. They couldn't possibly avoid hitting her so they tried to stop. Nobody heard a thud or a bump but they were all sure that the lady had been hit. After getting out of their vehicle they discovered that there was no lady to be seen anywhere. They called the sheriff, who searched the area with spotlights but nothing was ever found.

After hearing about this, a man who lived somewhere behind Gonzalitos spoke up. He said that he knew who the lady was. He said that she went by the name "Dona Leonora Rodriguez de Ramos," then he gave the whole story. This is the story in his exact words.

"This goes back to the days when the Rio Grande Valley was still the old Spanish province of Nuevo Santander. A rich land owner, Raul Ramos, married one of the prettiest girls in Mexico, named Lenora Rodriguez. During the marriage celebration, he was notified that he needed to return to Spain immediately on some urgent business. Unwilling to expose his young wife to the dangers of a sea voyage, he left her at the ranch house.

He was gone for six months and was very happy upon his return. He was even happier to find out his wife was six months pregnant. His joy was short lived when a jealous neighbor told him that Dona Leonora had been unfaithful and that the child she was carrying was illegitimate.

Don Raul was a very violent man and he went into a violent rage and requested two of his ranch hands to drive north with his wife and exactly 24 hours later, to hang her.

The next morning, the ranch hands took of on their trip north and did exactly as they were instructed. Twenty four hours later they reached where the two highways crossed and in spite of her pleas, they hanged the poor lady.

At that exact moment, 24 hours after riding south (he did this so that in case he grew weak of heart and changed his mind, he'd be too far away to reach her), Mr. Ramos shot himself.

The friend then asked, "Why do you think she keeps coming back? It's very simple!" he replied. "It's to justify herself and prove that she had not been unfaithful and that the baby she was carrying was really her husband's."

His friend then added, "Write a story about her in the paper. Who knows? She might feel vindicated and rest in peace!"