Captain Jack's Ghost Story (#19)

Captain Jack is a spry, eighty-seven year old mariner who lives on his boat in the harbor. He sided up to me the other day.
“Do you believe in ghosts?” he asked.
“Yes” I replied. “I do.”
“Then let me tell you a story”. 
Here’s what he said:
Jack was on a troop ship during WWII docked in Manila. He was sitting at a local watering hole one evening with a few mates and a B-girl beside him. A rangy looking local walked through the door carrying the most beautiful flowers Jack had ever seen. When the man approached the table the girl shrank back into the booth. Paying her no mind, Jack bought one and offered it to her. It was quite fragrant. 
“No” she spit back, recoiling from the offering. Her English wasn’t very practiced (“How about it?” was the only phrase she knew), but with help from the bartender, Jack learned they only grew on fresh graves.
Jack returned to his ship with the unwanted flower. He stuck it into the springs of the bunk above his. That night the sailor in the upper bunk twisted and turned which sent a steady rain of pollen down on him. So he threw the flower away and forgot about it.
A few weeks later Jack was down in the ship’s engine room. As he passed the #4 boiler the fragrance of the flower hit him. It smelled like it was being held right under his nose. He called over one of the two mechanics on duty and asked if he smelled it.
“Nope. I don’t smell a thing” he replied.
He asked the other mechanic and got the same answer. Jack was dumfounded. The smell was overpowering. He went back up on deck and spied one of the guys who’d been with him that night in Manila.
“What are you doing right now” Jack asked.
“Nothing much” his friend answered.
“Then would you do me a favor and come down to the engine room for a minute? You don’t have to do anything.”
His friend followed him down. As they approached the boiler the guy said, 
“Wow! That smell! That’s the flower you bought in that bar!”
Hearing that, Jack rang up the Chief Petty Officer and explained what had happened.
“Jack, that’s a pretty cockamamie story.” he replied. “The only thing I can do is check for a gas leak. Other than that, I’d just forget about it.”
So the CPO showed up with his litmus paper and vials and proceeded to dip and wave the little strips of paper around for a few minutes. Then he went back up topside. A short time later he ran down the ladder with another set of papers, dipped and waved them around then hurried back up. Within a few minutes the compartment phone rang.
“Jack, you get everyone the hell out of there! There’s a gas leak in that boiler. It’s odorless. How you found it is beyond me. But if anyone stood there for more than a few minutes they’d be a goner for sure!”
I don’t believe Jack is above telling a tall tale or two. When you ask him how many times he’s been married his favorite response is to slowly count on one hand then the other and announce “Three”. But I’m going to give him this one.