  The globular cluster X-ray source CXO J033831.8-352604 in NGC 1399 has
recently been found to show strong emission lines of [O III] and [N II] in its
optical spectrum in addition to ultraluminous X-ray emission with a soft X-ray
spectrum. It was further suggested that this system contained an intermediate
mass black hole which had tidally disrupted a white dwarf, producing the strong
emission lines without detectable hydrogen emission. We show that an
alternative exists which can explain the data more naturally in which the
oxygen and nitrogen rich material is ejecta from a RCB star, or a tidal
disruption of an RCB star or a hydrogen-deficient carbon star. The scenario we
propose here does not require an intermediate mass black hole as the accretor,
but also does not exclude the possibility.
