by Todd, Ian
Chapter Three
He wis sitting oan a milestane, up beside the gate, at the road end. The big black collie, Tim, and the wan-eyed young wan withoot a name, lay sleeping in the sun at his feet. Every noo and again, a wee gust ae wind caused the sheet ae paper, oan which Innes hid drawn a map ae the surrounding area, tae flap aboot like a trapped giant butterfly, trying tae escape the clutches ae the two hauns that wur pinning it tae his knees. He looked at the croft hoose. It wis called Wester Achnahanat. He now knew whit a croft wis, as Innes hid patiently explained tae him how it worked. Innes and Mrs MacKay, who Innes called Whitey, owned the hoose itsel, bit rented the four acres that they lived oan fae The Duke ae Kyle, who lived in the big castle five miles back alang the road, in the direction ae Ardgay. He’d hid tae come through Ardgay and past the castle when he’d first arrived at the croft two weeks earlier. Innes hid been born oan the croft and hid taken o’er the running ae it when his ain da hid croaked it. They didnae hiv any weans ae their ain, though he’d picked up that they might’ve hid in the past. When he’d asked Mrs Mackay if they hid family, she’d started tae explain, bit hid suddenly changed the subject, efter starting tae get upset, before drifting aff intae silence. He’d backed aff and then heided fur his bed. They tended tae be experts in drawing oot every morsel ae information aboot him, bit when it came tae themsels, they came across as very guarded and private. They didnae appear nosey or anything like that. They hid a curiosity that wis totally disarming and before Paul knew it, he found himsel blurting oot a heap ae shite that he widnae hiv telt anywan else in authority. If this pair worked fur the Glesga polis, they wid’ve been worth their weight in gold, he thought tae himsel wae a smile.
Paul looked at the map ae the area that wis spread oot oan his knees and tried tae figure oot where the hell he wis. He now knew how Valentine Michael Smith, the alien in the book, Stranger in a Strange Land, must’ve felt. He scanned the horizon and studied the flapping paper every noo and again, trying tae pronounce the names written oan it. The croft wis surrounded by massive hills and mountains. Tae the far north wis Beinn Sgeireach and then in front ae that wis Beinn an Eoin and Beinn Rosail. O’er towards the west wis Fionn Bheinn Mhor. The River Cassley ran between Beinn Sgeireach and the other three, while the River Shin ran doon fae Lairg o’er tae the east ae Beinn Sgeireach. Separating the croft fae aw this wis the Kyle ae Sutherland, which ran fae where the River Cassley poured intae the River Oykel near Rosehall, and stretched doon towards Bonar Bridge in the east. Paul sat staring at the Kyle. Its banks hid overflowed in places and the sun glistened aff the patches ae water that wur scattered aboot in the fields oan either side ae it. Innes hid telt him that despite the flooding, it wis classed as a fertile flood plain and the estate held oan tae that as they wur able tae generate money fae it. Across the narrow country road tae the left ae where he wis sitting, Beinn Ulbhaidh rose gently upwards, before being dwarfed by Carn a’ Choin Deirg. Further o’er towards the west stood Meall an Fhuarain. He glanced doon at the croft buildings, jist as Mrs MacKay came oot ae the main hoose door and started scattering scraps ae food oan the ground in front ae her. A clutch ae aboot forty chickens, who’d aw been hidden in the heather and bracken, piled o’er the drystane dyke in front ae the hoose, like marauding invaders, tae tear intae the scraps. She looked up at him and gied him a wee wave before retreating back through the green flaking painted door.
Fae where he wis sitting, the croft buildings and the land they wur sitting oan looked quite compact. Oan either side ae the front door, two windaes looked oot fae the sitting room oan the left, which Innes and Mrs MacKay didnae seem tae use, and the kitchen-come-living room oan the right. When ye first walked intae the kitchen area, the pungent earthy smell ae burning peat in the black range hit ye full force. Mrs MacKay did aw her cooking oan the big range. It wis similar tae the wan his granny used tae hiv in her single-end, back in Glesga. There wis nae electricity and the closest that Mrs MacKay came tae twentieth century mod-cons wis the haun-held water pump that Innes hid constructed above an auld galvanised tin bath that wis used as a sink o’er beside the windae. It reminded Paul ae the auld black and white cowboy films where the cowpoke arrives hame fae oot oan the plains, covered in dust, and heids tae the horse trough in the yard and starts pumping away at the squealing haundle, until finally, a coughing, spluttering gush ae water spurts oot intae the cowpoke’s hat before him and the horse take a big drink. He could tell Whitey loved her water pump as she’d reminded Paul mair than a few times that efter the estate hid plugged the mains water pipes intae the croft, tae cut-aff their water supply, she’d hid tae trail doon tae the Kyle in aw weathers wae a bucket in each haun tae stock up wae water until Innes hid accessed the spring that ran under the croft. Upstairs in the loft space, directly underneath the orange rusty corrugated sheets oan the roof, wur the two wee bedrooms. The only light coming intae them, wis through the wee windae at each gable end. His windae wis the wan oan the right that he could see fae where he wis sitting. Tae the right ae the main hoose and set further back fae it, wis a drystane dyke pen fur the sheep, which wis joined tae the low squat byre and formed a sheltered corner. Behind the byre, looking towards the Kyle, stood a larger barn and behind that, the smoking shed, where Whitey smoked the different types ae fish that Innes brought hame. Fur daeing the toilet, there wis a wee oothoose, where ye sat oan a smooth, well-worn board that looked like a shelf that hid a hole in it fur that arse ae yers, wae a bucket underneath it. It wis basic, bit it wis a lot cleaner and less smelly than hauf the ootside toilets he’d shat in oan the stairheid landings, back in the Toonheid in Glesga. An auld green jeep, minus its wheels, sat nestling beside the gable end ae the hoose, jist underneath his bedroom windae. In patches, surrounding the hoose, Mrs MacKay hid wee strips ae vegetables growing, like totties, carrots and other green stuff called kale that he hidnae come across before. Behind her main vegetable plot, there wis a field that they grew tumshies in, tae share, in the winter, wae the twenty sheep they kept oan the croft. Whitey also hid three beehives sitting oan platforms oan the far left haun corner ae the same plot. When she’d caught him killing a bee by splatting it against the kitchen windae, he’d clocked the flash ae surprise and dismay in they auld grey eyes ae hers.
“Now, what would ye be wanting to be doing something like that for, Paul?” she’d asked him, clearly disapproving ae his action.
“It wis a wasp and they sting ye, so they dae,” he’d replied, confused that she wisnae praising him fur saving the day.
“Come here a minute, laddie. I want to show ye something. Do ye know what these are?” she’d asked him, pointing tae the hives.
“Naw.”
“Sit down, and I’ll explain,” she’d said, before gaun oan tae gie him a lesson oan beekeeping.
“Bit dae they no sting ye?” he’d asked her, warily watching the bees coming and gaun.
“Sometimes they do, especially if they get angry with something or someone who would wish to do them harm. These ones here are quite docile though. If ye look closer, you’ll be able to see where they’ve been, due to the colour of the pollen they’re carrying in the pouches on the side of their bodies. Look at that one there. He’s obviously been out and about in the broom. There’s one who’s obviously just come back from robbing the last of The Duke’s rhododendrons, although we won’t advertise this too loudly about here or he’ll have his factor down on us, confiscating our hives. The heather honey we get from these bees is the best honey that money can buy in Scotland and it’s free. By going from plant to plant, the bees pollinate all the other plants and that allows them to flourish. Without bees, nothing would grow. There would be no flowers. Now, what kind of world would it be without the glory and beauty of wild flowers growing all over the place, eh?” she’d asked him kindly, smiling at him.
He’d goat the message. Paul sat and drank in the view. He hid tae make up his mind, and fast. He couldnae piss Whitey and Mr MacKay aboot. They wur a pair ae genuine darlings and didnae
deserve any shite fae a scallywag like him. He weighed up his options. It hid been aboot four months since him and his mates hid aw fucked aff fae the approved schools they wur locked up in, tae stalk doon the basturts that hid burned their cabin dookit doon tae the ground in Parly Road four years earlier. There hid only been a couple ae doos in the cabin that hid perished in the fire, bit the real tragedy hid been that wan ae their pals, Skull Kelly, who wis only ten at the time, hid decided tae sleep o’er in the cabin that night. Skull, alang wae wan ae the local street dugs, a black Labrador called Elvis, hid gone up in smoke wae the doos. It hid been the last day ae the summer holidays and Skull should’ve been at hame, getting ready fur gaun back tae school the next day. Skull’s da, who wis saft in the heid, due tae hivving been gied a severe hiding by a bunch ae basturts called the Murphy brothers years earlier, always locked the door at nine o’clock every night. Unless Skull and his sister Betty wur in by nine, they goat shut oot, as his ma wis too scared ae his da tae get up and let them in. Paul and his pals, Tony Gucci, Joe McManus and Johnboy Taylor, hid always assumed that it hid been the local polis who’d burned doon the dookit, o’er some dispute they’d hid wae Pat Molloy, The Big Man and his henchmen, the Murphy brothers. When the boys hid found oot that wan ae the Murphy brothers, Mick, alang wae Horsey John and a wee midget called Tiny, who ran the local stables fur The Big Man, hid actually started the fire, they’d decided tae make a comeback and sort the basturts oot. It hid taken them o’er three years tae discover that it wis they pricks that hid been responsible. Though difficult tae believe, it hid only come tae light when Johnboy Taylor hid hid a dream or some sort ae a vision, where he’d spoken wae Skull doon in the cells ae the Central Polis Court. Johnboy claimed that as he wis lying there efter being sentenced tae approved school, Skull, though hivving been deid fur three years, hid appeared and telt him who hid set the dookit oan fire wae him and poor auld Elvis in it. Johnboy hid sworn that Skull hidnae appeared like Casper, The Friendly Ghost, floating aboot and leaving a white trail behind him, bit as Skull, staunin there as large as life, talking tae Johnboy, in the flesh. The freaky thing aboot it hid been that Johnboy hid aged three years while Skull hid still looked only ten years auld. There hid been some reaction fae the rest ae the boys when Johnboy hid turned up at Thistle Park Approved School in Paisley wae that tale. The only way the boys hid been able tae tell if whit Johnboy hid said wis a heap ae shite or no, hid been tae break oot, go oan the run and find oot fur themsels. A few things hid changed since Skull hid goat frizzled. Horsey John wis oot ae the game because he’d died in an accident oan Parly Road when him and Skull’s favourite cart horse, Jessie, hid goat killed by an artic lorry jack-knifing beside the traffic lights oan St James Road and Dobbie’s Loan. Oan the basis ae whit Skull hid supposedly telt Johnboy, this meant they hid tae try and get a haud ae Tiny, Horsey John’s side-kick, oan his ain, withoot The Big Man or any ae the Murphy brothers finding oot. Luck hid been oan their side and within a week or so, they’d caught up wae Tiny, who’d goat trapped in a big water tower that he’d been stripping lead oot ae, beside the railway line, o’er in Pinkston, beside the briquette plant. The stupid wee basturt hid climbed doon intae the tank, dangling oan the end ae a rope tae reach the lead lining near the bottom. His rope hid accidently goat cut through by a sharp jagged edge ae lead that hid been sticking oot. He’d never stood a chance wance that rope hid been sliced through. Paul thought aboot the day they’d come across Tiny in the invisible water tank tower, which hid been used tae supply the steam trains wae water as they passed through the railway sidings, heiding towards Queen Street station during the war. Paul wisnae sure how deep the tank itsel wis, bit when they’d come across Tiny, floating like a cork, bobbing oan the surface, he’d been so relieved tae see them…at first. Paul, and his pals, who everywan called The Mankys, hid managed tae get the information they needed oot ae Tiny oan the pretence that if he telt them the truth, they’d help him oot ae his watery grave. Paul shook his heid, thinking back tae the shock they’d aw felt when Tiny blurted oot that it wis himsel and Horsey John that hid doused the cabin wae petrol and set it alight oan the instructions ae Mad Mick Murphy, the nasty, evil, drunken basturt who hated Skull wae a vengeance fur gieing him a bit ae lip o’er Mick’s inferior knowledge ae fleeing the doos. As soon as Tiny hid blurted oot his confession, there hid been nae chance ae them helping him oot ae that tank and they’d left the wee shitehoose tae fend fur himsel. Their attitude hid been that the wee gnaff hid goat himsel intae the situation, so it wis up tae him tae get himsel oot ae it. The Mankys hid known fine well that he wis a deid man. Tiny’s bloated, droont body hid been found aboot a week later. Oan the Mick Murphy front, the basturt who’d gied Horsey John and Tiny their orders, The Mankys hid decided tae buy a gun fae Erchie The Basturt, wan ae Glesga’s biggest gun dealers, wae the dosh they’d got fae selling some Chevalier Casino betting chips that they’d picked up daeing a wee job for The Big Man. Oan the night ae Tiny’s funeral, they’d followed Mick, who wis pished as a fart, hame fae the wake that wis held in The McAslin Bar, a pub belonging tae The Big Man. When they’d confronted Mick in his living room, insteid ae pleading fur his life, the mad basturt hid started tae hiv a go back at them. Paul wis the wan that wis supposed tae hiv done the business, bit despite encouragement fae Tony Gucci, he jist couldnae pull the trigger. Luckily fur Paul, Joe, Tony and Johnboy, and unluckily fur Mick, Mick hid poured the contents ae a bottle ae whisky o’er himsel at the same time as flicking his Zippo lighter, challenging the boys tae come and get him. The daft basturt hid tripped o’er his wee coffee table at the same time as his Zippo hid ignited and he’d gone up in a blue light. Paul couldnae remember too much ae whit hid happened next, other than seeing Mick go up in a blue flame, screaming the place doon, while bouncing aff the walls and setting the curtains and everything else he came intae contact wae alight. The rest ae The Mankys hid fucked aff as soon as Mick hid turned intae a human torch. Paul couldnae remember how long he’d stood there, frozen tae the spot, petrified by whit he wis seeing in front ae his eyes. He could vaguely remember Johnboy Taylor arriving back oan the scene efter everywan hid disappeared, shouting at him and dragging him oot ae the living room, which wis by then full ae orange flames and thick black smoke. Although the lights hid been oan, the place hid been in semi-darkness because ae the amount ae smoke billowing aff ae Mick’s black plastic covered couch. The record player hid still been blasting oot music, although he couldnae remember whit the song wis that hid been oan the turntable. Efter they’d ditched aw their clothes and the gun, the bizzies hid stormed the den where they’d been hiding up while they wur oan the run. Paul, Tony and Joe hid managed tae get away, bit Johnboy hid goat nabbed by the two local polis sergeants fae the area, The Stalker and Bumper, who’d carted him aff back tae the jail and Thistle Park, the approved school that he’d originally escaped fae. The rest ae them hid only lasted another week before they’d goat nabbed in a derelict tenement in Barony Street where Skull used tae live. Paul didnae know whit hid become ae Tony and Joe. He assumed that they’d been sent back tae Thistle Park tae join Johnboy. As he wis oan the run fae St Ninian’s in Gartmore, near Stirling, he’d been sent back there. Within aboot five minutes ae arriving back, he’d been stripped naked and whipped wae an electrical cable and hid the life kicked oot ae him by hauf a dozen big priests who ran the place. Alang wae being deprived ae food and water, the beatings hid been repeated aboot four times a day o’er a period ae a week, before he’d been allowed back intae circulation. Paul hidnae been too bothered aboot the lashings, as that wis tae be expected efter being oan the run. At least he still hid his arse intact, as far as he could make oot. Some ae the boys who’d been returned in the past hid been raped by the brothers, oan tap ae receiving a severe hiding aff ae them. It hidnae been long efter he’d been allowed back intae circulation and planning his next escape, that everything hid started tae go tae pot.
He couldnae put his finger oan when his nightmares hid started fur real.
He knew something wisnae quite right when he couldnae stoap thinking or dreaming, day and night, aboot seeing Mick Murphy go up in flames. He’d started tae feel dizzy a lot ae the time and hid even fainted twice, which hid been really embarrassing, especially in front ae the other boys in the school. He’d also started tae get sore heids and the feeling as if he wis coming doon wae some sort ae a fever. He’d been walking aboot, as pale as a bottle ae milk maist ae the time, and hid jist withdrawn intae himsel. While he’d thought he wis awright, the other boys in the school hid started tae gie him a body-swerve whenever he showed up at recreation in the evenings. Wan night, he’d stood up in the dining room and gied a table full ae the Carlton Tongs the biggest sherricking they hid ever hid in their lives. There hid been some tough basturts sitting in amongst them, bit they’d aw jist shrank back, looking at him as if he wis possessed or something. He jist didnae hiv any control o’er whit he wis daeing. Wan minute he widnae hiv a clue where the hell he wis and the next, he wid get aw excited and want tae kill everywan in the school. It hid been bad enough that the other boys wur avoiding him like the plague, bit then he’d realised that there wis something definitely wrang when the Catholic brothers in charge hid started tae avoid him. Two ae the wans who’d thrashed him the maist efter he’d arrived back efter his wee sojourn oan the run, hid jist aboot shat themsels wan day when he’d walked towards them. Apart fae turning a whiter shade ae pale, wan ae them hid picked up a sweeping brush and hid shouted at him tae stoap exactly where he wis. When Paul hid suddenly stoapped in his tracks, the other wan hid demanded tae know whit the fuck Paul wis up tae. The two ae them hid made the sign ae the cross at him. He’d been transferred later that same day tae Lennox Castle nut-hoose. They’d put him through a lot ae tests and kept asking him whit the hell wis wrang wae him. He’d tried tae tell them that that’s whit he wanted tae know himsel. Efter a couple ae weeks ae being telt nothing, an army quack, who’d been across fae America and who wis visiting the joint at the time, hid come and spoken tae him. The quack seemed quite decent and Paul hid met wae him aboot a dozen times o’er the next month. Jist before the doctor hid been due tae go back tae the war in Vietnam, Paul hid asked him if he thought he wis ever gonnae be cured, seeing as nowan seemed tae know whit wis wrang wae him. The doctor hid laughed and telt him no tae worry. He’d said that he knew exactly whit wis wrang wae Paul and wis writing up a report wae recommendations fur his recovery. The doctor said that he’d been surprised that Paul hidnae hid a breakdoon before then, given the length ae time that hid passed since Skull hid goat burned tae death. In wan ae their sessions, Paul hid telt him aboot Skull’s death back in nineteen sixty five, bit no aboot Mad Mick, the human fireball, earlier in the year. The doctor hid telt him that the symptoms that he wis displaying wur similar tae sojers in the second world war and in Vietnam. He’d gied Paul the example ae wan ae his patients, who’d clocked wan ae his buddies being trapped and burnt tae death inside a tank that hid jist been hit by a shell. The quack hid said that, although there wisnae a cure or a magic wand tae make him better, he felt that Paul needed a rest fae stressful situations and that he wis recommending that he be put oan some kind ae programme where he could be left in peace tae recover. He’d said that he wis gonnae recommend that Paul be taken aff the drugs that they wur shoving doon his throat. A week later, efter being interviewed by some social worker, Paul hid been called intae the heid bummer’s office and telt that he wis being put aff tae stay wae a family up in the Highlands fur a while, where he’d get some peace and quiet and time tae recover. There wur conditions attached tae this though. If he agreed tae the break, then he widnae need tae go back tae St Ninian’s or any other approved school, wance he’d reached his fifteenth birthday. If he refused, they wur gonnae detain him indefinitely through whit they called ‘Compulsory Admission under Section twenty four ae the Mental Health Act, nineteen sixty.’