That nite we done the berning and thinet hans and the res of it. Wording roun and it come to Jobber Easting he ben a frend of Dursters he said, ‘Bye bye Durster theres some of uswl keap it in memberment how you got dog kilt nor no 1 to lif a han for you.’ He ben in that same rota when Durster got kilt. He come roun that ben with the others when Durster ben all ready dead so he knowit there bint no 1 only me there to lif a han. Nex wordit Coxin Shoaring a nother frend of Dursters. He said, ‘Bye bye Durster theres others may be shudve give you crowd on that long road you gone.’
Id tol Lorna Elswint how that black leader and me ben looking at each other befor Durster lucet his arrer. She said, ‘Wel did you get any 1st knowing this time?’ Wel it bint til we ben coming in to fents with Durster on the drag when it come to me all on a suddn how I ben that close to a dog for the 2nd time and looking in them yeller eyes nor never even thot of 1st knowing. Hadnt ben thinking of nothing at all. Jus looking in them yeller eyes.
When Lorna done her tel she said, ‘Whatd I tel las time about that old woar out leader took by Riddley Walker? Whatd I say did you keap it in memberment? 1st knowing in that dog I said dint I. Here it come agen dinnit. 1st knowing in the new dog the black leader. Whatd Durster Potter do? Tryd to kil 1st knowing dinnee and his self got kilt in stead. If you ask me is that a syn Iwl say yes its a syn and take it the same and thats my tel.’
When Lorna finisht I wer looking a roun and lissening a littl here and there I heard some 1 say, ‘That old woman ben telling too long.’ It wer Farner Salvage said it. 1 of Empys nexters. I lookit to see who he wer talking to and it wer Skyway Moaters. A nother nexter. Empy had 3 nexters. Them 2 and Fister Crunchman like Ive said.
It come to me all on a suddn may be I hadnt ben making connexions I shudve ben making. Mos of the time the peopl youwl talk to are the Is as think the same as you. If youre easy in your mynd you aint all ways counting up how many think the arper sit way. Them in our crowd I mosly drunk with or chattit to they ben mosly agenst the forms and the diggings and that. Agenst all them new idears of moving things frontways like Goodparley ben talking of. They dint want Eusa to get his head back they wer mor for fynding back that 1st knowing Lorna kep on about. All the peopl I wer frendy with they rathert be a moving crowd and foraging ful time nor stop in 1 place jobbing on a form.
It use to be mor peopl in our crowd thinking that way nor the other way. Now all on a suddn I wernt sure how it wer. I fealt like when youre sleapy on look out and trying to stay a wake and suddn you catch your self nodding you wunner if youve droppit off and mist some thing.
What with 1 thing and a nother I dint qwite feal like sleaping in my shelter that nite. Lorna had the same fealing so we slyd up on top of the gate house when the lookouts wernt looking. If the skyd ben clear it wudve ben the failing moon littling tords the las ¼ but it wer cloudit over solid. Looking at the candls and the nite fires in the divvy roof and littl glimmers here and there from candls in the shelters. Lissening to the crowd shutting down for the nite. Coffing and farting and belching and peeing 1 place and a nother.
Foot steps and mummering now and then thru the nite. Nothing else.
11
Raining agen it wer nex morning. Theres rains and rains. This 1 wer coming down in a way as took the hart and hoap out of you there wer a kynd of brilyants in the grey it wer too hard it wer too else it made you feal like all the tracks in the worl wer out paths nor not a 1 to bring you back. Wel of coarse they are but it dont all ways feal that way. It wer that kynd of morning when peopl wernt jus falling in to what they done naturel they had to work ther selfs in to it. Seamt like a lot of tea got spilt at breakfas nor the talk wernt the userel hummeling and mummeling there wer some thing else in it. Like when you see litening behynt the clouds.
Soons we startit off for Widders Dump you cud feal how every 1 wer on the lert and waiting for some thing. Fister said, ‘Les see if we can get there and back without losing no 1 this day.’
Coxin Shoaring said, ‘May be wewd do bes to lose some 1 befor we start.’
Fister said, ‘Coxin dyou want to name a name? Be there some 1 youre staring at?’
Coxin said, ‘O no Fister I know bettern that. Roun here when you stare at the littl you settl with the big.’
Fister said, ‘Which we all know you dont do no settling only with the littl dont we Coxin.’
Coxin said, ‘Trubba not Fister I never said I wer in your class.’
Fister said, ‘No Trubba Coxin no Trubba at all.’ It gone qwyet then no 1 wanting to get Fister as cited. We gone talkless then jus lissening to our feet on the leaves and the rain peltering down.
We hadnt seen no dogs yet that morning nor we dint see none on the hy groun sholder. No dogs but it wer then in the soun of the rain I begun to see them yeller eyes agen. They begun to be there for me in the greyness. It wernt nothing to think on it wer jus the yellerness of them and the black of the dog in the soun of the grey rain falling. I begun to cry I dint know what I wer crying about only the yellerness of them eyes. I had my hood up any how parbly no 1 noatist and if they did what diffrents does it make now.
Dint see no dogs nor dint nothing happen going to Widders Dump. When we got there 10 of us gone to the timber crew and the res of us in a new hoal what jus ben markt off and startit.
Boggy groun it wer and hevvy muck. We roapit off in sqwares and sorting thru it befor we draggit with the big buckit and the winch. We begun to fynd bodys and parts of bodys from time back way back. That happent some times in that kynd of muck in stead of rotting a way they got like old dark levver. Them bodys that morning they wer littl kids the yunges mytve ben 6 or so and the oldes may be 7 or 8. It takes you strange digging up a littl dead kid like that. From so far back and dead for so long and all the time they ever had ben jus that littl.
I put my han in the muck I reachit down and come up with some thing it wer a show figger like the Is in the Eusa show. Woodin head and hans and the res of it clof. All of it gone black and the show mans han stil in it. Cut off jus a littl way up the rist. A groan up han and a regler show man he ben becaws when I wipet off you cud see the callus roun the head finger same as all the Eusa show men have.
This here figger tho it wernt like no other figger I ever seen. It wer crookit. Had a hump on its back and parper sewt there in the clof. For a wyl I cudnt think what it myt be then when it come to me what it wer I cudnt hardly beleave it yet there it wer nor no mistaking it. It wer a hump and it wer meant to be a hump. The head wernt like no other head I ever seen in a show nyther. The face had a big nose what hookit down and a big chin what hookit up and a smyling mouf. Some kynd of littl poynty hat on the head it curvit over with a wagger on the end of it.
I ben so interstit in the figger and the dead han I hadnt ben taking no noatis of no 1 roun me. I lookit up and there wer that littl witey bloak Belnot Phist stanning by the hoal and his littl pinky eye on me I fealt like making the Bad Luck go a way syn.
Phist says, ‘Whats that youve got there?’
I dint say nothing. We wernt allowit to keap nothing we foun in the digging some times they use to serch us tho not all ways.
He says, ‘You bes anser me I said whats that youve got there?’
I said, ‘Whynt you have a look for your self.’
He says, ‘All right I wil then give it here.’ He come to the edge of the hoal and stuck out his han.
I put the figger and the dead han in my pockit then qwick I grabbit Phists han in boath of myn and wirlt roun fas and slung him over my sholder head 1st in to the muck I cudnt do nothing else to save my life.
Out of the corner of my eye I seen his feet sticking up out of the muck and kicking and Chalker Marchman the lstman of the digging coming after me.
I uppit out of the hoal with my feet sucking and sqwelching and up the moundit dirt to the hy walk and over the fents befor I knowit what I wer doing. It wer my feet done it by ther selfs I never give it no thot at all.
Come down with a thump on the out side of the fents an
d slyding down the slippy bank in to the ditch which I come up out of it soakit and sopping and there wer that black leader waiting for me with his yeller eyes. Jus stanning there in the rain and waiting for me.
Dint see no other dogs jus only him. Looking at me and wagging his tail slow. Then he ternt and gone off easy looking back over his sholder like he wantit me to foller so I follert. I ben waiting for it so long when the time come I jus done it.
He wer heading for Bernt Arse. I dint have no reason for going there I dint want no bother with Ram hevvys from the out poast crowdless like I wer nor I wernt even the qwipt man for roading let a loan fighting. I dint have no weapons nor no bundel I dint have nothing only the knife in my belt and the roady in my pockit plus that hump back figger and the dead han. I lookit back tho and there wer the woal Bernt Arse Pack strung out behynt me like Ive seen them strung out behynt a deer. It wer like magic how 1 minim they wernt there and the nex they wer it wer like they come out of no where. I tryd if I cud catch up with the black leader and may be get a littl a head of him I wer hoaping to draw him a way from Bernt Arse but how ever much speed I put on he put on mor and kep a head of me. With them others hot behynt me like they wer I wunt take no chance on forking off oansome I wer afeart Iwd be just so much running meat to them. I cudnt do nothing only keap going and hoap my fear pong wunt drive them mad. Even with the fear tho it wer a hy fealing it wer hyern any thing I ever fealt befor. Running oansome with them dogs. In that 1 look back I seen heads sticking up over the top of Widders Dump fents but no 1 overing and after me. No they wunt them careful cow shit barsets. Wel realy why shud they what diffrents wud it make to them what happent to me. In my mynd I heard them saying, ‘He jus over the fents and off with the dogs!’ And I thot: Yes thats what I done you sorry sods I over the fents and off with the dogs and thats the las youwl see of Riddley Walker in your cow shit diggings.
You cud see the smoak coming up from the out poast in Bernt Arse only you cudnt see the out poast. They dint have no hy look out no tower nor nothing to give them a clear site over the low groun I wer on they wer jus in amongst the dead town stannings which there wernt nothing very hy.
Wunnering what wer coming when we got inside the dead town. I thot if them dogs ben going to eat me theywd parblyve done it all ready. Wunnering what that black leader had in mynd becaws he cernly had some progam he wernt jus randeming.
The black leader gone in to Bernt Arse mazy ways and parbly keaping down wind of the out poast them dogs pong hevvy even when theyre dry but when theyre wet it pernear knocks you over. That smel plus the dead town pong it aint like nothing else. Dead towns they smel wet and dry boath even in a rain. Grean rot and number creaper on the stumps and stannings. Crumbelt birks and broak stoans all a jumbl and a parcht smel unner neath a smel of old berning. I hadnt ben in Bernt Arse since 3 or 4 years back when I use to sly in with the other kids. Now it lep up in my eyes like it ben waiting for this day to be its self for me for the 1st time.
We come to a littl hump of groun with a wood vennylater sticking up it dint have no rain cover on it. The black leader sticking his nose down the hoal and ruffing then he lookit over to me and ruffing some mor. I gone over and looking down inside I cudnt see nothing plus it stunk some thing terbel. There come up from be low a kids voyce then wel you cudnt say for cern it wer a kids voyce he parbly soundit as old as me only it wer some thing in how he soundit made me think it wer a kid he said, ‘You jus going to stan there and breave or be you going to say some thing?’
I said, ‘What dyou want me to say?’
He said, ‘You dont have to say nothing jus get me out of this.’
I said, ‘How?’
He said, ‘Theres a trap doar then a nother doar with bars on it.’
I said, ‘We mus be close to the out poast. Aint there hevvys all roun here?’
He said, ‘They dont never put foot outside the out poast all they ever do is smoak and play cards they wont give you no bother without you bus up the game.’
I lookit roun til I foun a woodin trap doar I liffit up and gone down some conkreat steps. Come to a nother doar then with 2 bars. That part of the shelter wernt from time back way back it ben peast in where the old walls ben cavit in.
I all ready had boath bars slid out and the doar ½ open when I thot: How do I know whats coming out of there how do I know that kids oansome in there? For all I know it cud be open the doar and arga warga. Any how I opent the doar.
1st thing come out wer the stink. The kid said, ‘That aint my blame the stink they wunt give me no shovvel to burry my dirt with.’ I dint see him at 1st my eyes had to get use to it in there the onlyes lite come from the vennylater. The black leader pressing nex to me looking in thru the doar. The other dogs keaping back.
I seen some 1 move a way from the far wall then I seen like a wite shadder on that old conkreat wall. Like when you make a fire agenst a stoan and it gets black all roun where the flame ben only jus where the flames ben there its bernt clean. This wite shadder wer in the shape of a figger you cudnt tel if it ben man or woman it wer jus some 1 stanning with legs a part you cudnt make out no arms parbly the hans ben covering the face.
The kid come forit then in to the lite from the vennylater and looking strait at me. Only not realy looking he dint have no eyes to look with he dint have no parper face. It wer like it ben shapit qwick and rough out of clay. No eyes nor no hoals for eyes there wernt nothing where the eyes shudve ben. All he had for a face wer jus a bit pincht out for a nose and a cut for a mouf and that wer it. Dint have a woal pair of ears jus 2 littl blobs like they ben startit but not finisht. Nor he dint have no hair on his head. He wer as tall as me. Looking at him you cudnt tel if he wer a kid or ful growt only he soundit like a kid.
When he come tords me I dont know why I done it I helt up the dead han and the hump back figger in front of me.
He said, ‘You dont have to make no Bad Luck go a way syn I aint no Bad Luck Im whats lef after the Bad Luck ben. Im pas the tern and on the way to Good Luck.’
I said, ‘Yes wel I dont feal all that Lucky if you want out of here les go I rather not hang a bout.’
The kid had his doss bag all ready roalt like he ben waiting for the poynty time. Weare jus going up them steps when that black leaders up and pas us like a jaggit bolt of litening. Up of us we hear a littl scuffl and nex thing theres some Is legs inside the trap doar kicking then they stoppit. Blood and pee running down. I pult him in he had his head near toar off and they gone for his pryvits sames they done with Durster Potter. Only this wernt no Durster Potter it wer a hevvy from the Ram. I thot: Wel thats it theres no way back now. We lissent a littl nor dint hear nothing so I up and out in a rush. All clear and 2 dogs with bloody moufs stanning by looking to the black leader and the black leader looking to me like it wer front stations every body and les get moving. The dead bloaks bow wer on the groun with a arrer near it and his spears a littl way off he musve had a arrer on the string when they jumpt him. He bint too big a man I cud use his bow wel a nuff. I took his knife as wel I emtit his pockits too I thot I myt as wel hang for a ram as a lam.
The kid said, ‘Its parbly Keaper. If hes got some stoans in his pockit thems my fealys he took from me.’
I give the kid back his fealys and we vackt our wayt out of there. We fas leggit out of Bernt Arse senter in to the outers in amongst a jumbl of stannings and rubbl jus to be out of site then we stoppit a littl to talk summit. The black leader and his 2 nexters stoppit with us the other dogs kep going. What they wer doing wer shaking foller for us. When I come to know them better I seen they dint do nothing randem they had tack ticks.
There we wer then in amongst the broakin stoans the grean rot and the number creaper with the rain all drenching down and peltering on them dead stoans stumps and stannings. Spattering on crumbelt conkreat and bustit birk and durdling in the puddls gurgling down the runnels of the dead town. A kynd of greanish lite to that day from the rain the grean rot and the number creaper and the dead town pong wer going up
all grean smelling in that greanish lite. Dog pong as wel a black smel in the grey rain. It wernt til then I even give a thot to why the kid mytve ben in the hoal. It wer like I jus ben progammit to go there and get him out. Now that wer done I wunnert what it wer all about. I said to him, ‘Whyd they have you in that hoal?’
He said, ‘Doing the askings bint we. We done Horny Boy and Widders Bel and Fathers Ham and nex come Bernt Arse dinnit. 1 day in 1 and 2 in 2 and 3 in 3 then it wudve ben 4 in the 4th. Come 9 it wudve ben the senter and helping the qwirys. Only Iwl get there without him Iwl channel the Senter Power my self where theres all the many and no end to me.’
I said, ‘Who ben doing the askings? What ben they asking? I dont know what youre talking about.’
He said, ‘Goodparley ben doing it bint he. Sharna pax and get the poal. He never ben the Puter Leat he never ben the Power Leat him and his Mincery. Pontsery is what he come out of and shitful servis. O yes the Mincery myt have ther red cords all wrote out and let them we know what ben time back way back. Iwl do it too see if I dont. I pult the dog and the dog pult you Iwl do the res of it as wel.’
It jus come tumbling all a jumbl out of him like that I stil dint have no idear what it wer all about but soons I heard the name of Goodparley I come the lert. I said, ‘Wheres Goodparley right now and whats he doing?’
He said, ‘I tol you dint I hes in Bernt Arse. We done the askings 1 time which it ben 3 to go.’
I said, ‘Dyou know how many hevvys hes got with him?’
He said, ‘Its 50 the same as he all ways roads with I heard Keaper say that. Plus the out poasts all ways have 6 on regler.’
I tryd to plot the parbeltys of it and progam what to do nex. I knowit we bes put a farness behynt us qwicks we cud only we dint have no hoap of going sly by day. Not 2 peopl crowdless and cernly not 2 peopl with 40 dogs or so. Lookouts on every hy walk and a pigeon fly in every form and dead town with a Mincery man working it. We use to see them talking over our heads be twean ther selfs and to the Ram. It dint look like Belnot Phistd bothert to pigeon Goodparley about me becaws if he had there cernly wudve ben moren jus the 1 hevvy to rumpa with. Say Goodparley dint know I wer in Bernt Arse. Theywd fynd the dead hevvy and for all they knowit him and the kid boath ben jumpt by dogs when he unbart the doar and the kid ben draggit off the sames theywl do with a calf or a lam. I thot we myt have a chance of no foller at all and Goodparley myt just get his self some 1 else to do his askings with. I said to the kid, ‘How much does it matter to Goodparley if youre gone?’
Riddley Walker Page 8