Riddley Walker (26 page)

Lookit in the out poast. HOAP OF A TREE stil on the wall and the picter of Goodparley with the vines and leaves growing out of his mouf. No 1 there.

I said to the black leader, "Garn the track and fynd?" We gone scanning here and there til finely on the other side of Cambry some way out from the senter the dogs begun harking like they do when theyve got some thing hoalt up.

I callt in to the dark, "Who is it?"

There come back Erny Orfings voyce he said, "Its Erny Orfing Riddley."

Hed got his self up hys he cud get on a mounding of rubbl and hed like walt his self in he had to move big stoans out of the way befor I cud get to him. I said, "Whatre you doing all walt up like that?" Taking the murky jus a littl.

He said, "Overing the nite. Which I come here looking for you and Goodparley."

Snick snick I wer striking for the fire I can stil hear in the ear of my mynd that snick snick in the dark that nite in Cambry. I lit the candl and there jumpt out of the dark the face of Greanvine and the face of Orfing. It snuck me this time how much Greanvine realy did look like Goodparley even tho Id all ways thot of him with littl eyes and Greanvines eyes they wer so big and so wide open.

Orfing said, "Looks like him dunnit. Looks like Abel. Befor they put his eyes out I mean." The candl flame shimmying in the wind and the tears roaling down his face. He said, "He aint with you now is he. You aint with him no mor youve lef him oansome in the dark youve lef him dead havent you."

I tol him what happent and he covert his face with his hans. After a littl he took his hans down he said, "Riddley dyou think theres hoap of any thing?"

I said, "Theres new earf on the barrens all the time."

He said, "Parbly them from Good Mercyve took him a way and bernt him by now. How it pangs my hart to think of him jus ashes and blowing in the wind!"

I said, "Trubba not and withry speck but aint you the 1 as put him on that windy road when you brung him down?"

He said, "Riddley you know as wel as I do if you put 1 figger on your right han and a nother on your lef the 1 wil go agenst the other some how some time. It dont matter nothing if you call them Punch & Pooty or Goodparley & Orfing."

I said, "Orfing & Ardship?"

He said, "Yes you may wel say Orfing & Ardship. Which the hardship be come the Orfing dinnit. At leas I come out of it with my life. For a littl wyl any how."

I said, "What happent?"

He said, "Wel we had our littl bag of yellerboy stoan dint we. Same as you. Which thats Power innit. I mean that and the knowing of what to do with it. If 1 comes to you youwl go looking for the other I dont care who you be youwl do it. Becaws theres Power in the 1 sames its in the other nor it dont matter nothing which comes 1st. 1ce that Powers luce itwl fetch itwl work itwl move itwl happen every 1 whats in its road. _Some_ 1s got to happen it. If it aint me or you it cud wel be some 1 wersen us cudnt it. So I wer on for letting it happen.

"The Ardship he begun to gether with the Eusa folk they all took off ther cloes and tangelt ther selfs to gether all nekkit and twining like a nes of snakes which they callit that some poasyum. Which they done trantsing with it and hy telling. Doing it in that old Power Station in Fork Stoan where the out poast is. Which that place its so big and eckowing it wer realy some thing to hear them telling of the many cools of Addom and the party cools of stoan and all the diffrent colourt seeds and that. It put you by your oan self even tho you mytnt know nothing of it yet you cud get jus the fayntes glimmer of what it musve ben to be the Puter Leat. To have them boats in the air which they callit them space craf and them picters on the wind which that wer viddyo and going out beyont the sarvering gallack seas. Not jus singing it you know. Acturely going it acturely roading out thru space. Jus try to get it in your mynd try to happen it in your head o dint they trants hy you cud feal the thrus and the boost of it you know the jynt woosh of them liffing off and to the stations. Which they jumpt 1 station to the nex you see and til they jumpt right out beyont them gallack seas. I tel you Riddley lissening to them trantsing and telling it wer all mos like being in 1 of them space craf o the yoaring and the roaling o the nertial and the navigation of it."

I said, "Did they ever get to the knowing of the mixter of the 1 Littl 1?"

He said, "No they dint you see what it wer they gone so far beyont any thing that simpl they cudnt qwite track back to it they cudnt littl down to the Nos. of it."

I said, "So you never gone bang then?"

He said, "O yes we did we gone bang right a nuff the same as you. Some of the hevvys they gone to Hoggem Form which they come back with a dyer and they helpt some qwirys on him til he give them the Nos. of the mixter which he knowit them Nos. the sames your chard coal berner done. Which all them years I never knowit nothing of all that with them berners and dyers nor Goodparley dint nyther and us the Pry Mincer and the Wes Mincer."

I said, "Yes but what about the bang howd it go?"

He said, "Wel the hevvys took the yellerboy stoan and the other gready mints and they done that mixter like the dyer tol them which they packt it in a iron pot and they had what they callit a fews which the dyer give them it wer a bit of chemistery roap. The Ardship wernt interstit in that kynd of thing that han mixing he rathert have mor vantsit theary. Him and the Eusa folk they wer carrying on with ther some poasyum wylst the hevvys wer larking a bout with the iron pot of mixter they wer pist and singing songs they wer fummeling them nekkit Eusa women. The Ardship he tol the hevvys to stop ther singing and the res of it which it wer giving him inner fearents with his trantsing. Which them hevvys then they lit the fews and throwit the pot in to the middl of the Eusa folk thats when it gone bang and peaces of iron pot and Eusa folk wizzing all roun. It toar the Ardship all a part and peaces of him raining down on them girt shyning broakin machines plus it kilt 3 mor Eusa folk and woondit others of them which then the res of the Eusa folk gone for the hevvys. Thats when I vackt my wayt I slyd out of there I thot I bes take my chance elser and elsewys. I realy had to voat no kynd of fents in that lot I cudnt see how I wer going to mincer any thing out of them."

I said, "Whyd you ever want to take over any how?"

He said, "I all ready tol you dint I. You put 1 figger on your right han and 1 on your lef and the 1 wil take over from the other plus Iwl tel you any 1 what ben Goodparleys shadder mincer wudve done the same yes youwdve done it jus the same as me. He had that way about him he jus made you want to bring him down. Which that ben what he wantit and all he dint have no res and til he made it happen. I never progammit to do it realy it jus put its self to gether. I dont think them hevvys ben beckoning that boat I think parbly that dead bloak ben a farring seakert tryer from other side which my read of it is he ben coming to try his Luck he ben out to bargam yellerboy for knowing when he got nitefel in a storm and the marse come down on his head. When Goodparley made some of the hevvys help the qwirys on others of them they wer ready for the bringdown which I jus clymt on it and movit with it."

I said, "What dyou think wil happen now dyou think the hevvys at Fork Stoan wil sen ther oan farring seakert tryer to bargam some thing with the other siders?"

He said, "Wel its luce now innit. Its luce and itwl fetch. Every 1 as can get the Nos. of the mixter and them 3 gready mints of it theywl have a go wont they. Somewl go 1 way with it some a nother. You can get jus as dead from a kick in the head as you can from the 1 Littl 1 but its the natur of it gets peopl as cited. I mean your foot is all ways on the end of your leg innit. So if youre going to kick some 1 to death it aint all that thrilling is it. This other tho youve got to have the Nos. of the mixter then youve got to fynd your gready mints then youve got to do the mixing of the mixter and youve got to say the fissional seakerts of the act befor you kil some body its all that chemistery and fizzics of it you see. Its some thing new. Which ever way you look at it I dont think Aunty and her red eyed rat be too far from us. Be that a fit up on your back?"

I said, "You know it is and you know whose."

He said, "Its all ways the littl man as carrys the fit up whynt you let me have it."

I said, "Erny you know you aint no littlern me the 2 of us is jus about the same bigness."

He said, "Riddley thats as may be but I feal littler all the time I wish youwd let me carry it I wont feal right else. You know its all ways Orfing as carrys the fit up."

I said, "And its Goodparley does the show. Be you making me Goodparley now?"

He said, "I cant make no 1 nothing you know that. Nor I never fealt right when them hevvys wer calling me Goodparley nor I wunt put that name on you nyther les jus call it Walker & Orfing."

I said, "Why not Orfing & Walker?"

He said, "The name as comes 1st is the man as works the figgers and does the voyces. Which I never ben no good at that I never do nothing only strait man for the patter. So Walker & Orfings what itwl have to be."

Erny slung the fit up then and we gone back to the out poast. Which I fealt like sitting down to a tabel with a candl and putting some words on paper. That ben the beginning of this writing and Im sitting at that same and very tabel now. Longs we had the dogs to keap look out we thot why not hoal up there and til such time as any new hevvys myt be coming in. Its ben a 14nt now tho nor there bint no blip of hevvys nor no 1 else. It looks to me like that Fools Circel is broakin now I dont think therewl be no mor regler hevvys nor Eusa folk in dead towns from now on. Parbly all the hevvys and any Eusa folk whatre stil a live theyre all too binsy running a roun trying to go bang. Plus a woal lot of other peopl as wel by now parbly. Fars we know there bint no mor bangs yet but we dont have the leas idear whats going to happen. Right now there aint even no Pry Mincer its what they call a care maker Mincery with regenneril guvner men from the Ram at all the forms.

How it looks to Erny and me and strapping the lates from what littl datter weve got we pirntow the other siders mus have plenny of yellerboy and theywl be senning out mor farring seakert tryers. Parbly itwl be a littl wyl befor they sen a nother 1 to Inland but the thing is luce now. By nex mooning Iwl bet you can walk from here to other side without getting your feet wet jus stepping from 1 boat to the nex and every 1 of them boats after yellerboy.

Orfing and me we know weare living on burrow time but then who aint. The way things are now it aint jus only you dont know whos going to go bang nex you dont even know where the arrer myt come from with your name on it you cant be too sure whos your frend and whos your nemminy life aint qwite as simpl as it use to be. It use to be if you wer agenst the Ram youwd be agenst the forms becaws you knowit they wer all 1 thing jus like a body and its head. Now the head myt say 1 thing only you dont know what the body wil do. 1 thing Lucky them dogsre stil with us and longs that black leaders on our side I dont worry too much about getting snuck. Orfings getting a littl dog frendy now even tho when he come oansome from Fork Stoan to Cambry he said he ben measuring his life from 1 tree to the nex and when he come to the barrens he said he jus tol his self 1 way or a nother he parbly wunt be a live too much longer. Which 1ce he got use to that idear then every minim he wer stil a live he wer that much a head.

Walker & Orfing. I liket the idear of making up shows only with things how they are now I wernt all that kean to road no show I ratherwd live qwyet and ly low til we seen who come out on top. It wer Orfing as wantit to start showing.

I said, "Wunt it be bes to wait til things settl down a littl?" He said, "The sooner we do whats on us to do the sooner thingswl settl down."

I said, "You know Erny theres places where it mytnt be the safes thing in the worl for you to put foot. You what brung down Goodparley and let them crookit peopl put his eyes out."

He said, "Wel Riddley if I brung him down for any thing it ben becaws he thot you cud move the out side of things frontways and leave the in side to look after its self. Which I think its the in side has got to do the moving its got to move every thing and its got to move us as wel. If I say diffrent time after this itwl be fearbelly talking I know I aint brave. But thats what Im saying now. Its moving me the way its moving me and Im going with it fars I can."

So we begun to ready our selfs for the road. When I unbundelt Goodparleys fit up to do a littl prackters work it come to me agen the 2ness of things. Any other fit up I ever seen there ben 1 bag of figgers in it which you hang it inside when youre showing then youve got the figgers ready to han. Only Goodparleys fit up has 2 bags becaws theres 2 sets of figgers. Theres the 1s for the Eusa show then theres the 1s for the Punch show. That show what he never showit to no crowd only odd times done it for his self and that 1ce for me.

You take a figger out of the bag nor it aint nothing only some colourt clof with a paintit wood head and hans. Then you put it on. You put your head finger in the head you put your arm fingers in the arms then that figger looks roun and takes noatis it has things to say. Which they wont all ways be things _youwd_ think of saying o no them wood heads the hart of the wood is in them and the hart of the wud and all. They have ther knowing and they have ther saying which you bes lissen for it you bes let it happen. "I never look for my reveal til its ben." Thats what my dad said time back. My dad the connexion man. In my woal life Ive only ever done that 1 connexion which Ive wrote down here I begun with trying to put it to gether poal by poal only my reveal dint come that way it snuck me woaly. I wer keaping that in memberment now. Ready to cry ready to dy ready for any thing is how I come to it now. In fear and tremmering only not running a way. In emtyness and ready to be fult. Not to lern no body nothing I cant even lern my oan self all I can do is try not to get in front of whats coming. Jus try to keap out of the way of it.

You myt talk about how youre going to show you myt think about it only on the nite there it is if its the 1st time or the 100th it aint never happent befor it aint nothing you know any thing about. You look out thru the weave of the back cloth and you see the torches shimmying and glimmering you hear a hummering and a mummering from the crowd in front of you. Theres a prickling all over your skin and you feal like therewl be sparkls coming off you in the dark.