Riddley Walker (8 page)

The salting bloak says, "Dont you worry over this shoar. Its my groun and Im right here on it and wide a wake."

Eusa says, "Yes I know only Im worrit any how. Heres you oansome on the shoar with no hevvy fentses and heres me jus inlan of you. Any body gets pas you is going to be headit my way aint they. Whynt you and me largen in to gether wewl be 2ce as strong then."

The salting bloak says, "2ce as strong but � as oansome. Iwl keap this shoar my self. All bes and theres the out path."

Eusas off then and the Littl Shyning Man comes down hes in 2 peaces. He says, "Onlyes way Iwl get put to gether is when peopl pul to gether."

The salting bloak says, "Whynt you pul your self to gether no 1 wil do it for you in this worl."

The Littl Shyning Man says, "I cant pul my self to gether." The salting bloak says, "Wel I can. So Iwl stan my groun oansome."

The Littl Shyning Man goes up out of site then Mr Clevver comes up agen. Hes jus stanning there agenst the back clof behynt the salting bloak and looking on. The salting bloak says, "I aint worrit Iwl be snuck from the sea side its the Eusa side Im worrit about." Hes keaping a sharp look out tords where Eusa gone off.

Wylst the salting bloak is looking that way here comes a hevvy bloak in a boat hes coming from the other side. Hes got a club in his hans and hes coming sly. He jumps out of his boat and knocks the salting bloak on the head. Down goes the salting bloak. Off goes the hevvy bloak where Eusa gone and back he comes with Eusas cow. In to the boat with the cow and the salt and a way he goes. Mr Clevver looking on the woal time he dont do nothing he dont lif a han hes jus stanning there.

The salting bloak comes up agen hes holding his head and no 1 in site only Mr Clevver. Salting bloak says to Mr Clevver, "Why dint you help me?"

Mr Clevver says, "I said Iwd stan behynt you and I done that." Hes larfing then he goes off.

Eusa comes up agen hes holding his head as wel. Eusa and the salting bloak holding ther heads and looking at each other.

Eusa says to the salting bloak, "Whats the matter with your head?"

Salting bloak says, "It aint as hard as the club what basht me thats whats the matter with it. What about you?"

Eusa says, "I ben basht the same plus my cow ben took off."

Salting bloak says, "My salt ben took as wel."

Eusa says, "I thot you ben on your groun and wide a wake. How come you ben snuck?"

Salting bloak says, "I ben looking inlan and got raidit from the sea."

Eusa says, "I ben looking to the sea but he come roun behynt and raidit me from inlan. You cant be looking every way at lce when youre oansome."

Salting bloak says, "May be we bes largen in to gether itwl be the safes thing for boath of us."

Eusa says, "Iwl yes with that."

Then Eusa and the salting bloak get fents poals and theyre largening in to gether and thats the end of the show.

Reason Ive wrote down this woal show is so I cud put in my dads reveal at the end of it. Like Ive said he tol me that show over when he ben lerning me. He ben prowd of his reveal for that 1 moren mos he done becaws for 1ce the crowd movit on his words.

Goodparley & Orfing when they done that show Ive jus wrote down they fittit down and off they gone like all ways. Nex day come and Nex Nite in its tern and our woal crowd with Littl Salting on its mynd and craving for how Dad wud connect that cow shit show. Dad he dint keap them waiting all nite for his reveal he let them get back to ther drinking early. When he gone up front for his connexion he scratcht his head and coft a littl and lookit a roun and like � smylt then he jus said, "Wel you know there it is. A littl salting and no saver."

He dint say no moren that. The crowd � of them larft out and � of them syd deap. Nex day our Big Man which it ben Jack 1stfynd then not Straiter Empy he callit the crowd to gether to talk summit. Nex thing we done we pult out of Crippel the Farn and come up to How Fents which ben stanning emty. Reason we done it wer Hoggem Form they wer right nex to us at Crippel the Farn they had the same look in ther eye as Dog Et had befor they swallert Littl Salting.

Getting back now to my 1st connexion I dint want no 1 to think I wer trying to be a nother Brooder Walker nor I dint want to come on with nothing flash. I had in mynd to take it slow and make it solid. Put 1 thot to a nother like ring poals in poal hoals and holders to ring poals and rafters to holders and the reveal on top of it all like thatch. So you cud all ways go back from the reveal and get a good look at how the woal thing ben bilt and that wer going to be the Riddley Walker styl.

There ben a nuff and moren a nuff to connect with I dint jus only have the front patter and the show I had all that what Goodparley & Orfing said at the wotcher plus all that exter patter after the show. I ben wunnering if may be Orfing ben butting heads with the Ram with some of that patter. Wunnering if he ben doing it for me to use some way. Any how I wernt going to wayst it.

My dad use to tel me, "Dont look for your reveal til its ben." He all ways put his self parper ready for Nex Nite but he claimt he never acturely knowit what he wer going to say til he heard the words coming out of his mouf. Wel I wunt chance that on my 1st connexion I wantit to know where I wer going so I cud make sure I got there. So I had my reveal ready when I stood up for my connexion. I wer going to come down strong on what Eusa said after the show. That about getting the hevvyness off his back. I wer going to end up with: "The man as got the hevvyness took off him wer ready to take on some mor."

I startit out slow. I said, "Las nite wylst they ben doing the front patter when Eusa hadnt come up yet I ben looking at the back clof. There it is you seen it so many times may be you dont even noatis it no mor. Smoak and flames paintit on it. When Eusa comes up hes got smoak and flames behynt him same as that 1st Eusa him as wrote the _Eusa Story_. Weve all of us got smoak and flames behynt us thats why theyre paintit on the back clof. To keap all that in memberment. So les not lose it out of memberment in this connexion."

Going on like that I wer and the rain stil dumming on the thatch the same when there begun a crackeling and like a roaring in the air or in my head I dint know which. Such a bigness of it. I kep talking like I ben doing but I wernt thinking on what I wer saying I wer thinking on Eusa how he come up all slow and scanful and terning his head this way and that. I wer seeing him and afeart he myt start biggering up and bigger bigger. I had to tel my self he wernt nothing only a woodin head on Goodparleys finger. Mynd you there wernt no Eusa figger for me to see. Goodparley & Orfing ben gone since the day befor and all the figgers in ther fit up with them. Nor I wernt dreaming nor I hadnt ben smoaking I wernt acturely seeing Eusas head it wer jus _there_ for me I cant say plainer nor that. Which it wunt stop getting bigger I cud smel the wood and the paint of it and the finger hoal so big it wer over all of us as big as the roof. Such a blackness. Not jus over us and all roun it wer coming up inside me as wel. Not jus wood and paint I smelt the blood and boan the redness in the black. The thot come to me: EUSAS HEAD IS DREAMING US.

1ce I said that I knowit there wer a many in it only I had to wait for the diffrent shapes of it to shif a part so I cud work be twean. Which they done then I did work in be twean and seen the shapes of it. I wer going to tel the shapes but that seamt foolish all I had to do wer show them when they movit pas. Which I done I poyntit to each 1 the woal thing wer as plain. I dint even bother to say it to my self I knowit I cudnt lose it out of memberment.

When I lookit agen it wernt there. I thot: At leas it ben all ready showit. I lookit roun and every body looking at me. I said, "At leas it ben all ready showit."

They all said, "What ben showit?"

I said, "You know. The shapes of EUSAS HEAD IS DREAMING US."

Some said, "You never." Others said, "Whats that?"

I said, "That ben my woal reveal."

They all said, "You never spoak it out you jus ben stanning there and we ben waiting."

I said, "What ben the las thing I said?"

They said, "About the back clof."

I said, "Wel you all know its Eusas head is dreaming us."

They said, "No. Be that your reveal?"

I said, "The shapes of it. What I showit."

They said, "You never."

Lorna Elswint said, "You done a trants reveal. Only it let you out too soon. Parbly you lookit 2ce when you only shudve lookit 1ce. Aint no use talking about it it wants keaping qwyet til it joyns up with the res of its self if it ever does."

So every 1 wer lef hanging. Me and all. My 1st connexion.

10

Nex morning when I 1st come a wake I wer � thinking may be it ben a dream. Like when some thing harbel happens in a dream then you wake up and it aint nothing only a dream what a releaf. But when I woak up all the way there it wer and no dream. Not that it wer all that harbel it wernt nothing only I ben took strange in my very 1st connexion but I fealt like my Luck gone from me. I fealt like I rathert not come a wake that day.

I wer a wake tho so I stuck my head outside. Sky all hevvy and grey. Nothing moving no wind jus all col and stil. Littl Nimbel Potter and that lot waiting for a site of me and singing:

"Riddley Walker wernt no talker

Dint know what to say

Put his head up on a poal

And then it tol all day"

Wel you know 1ce the kids start singing at you thats a cern kynd of track youre on nor there aint too much you can do about it. Making the kids stop singing wont help its too late by then youve jus got to clinch your teef and get on with it.

In the divvy roof at breakfas I wer sat at the top tabel which I only ben sitting there since I took the scar I wernt all that use to it. I had Lorna on 1 side of me and Fister Crunchman on the other side. Him what I ben on the weal with that morning when my dad got kilt. Girt big red hairt bloak 1 of Empys nexters he lookit jus like his name he lookit like he cud bus rocks with his bare hans and walk thru fentses without noatising. Lorna wer hanging over me in a special way like no 1 only her in the woal worl knowit how it wer with me since I done my trants reveal. Fister Crunchman he kep sqwinting at me with his littl sharp blue eyes and nodding his head I wer jus waiting for him to lif up 1 of them hevvy fisses of his and drive me in to the groun.

Finely Fister stil nodding his head and sqwinting at me he said, "Wel Riddley."

I said, "Wel Fister."

He said, "Wel Riddley you know if I wer you." And noddit some mor.

I said, "What if you wer me Fister? Whatwd you do?"

He heft up 1 finger and kep nodding. He said, "Mynd you I aint qwick Im jus a woar out old hevvy is all I am."

I said, "Every body knows you aint a bit woar out plus youre as qwick as the nex 1."

He said, "Which is you nor I aint no where near as qwick as you. Youre myndy dont you see. You ben lernt to read and write and all ways thinking on things. Trubba not nor I aint staring but I wunt want to be like that it aint no way for a man to be."

I said, "No Trubba but you wer saying if you wer me."

He said, "There it is you see. Which I aint becaws Im slow nor I aint myndy so how cud I be you. Yet if I _wer_ you and praps youwl let me give a word and to the whys."

I said, "Im craving for it Fister."

He said, "Riddley what Im going to say I Trubba not your dad it ben a diffrent time when he come a man this ben stil a moving crowd back then. May be a connexion man cud stil help his crowd to keap a littl bit a head of the cow shit plus may be he bint give no syn which you ben."

I said, "Fister whatre you getting at youre going roun by such a long track Im afeart Iwl dy on the road."

He said, "Riddley youre the qwick 1 how can you be so slow. Here come that dog at you dint he. Old woar out leader old woar out guvner which you steppt forit like a man and took him on your spear. Nex you do your 1st connexion and you come up with Eusas head is dreaming us. Which it is if you keap on connecting them cow shit shows and pontsing for the Ram which thats all it is and you know it. Innit time to sharna pax for Eusas head you take my meaning. Leave the telling to the women and connect with a mans doing."

I said, "Youre mor the man for that nor me aint you Fister. I aint no kynd of a hevvy."

He said, "You aint no hevvy but youve got the follerme and I aint. You going to use it or not?"

I said, "Iwl have to think on it wont I."

He said, "Dont think too much youwl grow hair on the in side of your head."

Wel I cernly growit a head ake right then and the day only jus begun.

Weare off to Widders Dump then nor we hadnt no moren sydlt on the hy groun sholder when heres the Bernt Arse pack come out of the woodlings like it ben ther rota to show us the way. And heres that black leader with his ears prickt up and waiting for a staytmen.

I cud feal my self getting humpyer by the minim I cud see why they callit getting the hump I fealt like I wer growing 1. All my bother hevvy on my back and tingling and like coming to a poynt. That dog wer looking at me that cern way I uppit bow but the clevver sod wunt even move he knowit he wer out of bow shot.

Straiter Empy wer out with the forage rota it wer Fister Crunchman the lstman of us that day. He said to me, "That dogs looking this way like hes got some thing on his mynd."

I said, "Theres no knowing what a dog myt have on his mynd."

Durster Potter said, "Not without youre dog clevver."

Fister said, "Not that Ive numbert off that pack by colour but I never noatist that black dog til after he come leader."

Durster said, "I never seen that dog til after Brooder Walker dyd."

I said, "Whatre you getting at Durster?"

He said, "Wel you know theres some wil tel you of peopl dying in the Ful of the Moon and then theres 1 mor in the Black Pack. May be you shud ask that dog to show you hows your father." He begun to larf he wer killing his self with it.

I ben carrying 2 throwing spears and a fighting spear like all ways. I ternt them roun and shovit the foot of them in Dursters belly. The wind gone out of him: Hoo! Then I swung them 3 spears and club bit him on the head with the shafs of them. Down he gone. He come up with blood running down his face and come for me with his fighting spear poynt 1st. Fister grabbit the spear and back handit him 1 acrost the meat hoal and he gone flying.