Stephen King's the Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance Revised and Updated (66 page)

Just as Eddie Dean saves Calvin Tower from BALAZAR’s thugs when they try to force him to sell the Lot to Sombra, Tower and his friend AARON DEEPNEAU are destined to rescue FATHER CALLAHAN as he is being attacked by the HITLER BROTHERS in the TURTLE BAY WASHATERIA in 1981. Since Deepneau and Tower try to keep their identities secret during this escapade, Callahan can only identify Tower as “Voice Number One” and “Mr. Ex Libris,” the latter name derived from the words engraved on the signet ring he wears.

In
Song of Susannah,
a reluctant Tower agrees to sell both Vacant Lot and Rose to Roland and Eddie. Although Tower has little to do with the Tet Corporation once it is formed, he does make one extremely valuable contribution. Borrowing an idea he found in a science-fiction novel written by BEN SLIGHTMAN JR. (who wrote sci fi under the name DANIEL HOLMES), he tells Aaron Deepneau and the other FOUNDING FATHERS to hire precogs and telepaths to help them battle their archenemies (the Sombra Corporation) and to protect their two charges (the Rose and STEPHEN KING). These psychic GOOD-MIND FOLK prove to be extremely useful. However, another group of more ordinary researchers—hired to catalogue and index the works of Stephen King—are the ones who acknowledge Tet’s debt to Tower the most openly. They christen themselves the Calvins in honor of this grumpy old bibliophile. Calvin Tower dies of a heart attack in 1990.

III:114–18, III:119, III:277, III:281, V:54, V:55–58, V:62–70, V:92, V:93, V:94–106
(rose and Sombra),
V:118, V:168–69, V:196, V:338, V:437–42
(as cavalry, as Voice Number One, and as Mr. Ex Libris),
V:447–48
(cavalry),
V:471, V:503–5, V:517, V:518–50, V:584–85, V:591, V:593, V:595, V:597, V:599, V:600, V:618, V:622–24, V:626–28, V:703–4, V:705, V:706, V:709, VI:7, VI:35, VI:36, VI:81, VI:84, VI:136–37, VI:139, VI:140, VI:141, VI:142, VI:154
(indirect),
VI:163, VI:171, VI:177–80, VI:183–212, VI:214–16, VI:269, VI:334, VII:19, VII:37–38, VII:39, VII:122
(indirect),
VII:123, VII:128, VII:495, VII:507–8, VII:509, VII:821

BRICE, MR.:
One of Calvin Tower’s clients. V:543

FATHER (UNNAMED):
VI:195

FIRST WIFE:
V:530–31

GRAHAM, TOMMY:
He owned TOM AND JERRY’S ARTISTIC DELI, which once sat on the Vacant LOT located on SECOND AVENUE and FORTY-SIXTH STREET. When the deli went bust, Tower paid for it to be torn down. V:531

GRANDFATHER (UNNAMED):
VI:195

HARRIED-LOOKING WOMAN:
V:593–94

MIDDLE-AGED COUPLE:
V:596

SERGIO:
Shop cat. He lives at the MANHATTAN RESTAURANT OF THE MIND. V:67, V:525, V:543, V:548, V:549

SHOE SHINE BOY:
V:593

TOREN, STEPHAN:
See
TOREN, STEPHAN,
listed separately

TOWNE, FRED

See
TET CORPORATION
: GOOD-MIND FOLK

TRAINS

See
CHARLIE THE CHOO-CHOO

TRAMPAS

See
CAN-TOI

TREE VILLAGE CHARACTERS

In the novel
The Wind Through the Keyhole,
Roland told YOUNG BILL STREETER the story of another brave young boy, TIM ROSS (later Tim Stoutheart), a lad who not only had to face the terrors of a STARKBLAST but (like Billy) had to identify his father’s murderer. In Tim’s case, the murderer was his father’s best-friend and woodcutting partner, BERN KELLS.

Most of the folktale “The Wind Through the Keyhole” took place in or near Tim’s home village of TREE, which was located at the farthest reaches of NORTH’RD BARONY, at the edge of an unexplored wilderness called the ENDLESS FOREST. Most village men were woodcutters, like Tim’s father, BIG JACK ROSS, and his evil stepfather, Big Bern Kells. But much as the villagers loved the forest, they also feared it, and for good reason. Ten wheels beyond where the BLOSSIE GROVES ended and the IRONWOOD trees began, lay an unexplored wilderness of virgin forest and impassable swamp. According to local belief, the area contained not only the deadly leavings of the OLD PEOPLE but mythical creatures such as DRAGONS.

GENERAL:
W:110–11, W:112
(stories about Widow Smack),
W:115
(smell of forest),
W:131
(villagers),
W:244, W:257, W:264
(Widow Smack’s burial)

ANDERSON, RUPERT (BALDY ANDERSON):
In order to pay his own tax and that owed by his new wife, the widow NELL ROSS, BIG BERN KELLS sold his land to Baldy Anderson, on of Tree’s big farmers. (He was originally going to sell his land to FARMER DESTRY.) Since Anderson knew Kells was desperate for money, he didn’t give him full price for either his house or land. Kells remained bitter about it. W:125–26, W:133, W:171–73

BOYS:
W:172

BALDY ANDERSON:
See
ANDERSON, RUPERT,
above

CONSTABLE HOWARD:
See
TASLEY, HOWARD,
below

COSINGTON, ADA:
See
WOODSMEN:
COSINGTON, PETER,
below

COSINGTON, PETER:
See
WOODSMEN
,
below

DESTRY (FARMER DESTRY, OLD DESTRY):
In order to marry NELL ROSS and pay off both their taxes, BIG BERN KELLS decided to sell his place to Farmer Destry. Old Destry had hard coin, and wanted Kells’s land because it sat next to his east field. Although Destry seemed fairly honest (when TIM ROSS cut hay for him, Destry paid him in scrip, and also gave him a sack of his goodwife’s sweet peppers and busturd tomatoes), Kells decided to sell to RUPERT ANDERSON instead. He regretted the decision, since Anderson was tight. W:114, W:116, W:117, W:120, W:123, W:144
(Tim asks about dragons),
W:186
(picture of rifle)

DESTRY BOYS:
Farmer Destry’s sons. W:127

HUNTER (SPOT HUNTER):
Spot Hunter got his nickname because of his freckles. Hunter and his brother, STRAW WILLEM, helped Tree’s posse search for the murderer BIG BERN KELLS. W:175

RANDY:
Randy was Straw Willem and Spot Hunter’s big brother. He was one of the first people to see BIG BERN KELLS get drunk after his marriage to NELL ROSS. W:128

STRAW WILLEM:
Straw Willem got his nickname because of his nearly colorless hair. He worked at the TREE SAWMILL with TIM ROSS. Straw Willem was the first person to tell Tim that his stepfather, BIG BERN KELLS, was drinking again. He enjoyed sharing this ugly piece of news. W:127–28, W:129, W:170, W:175, W:255

WIFE:
Destry’s goodwife gave a sack of sweet peppers and tomatoes to TIM ROSS after he cut hay for her husband. W:120

HAGGERTY THE NAIL:
When TIM ROSS broke into his steppa BERN KELLS’s trunk, he discovered a toolbox and five extra ax-heads. Tim was enraged, since Kells could have sold these rusty tools to Haggerty the Nail. Even after paying his taxes, he would have had money left over and Tim wouldn’t have had to give up his lessons at the WIDOW SMACK’S COTTAGE. W:142

HODIAK (BARONY BUYER):
Twice a year, Hodiak, the barony buyer, came to Tree Village sawmill to buy IRONWOOD. Ironwood commanded a high price, since it was used to make seagoing vessels. (Although Blossie wood was good for lake boats, it wasn’t strong enough for sea travel.) W:111

KELLS, BIG BERN:
See
KELLS, BIG BERN
,
listed separately

KELLS, MILLICENT:
See
KELLS, BIG BERN
: KELLS, MILLICENT,
listed separately

MARCHLY, EARNEST (SLOW ERNIE MARCHLY):
See
WOODSMEN,
below

MELLON:
BERN KELLS fell off the wagon while he was talking to Mellon about the man’s new stake. Kells started out with a ginger-beer, but when someone put a glass of jackaroe in front of him, he drank it without thinking and then he was off. W:128

POSSE:
See
KELLS, BIG BERN
,
listed separately

RINCON, DEF:
While hiding from the POSSE that wanted to arrest him for murder, BERN KELLS spent two nights shivering in Def Rincon’s barn. W:262, W:263

RIVERLY:
The COVENANT MAN told TIM ROSS about Riverly’s dead cows. W:158

ROSS, BIG JACK:
See
ROSS, BIG JACK
,
listed separately

ROSS, NELL:
See
ROSS, NELL
,
listed separately

ROSS, TIM:
See
ROSS, TIM
listed separately

SIMONS, FRANKIE:
The COVENANT MAN told TIM ROSS that Frankie Simons broke his leg. W:157–58

SPLINTER HARRY (OLD SPLINT):
Splinter Harry was one of the codgers who worked part-time at the TREE SAWMILL. Old Splint was half foolish and liked to babble nonsense, pretending it was High Speech. He liked nothing better than talking about the men from Gilead who carried the big irons and went forth on quests. When Tim met the MUDMEN of the FAGONARD
and pretended to be a young gunslinger, he used the phrases that Old Splint had taught him. W:202, W:205

STOKES, DUSTIN (HOT STOKES):
Dustin Stokes, also known as Hot Stokes, ran a burying parlor behind his smithy. This was where the murder victim, BIG JACK ROSS, was finally laid out. W:173, W:176–78, W:179

TASLEY, HOWARD (CONSTABLE HOWARD):
According to BALDIE ANDERSON, when it came to prosecuting criminals, Constable Howard wasn’t worth a fart in a high wind. He spent too much time in TAVARES, either looking for poachers or visiting the woman he kept there. W:166–67, W:172

VENN, RUPERT (SAWMILL FOREMAN):
Although he was TIM ROSS’s foreman at the TREE SAWMILL, Tim thought that Rupert Venn was a decent
sai.
He told Tim and STRAW WILLEM that they might get more work at the mill if the season’s snowfall was light. W:129

WIDOW SMACK:
See
WIDOW SMACK
,
listed separately

WOMEN OF TREE (LADIES OF TREE, NELL’S FRIENDS):
After Nell was blinded by her second husband, BIG BERN KELLS, these women came to her aid. (However, none nursed Nell as devotedly as the WIDOW SMACK.) W:124
(view Nell with pity on her wedding day),
W:173, W:174, W:175, W:176, W:179, W:252

WOODSMEN:
W:110–11, W:122, W:179

COSINGTON, PETER (PETER “SQUARE FELLA” COSINGTON, SQUARE FELLA COSSIE):
Square Peter Cosington and SLOW ERNIE MARCHLY cut wood on the COSINGTON-MARCHLY STAKE. Both men were friends of the Rosses. According to BIG JACK ROSS, neither Cosington nor Marchly was willing to go into the deep wood, near the FAGONARD, where the densest ironwood could be found.

Before Big Ross’s death, a tree fell across
sai
Cosington’s back, laying him up for eight weeks. This accident, and the fact that a POOKY had taken up residence in one of their STUBS, meant that the Cosington-Marchly stake was deserted for a good stretch of time. BIG BERN KELLS took advantage of this and hid the body of his murdered partner there. When TIM ROSS told Peter Cosington, Ernie Marchly, and Baldy Anderson that Kells had thrown his father’s corpse in their stream, Cosington wanted to kill Kells for the insult as well as the crime. Square Fella Cosington was one of the POSSEMEN who went after Kells. W:149, W:150, W:157
(stake),
W:158, W:159, W:160, W:162, W:168, W:171–73, W:176
(found Big Ross),
W:176–77, W:178–79, W:189
(stake),
W:190, W:257
(stake)

COSINGTON, ADA:
Ada Cosington was one of NELL ROSS’s friends. After the WIDOW SMACK saved Nell’s life, Ada and several other women traveled to the Ross-KELLS house to help out. W:173–74, W:175

KELLS, BIG BERN:
See
KELLS, BIG BERN
,
listed separately

ROSS, BIG JACK:
See
ROSS, BIG JACK,
listed separately

MARCHLY, ERNEST (SLOW ERNIE MARCHLY):
Slow Ernie Marchly was SQUARE FELLA COSINGTON’s cutting partner. The two of them cut the COSINGTON-MARCHLY STAKE. After a tree fell on Peter Cosington’s back, laying him up for eight weeks, Ernie Marchly did not go cutting alone. Hence, his stub was deserted long enough for BIG BERN
KELLS to hide Jack Ross’s body there, in a stub where a POOKY had taken up housekeeping. (Because of the pooky, the stub was left fallow even after Cosington’s recovery.) Both Ernest Marchly and Peter Cosington were incensed that Kells dared to leave Ross’s body on their stake. Along with BALDY ANDERSON, these two men drummed up the posse that set out to bring Bern Kells to justice. However, in the end it was Tim Ross and his mother NELL who ended Kells’s evil life. W:149, W:150, W:157
(stake),
W:158, W:160, W:162, W:168, W:171–73, W:189
(stake),
W:257
(stake)

WIFE
: W:173

WYLAND:
While doing his tax-collecting rounds, the COVENANT MAN discovered that the Wylands’ baby had milk-sick. W:158

WYLAND’S BABY:
W:158

TRELAWNEY

See
CAN-TOI

TRISTUM, DR. GANGLI

See
CAN-TOI

TUBTHER, MR.

See
DEAN, EDDIE
: EDDIE’S PAST ASSOCIATES

TUDBURY, BILL AND TILL

See
RIVER CROSSING CHARACTERS

TULL CHARACTERS

At the beginning of
The Gunslinger,
Roland traveled through the dying town of Tull, located on the edges of the MOHAINE DESERT. Here he battled the crazed followers of SYLVIA PITTSTON, who was herself an acolyte of the MAN IN BLACK. By the time the battle was over and Roland pushed on into the desert, Tull’s entire population, which consisted of thirty-nine men, fourteen women, and five children, lay dead. Roland even accidently killed his lover ALICE. The only person Roland didn’t slaughter was the weed-eater NORT. (Poor Nort had already been crucified by the townsfolk.) According to STEPHEN KING, the town of Tull was named after the rock band Jethro Tull.