Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

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 ½ 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 ½ of them larft out and ½ 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.

Nex morning when I 1st come a wake I wer ½ 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:

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.”