Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

It snuck me a littl I dint have no fealings 1 way or a nother about Dursters dying. It ben mor to me when that las boar come on to my spear or the old leader dog. I never had nothing agenst Durster that rumpa ben jus 1 of them things jumps up on its oan sholders all on a suddn. But then I never had nothing for him nyther. I wer jus as glad to have his space as have him. Dead with his cock and balls toar off and his head near toar off his neck and his face gone grey and the wet leaves trampelt roun him and his eyes looking up to the grey sky over him.

Diffrent is stanning roun him. This 1 and that 1 ben his frend and mummelt this or that but you cud see it drawt them same as flys to honey. It give us all jus that littl thril. Watching Durster do it with Aunty. She took him in stead of us and us what wernt dead fealt that much mor a live.

We wer closer to hoam nor we wer to Widders Dump. We cut a drag and put Durster on it and back we gone to fents and there gone the death wail yet agen. Littl Nimbel Potter he lookit at me and made the Bad Luck go a way syn. His mum and some others as seen him do it they lookit at me that cern way you dont want no crowd never to look at you. Col iron in that look and heads on poals.

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 1s 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 peoph 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.

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 1s in the Eusa show. Woodin head and hans and the res of it clof. All of it gone black and the show mans han sill 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.