Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

I said to Lissener, “Howre we going to work it so you can gether with them Eusa folk in Cambry? Have you got that progammit?”

He said, “Not yet.”

I said, “With the woal 44 of them to gard therewl be moren 6 hevvys wont there?”

He said, “Theres all ways 12 in Cambry plus theyve put on a exter 6.”

I said, “Be them Eusa folk all in 1 hoal to gether?”

He said, “Yes.”

I said, “Wel we bes progam some thing hadnt we?”

He said, “There you go agen getting in front of your self. We dint progam nothing in Fork Stoan and we come out of that all right dint we?”

So I dint bother him no mor about progamming nothing. I said, “How dyou do that kynd of gethering what youre going to do? Do you all set down and pul datter or dyou jus think to gether or what?”

He said, “We do some poasyum.”

I said, “Whats poasyum?”

He said, “It aint jus poasyum you all ways say some poasyum. You ever seen a nes of snakes?”

I said, “Yes.”

He said, “I never but 1 of the hevvys tol me they do the same theywl get all in a tangl slyding and sqwirming and ryving to gether. Which is how we do it all the many rubbing up to 1 a nother skin to skin and talking vantsit theary. Which is a kynd of hy telling and trantsing. Thats when the singing and the shouting come the many cools of Addom and the party cools of stoan. The strong and the weak inner acting and what happent in the cloudit chaymber.”

I said, “Is that where the seed of the red and the seed of the black come in to it?”

He said, “Yes howd you know that?”

I said, “When you ben having your fit you ben talking vantsit theary. If you cud do it then and you can do it now may be you dont even nead to gether may be you can get them Nos. oansome.”

He said, “No when I talk in a fit or what Im saying now that dont mean nothing thats jus only the outers of it. It never comes the woal thing realy without the all of us gethering. Weare jus like scattert peaces of a broakin pot them peaces wont hol water without theyre gethert nexy and glewt ferm in the shape of holding dont you see. I cant make the shape of holding oansome.”

I said, “What is that fit you get is it some thing coming in to you and you going out of your self?”

He said, “Im mosly out of my self Im mosly elser lissening like I do. Thats what brings on the fit some times Iwl lissen some thing in too strong then the vy brations of it move in on my emty space and I have to sturgl back to my connexion.”

I dont know for cern what put it in my mynd then may be it wer the word connexion or him talking of scattert peaces but suddn it come to me we wer like Eusas 2 boys we wer going to have to go 2 diffrent ways some time I dint know why nor how nor when but it fult me sad it come like a weaping inside me. In the dark beside me Lissener begun to cry.

I said, “Whatre you crying about?”

He said, “Im crying for what ben Im crying for whats going to be.”

I said, “Whats the use of that?”

He said, “Whats the use of not?”

I said, “May be it dont have to be.”

He dint say nothing he jus let my words littl off and dwindl stupid on the air. The black dog bumpt agenst my leg like he wer showing me at leas his part of the dark wer frendy. I said, “I wunner where they gone them 2 boys of Eusas?” Lissener sung:

I said, “Whats that then? I never heard that song is it about Eusas boys?”

He said, “I dont know what it is its jus a bit of a old song nor I dont even know the res of it.”

I said, “Did you ever hear any story of Eusas boys tho?”

He said, “No I never. Whats the diffrents any how it wunt help us nothing knowing what be come of them.”

I said, “Why do we have to go to Cambry why do we have to go for that gethering?”

He said, “What else is there to do? Wait for Goodparley to close his han on us?”

I said, “It dont look like there ben no foller on us parbly he dont have the leas idear where we are.”

He said, “Thats what Mr Mouse said jus befor he be come owls meat.”

I said, “You lissen hes on to us then?”

He said, “Thats what I ben lissening for a wyl now.”

I said, “Since when?”

He said, “I aint sure only it wer some time after I had the fit.”

Then I membert that smel back at Rose & Power and it come to me what it ben. If that dog pong hadnt ben so hevvy over it Iwdve knowit right off. Partly it ben that wax they dip hard clof in to keap the rain out and partly it ben hash smoak and sweat and mud and meat smoak and torch smoak and beer. What it ben wer Goodparley & Orfing with ther fit up. They cudve ben there befor us they cudve gone a head to Fork Stoan thatwd be like Goodparley to suss which way wewd jump. I said to Lissener, “You think theyre in front of us or behynt?”

He said, “I lissen them in front.”

I said, “Whynt you say nothing befor this?”

He said, “What diffrents does it make? Be they follering behynt or leading on a head weare going where weare going any how aint we.”

I said, “Even if they ben right on our backs they cudntve seen us take them stoans off that dead bloak. At leas they dont know nothing about that.”

He said, “If I have any Luck gethering in Cambry theywl know soon a nuff.”

Thats when it come to me what them hevvys roun the fire ben talking about. I said, “Belnot Phist.”

He said, “What Belnot Phist?”

I said, “Thats the littl witey bloak them hevvys ben talking about wylst you ben lissening the boat and the stoans.”

He said, “What about him?”

Which I tol him then how Phist wer coming the do it man at Widders Dump plus I myndit him what them hevvys said about him being Goodparleys boy and ben throwt over and how his dad ben 1 Stoan Phist and parbly past on knowing. I said, “It wunt sneak me if hes got knowing hewl use agenst Goodparley nor it wunt sneak me if Belnot Phist is out to be Belnot Goodparley.”

He said, “Iwl give odds youve sust that right and you know what the nex thing is.”

I said, “What?”

He said, “Split up and dubbl our chances. Iwl go on to Cambry with ½ the stoans and gether how ever I can. May be Goodparleys waiting there may be not. May be I can work some thing with them stoans its a chance any how. You go to Belnot Phist with the other ½ and see if you can put some thing to gether with him. If hes Goodparleys nemminy he cud wel be our frend.”

I said, “And yet you know may be weve boath got it wrong. May be Goodparley aint on to us may be Belnot Phist dont have a thot in the worl agenst Goodparley may be the bes thing is jus vack our wayt over the border in to Outland and take our chance there.”

Lissener said, “You can do what you like moon brother but my peopl ben the Power Leat when Goodparleys peopl ben the maggits in the iron. My peopl ben the 1s as bilt the Power Ring and sent the air boats out beyont the sarvering gallack seas. He aint nothing only rottinness growt out of rottinness nor I aint leaving Inland to him jus yet.”

Wel I wernt realy too kean to split up I wernt realy on for what I wer getting in to. When I gone over the fents at Widders Dump it ben jus me throwing my self in to the black and taking my chance what it myt do with me. Swaller me up or spit me out I dint care I dint have no 1 on my back only my self. Only my self! Looking at them words going down on this paper right this minim I know there aint no such thing there aint no only my self you all ways have every 1 and every thing on your back. Them as stood and them as run time back way back long long time they had me on ther back if they knowit or if they dint. I had Lissener on my back plus a woal lot moren him I cudnt even say what all it wer and mor and mor I wer afeart it wer coming to some thing I wernt going to be hevvy a nuff for.