Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

I kep wide of the regler track then and working slow and scanful tords Widders Dump and that littl candl glimmer. I knowit I dint have too long til day lite I cudnt realy wayst no time nor chance on wrong gesses.

I come out of the woodlings to the edge of the Widders Dump clearing. That candl glimmer I seen from up on the hy groun sholder lookit lovely and brite and ever so warm and coasy thru the col girzel it wudve ben nice to be abel to walk up to that gate and say Trubba not in stead of slying roun in the dark. Widders Dump Form is perwel spread out it aint no littl 40 peopl fents theyve got 200 and mor plus all ther stock and cattl which theyre all inside the main compoun at nite so its a big fents to walk roun and its a big fents to look out for as wel. Even a small fentswl have 4 lookouts on the by walk so I thot they mus have at leas 6 at Widders Dump but them being formers and with the nite so col and all I thot there myt be emty spaces here and there with some bloaks keaping ther look out in the gate house with a nice cup of tea.

Its a big clearing I crost it fas then working roun the Norf side a way from the gate house its the side tords the rivver. Cruising roun the primmeter ditch trying to keap my self on for any kynd of nindicater which there come 1 to me then it wer the terbel sharp pong from the dy working where they boyl up the pig shit earf. I thot: Hewl be close to the dyers. Dint realy think it it jus come to me.

They dont have no poynty stakes at Widders Dump its jus only the ditch which its a wide 1 and it wer ful of water from the rains. I stript off and bundelt my cloes roun my spears then I throwit the spears over the ditch in to the bank on the other side. In to that col water then and swum acrost. Come out of there with my teef clattering loud a nuff to lert the lookouts 5 faggers off. Dryd off with my clout put on my cloes and lissent hard. Not a soun not a creak from that hy walk. I thot: Formers. There parbly aint a 1 of them on the hy walk. Throwit my roap over a fents poal and up I gone. All clear on the hy walk so Thump. Down to the groun and I wer over that Widders Dump fents 2ce that same day. 1ce going out and 1ce coming in.

No lites in any shelters only the 1 neares the dy working which I thot that mus be Phist. Jus then I wunnert if I cud be walking in to a trap and in that same minim with that thot some 1 grabbit me from behynt.

Wel Im telling Truth here aint I. Thats the woal idear of this writing which I begun wylst thinking on what the idear of us myt be. Right then when I got grabbit my 1st thot wer: Wel now may be I dont have to progam nothing for a littl.

Who ever had a holt of me clampt me in a strangl holt with a arm like iron and the other han stuck a knife agenst my belly. I thot: It aint even that long since I had my E cut in me I dont hardly have no parper scab on it yet.

Any how this hevvy in charge of me he pushes me tords the doar of the shelter and he says, “Here he is Guvner.”

The doar opens and of coarse theres Goodparley sitting there who else wud it be. With his fit up. He dont have Orfing with him its jus him and Belnot Phist which Phists face is even witern userel. Looking at poor old Phist then I thot we myt even end up frends if the boath of us come thru this littl rumpa a live.

Goodparley he smyls his teef at me and his littl eyes theyre near dantsing wylst theyre peaping over the fents of his cheaks. He says to me, “Wel Riddley yung Walker its ben a long day for you aint it. We bes change your name from Walker to Runner you ben moving so fas 1 place to a nother and back agen. All the way to Fork Stoan to meet a boat with a dead sailer in it. Funny thing to do in the middl of the nite and such a stormy nite and all. Dead sailer from the other side which he brung you some thing for our frend Phist dint he. O yes he brung some kynd of treats what myt they be myt they be honey sweets or what?”

I dint say nothing.

He says, “You know Riddley Iwd cernly like to have a littl scan of them sweets.”

I dint say nothing I dint know what to say. The hevvy what brung me in begun to smyl.

Goodparley says, “Wel you know Riddley weare going to tern your up side down weare going to emty your pockits so what ever youve got whynt you jus han it over.”

Funny thing. I dint want him going thru my pockits I dint want him getting his hans on that blackent figger whatd put me on the road to where ever I wer going. There wernt no way I cud hide that bag of stoans so I took it out of my pockit and I helt it out to him.

He jus lookit at that bag for a littl like he dint want that minim to go a way from him. He says, “Riddley what dyou think is in there dyou think that myt be a littl salt now dyou think it myt be a littl saver what dyou think it myt be?”

Phist says to Goodparley, “Abel he dont know nothing Ive tol you that all ready he aint clevver.”

Goodparley says, “O no and in deed he aint hes bettern clevver hes a mover hes a happener. Now Riddley Runner you jus tel me what you think youve got in that bag. Iwd be interstit to know what you think it is.”

I said, “Truth is I dont have no idear what it is.”

He says, “No you dont know do you I know wel a nuff thats Truth. All you done wer grab it becaws youre a mover and a happener aint you. Youve got to move about and make things happen o I sust that right a nuff and early on. Realy I wunt have to do nothing only tern you luce and let you run and youwd persoon get every thing all happent out and moving I wunt have to stress my self and strain like I ben doing so long. Yes thats all itwd take to get us moving frontwards agen is you and me working to gether. Abel Goodparley and Riddley Runner. Riddley Orfing. Why cant I have you for Shadder Mincer in stead of that dretful littl Orfing on my back and dragging his feet all the time.”

He took me by the rist of my out stretcht arm and pult me to him. He took the bag out of my han he said, “You can feal it in there pecking to get out cant you. Like a chick in a shel. Whatwl it hatch I wunner?” He put his han in to the bag and brung it out ful of stoans. I hadnt seen them in the lite befor. Yeller they wer. Broakin bits of yeller stoan.

Goodparley lookit over to Phist like he wer going to have his head on a poal right soon. He said, “Wel you foun your self a sweets place did you and sweeter nor honey you foun your self the yellerboy stoan the Salt 4.”

Phist said, “I dint fynd nothing Abel I aint no mover nor no happener.”

Goodparley said, “No and for a true fack you aint my littl pink eyed frend you aint no kynd of a mover nor happener thats jus what I come plaining of this long time innit. ‘Tryl narrer,’ you tol me. ‘Thats the way to do it which wewl do it in the new working,’ you said. ‘Spare the mending and tryl narrer.’ And all the time you ben waiting on your boat with honey sweets your Salt 4 you clevver littl man you yellerboy stoaner you. Whatm I going to do with you I wunner howm I going to put you strait it looks to me like youve tyd your self in such a knot there aint no end to it.”

Phist said, “Abel I bint waiting on no boat I never knowit nothing about no boat til you come in here with your hevvys and claiming Trubba on me. I know I aint the frendyes bloak in the worl I know theres some dont like me may be theres some in the Mincerywd like to put some Trubba on me. I dont know what others myt be doing but I aint ben running no stoans. Them Fork Stoan hevvys they can say what they like that dont put nothing on me. You start beleaving that kynd of thing and any 1 can bring down any 1 they like all they have to do is jus only sen them some colourt stoans or powders or what ever.”

Goodparley said, “What powders Belnot? What kynd of powders myt you be talking about?”