Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

Goodparley said, “Whatd he say?”

The 1stman said, “He dint say nothing only yelt for his daddy 1ce and jus now he hispert some thing to Riddley Walker here.”

Goodparley said to me, “Whatd he hisper?”

I said, “He dint say nothing only that yellerboy stoan wud be my onwith then he dyd.”

The 1stman said, “You can see he aint ben bloodyd nor nothing we never done him nothing only hang him up.”

Goodparleys face lookit like he wer having a bad dream he cudnt wake up out of. He said, “Who cud know he wer that delkit? I never wantit him dead.”

I said, “Parbly thats what Eusa said when he pult the Littl Shyning Man in 2.”

Goodparley dint say nothing only shook his head. The hevvy Id took the knife from helt out his han for it and I give it back. Goodparley said to me, “You can have your weapons back and go where you like I wont keap you.”

I near larft when he said that. Becaws I knowit we wer tyd to gether from then on and Belnot Phist like Drop John on boath our backs. Goodparley wer terning me luce to let me happen but he knowit I cudnt get a way from him no moren he cud get a way from me. We myt do our diffrent moves and try new 1s if we cud but there wer jus only so much doing to go roun and if 1 of us done 1 thing the otherwd have to do the other.

When they give me back my gear Goodparley said, “You myswel have your onwith and all” which he give me the bag of yellerboy stoan. Then I did larf and off I gone.

I wer glad to be vacking my wayt befor the jobbing rota from How Fents ternt up I dint want to see none of them right then I jus wantit to road oansome to Cambry and my other moon brother qwicks I cud.

I lookit up at the gate house when I gone out and Goodparley wer looking down at me. He said, “Iwl see to it Belnot gets a parper berning.”

I noddit and put my foot tords Cambry. Soons I crost the clearing them dogs wer all roun me agen they wer like my oan pryvit nite in the morning of the day.

Roading with Eusa 7 in my mynd:

7 . Thay dogs stud up on thear hyn legs & taukin lyk men.

Folleree sed, Lukin for the 1 yu wil aul ways fyn thay 2.

Folleroo sed, Thay 2 is 2ce as bad as the 1…

I cud feal it in the guts and barrils of me. You try to make your self 1 with some thing or some body but try as you wil the 2ness of every thing is working agenst you all the way. You try to take holt of the 1ness and it comes in 2 in your hans. Jus the same as the Littl Shyning Man done when Eusa took holt of him. Orfingd said the Littl Shyning Man wer what ever cudnt never be put to gether and I wer beginning to think he wer right. And yet it lookit to me like the Littl Shyning Man wer jus and very what wantit to put its self to gether and trying its bes to do it. Not Goodparleys Littl Shyning Man that wer a nother thing and tirely. What I thot the Littl Shyning Man wer I thot he wer right doing. I thot the Littl Shyning Man wer what I ben putting to gether when I brung that yellerboy stoan to Belnot Phist and look what happent. If Id kep wide of him he myt stil be a live. Poor Belnot Phist parbly his hart give out on him. Hart of the Phist Hart of the Wud. I ben the 1 as made that happen and now I wer coming in 2 with it. Saying in my mynd over and over: Whatd I do whatd I do?

Now I wer trying to hol fas to being 1 with Lissener and I knowit wel the 2ness wer hot on my foller it wer out to get its teef in me and arga warga. That 2ness be come jus as real to me as if it ben a pack of dogs. I wer frendy with the dogs now but I dint know how to get frendy with the 2ness. Trying to lissen in my mynd for Lissener but nothing come. My mynd wer all roylt and turbelt and muddy with every thing going roun in it. Trying to progam my self for Cambry yet at the same time trying not to get in front of my self.

Plus all the res of it it took me strange roading with them dogs by day pas all them lookouts be twean Widders Dump and Cambry. Dint realy matter nothing how many lookouts seen me dint matter nothing how many pigeons flew that message 1 form to the nex or to the Ram there wernt no body going to stop me longs the Pry Mincer wantit me luce and walking out my happenings. Stil and yet I dint want no 1 seeing me I wisht it wudve stayd nite. I dint want to be tol of every where. Riddley Walker the dog clevver or Riddley Walker running with the Black Pack. I kep out of site as wel as I cud but I knowit I wer seen time and agen becaws I wunt put no exter time nor faggers on to my road with going wide and slying roun I jus gone the straites way to Cambry trying to get to Lissener fas as I cud. Trying to get there befor the 2ness got me.

Coming up a long the rivver arper sit Good Mercy Form I seen the userel blue smoak hanging in amongst the aulders. I ben singing unner my breaf like youwl do some times roading a long I wer singing:

I heard some 1 else singing and I stoppit to lissen. It wer a crackt old mans voyce and singing:

There come like a rushing and a tingling all thru me my head gone lite my legs gone wobbly. I stood there looking and I seen a littl old bloak zanting a bout on the out side of the chard coal berners fents. He stoppit singing then and he come out where I cud see him plain. Littl wite hairt bloak with a hook nose and a hook chin in his red jumper he lookit jus like Mr Punch only no hump. The dogs dint take no special noatis of him it lookit like they knowit him. The 2 nexters ruft and the littl old bloak said, “Trubba not” and peed agenst the fents. The nexters sniffit his syn then they peed and he sniffit ther syn.

I said, “Youre Granser youre that same and very littl old hook nose bloak what Goodparley kilt time back.” It wer like a dream.

He said, “No I aint Im Drop John the Foller Man you tel Goodparley that nex time you see him. You cant kil Drop John hewl ride your hump hes the Foller Man.”

I said, “That wer a good song you wer singing.”

He said, “What song?”

I said, “When the yeller boy comes hoam.”

He said, “Ben that what I ben singing? I dint realy take no noatis my self.”

I said, “Be there mor to it?”

He said, “Mor to what?”

I said, “That song.”

He said, “O dear I realy cudnt say Im so old you know my memberment is mosly gone I jus have bits of this and that in my head like meat and vedgerbels in a stew Im jus a old stew head is all I am.” Looking at me like a ren out of a hedge.

I sung:

He said, “What kynd of a song is that?”

I said, “Thats a How much do you know? song.”

He said, “I dont know nothing like that realy I dont know nothing only what any chard coal berner myt know.”

I said, “You wunt know who the yeller boy is?”

He said, “No I wunt know nothing like that is he some 1s brother?”

I said, “You know a song about brothers?”

He lookit at me all brite eyed and wicket and he sung:

I said, “That souns like the end of the song. What about the beginning?”

He said, “Thats jus it you see thats why he wer too late he never come in to it at the beginning.”

I said, “You never sung no beginning if youd sung it he cudve come in to it.”