Russell Hoban - Riddley Walker

He said, “I never sung no beginning becaws you wont never fynd no beginning its long gone and far pas. What ever youre after youwl never fynd the beginning of it thats why youwl all ways be too late. Onlyes thing youwl ever fynd is the end of things. What ever happens itwl be what you dint want to happen. What ever dont happen thatwl be the thing you wantit. Take your choosing how you like youwl get what you dont want. Howd you get dog frendy?”

I said, “I dint get dog frendy it wer the dogs as got frendy with me.”

He said, “O I see youre a very special kynd of bloak then aint you. Parbly 1 day youwl be some thing big like Dog Pry Mincer.” He begun to kil his self larfing at that.

I dint know if I shud keap on talking to him or jus go my road. I fealt like if I kep stopping there I myt get los from what I wer going to Cambry for. I fealt like that old man myt make things happen on some other track. Wel I can put it plainern that. What I wer lissening wer Power. What ever it wer. The 1 Big 1 or the Spirit of God or the Littl Shyning Man or what ever. I cud feal that yellerboy stoan scrabbling to get out of it bag I cud feal how it wantit to get to that old man and I cud feal as he knowit what to do with it. Only I dint know who he myt be for and who agenst. Dint know if I shud show my han or not. The chard coal berners wer in with the dyers at the forms I knowit that much but I dint know if they wer Mincery men or what they wer. 1ce every year they come in to the forms for ther red clof then back in to the woodlings and ther blue smoak they gone. They kep to ther selfs they wernt frendy with no 1 nor no 1 never give them no Trubba. Every 1 wer a littl bit afeart of them they thot they mus be some way clevver.

And stil I aint said all there is to say about that littl old hook nose man. That day when I seen him for the 1st time and stanning there talking to him it wer like a dream I cudnt wake up out of. There wernt nothing terbel happening and yet there wer. Whats so terbel its jus that knowing of the horrer in every thing. The horrer waiting. I dont know how to say it. Like say you myt get cut bad and all on a suddn there you are with your leg opent up and youre looking at the mussl fat and boan of it. You all ways knowit what wer unner the skin only you dont want to see that bloody meat and boan. Never mynd.

That old man tho. That old man he ben the man to Goodparley when Goodparley ben a boy and here wer that old man stil going strong. Jus looking at him you cud see he wuntve ben kilt by Goodparley. Not him. Wel I wer afeart of him thats the Truth of it I wer afeart of what he myt happen. He drawt me. I fealt like he wer going to make me happen or I wer going to make him happen.

He said, “Cheer up it may never happen.” I ben stanning there shrunk in my thots I musve ben looking down struck. He said, “Wel you bes go your road Ive got my harts to look after. May be wewl sing songs agen some time I all ways like a good song. Keap in memberment to tel Goodparley you seen Drop John.”

I said, “Wait a minim.”

He said, “What is it then?”

I said, “Never mynd.” I had my hans in my pockits. Fealing old blackent Punch with my right han and that yellerboy stoan with my lef.

Granser said, “Right you are.” Opent the gate and in to the fents he gone and closd the gate agen. I heard him singing behynt the fents:

I startit off then I stoppit and looking back and going tords the gate agen. Them 2 nexters they begun grooling and smarling and showing toofy.

I said, “All right then have it your way.” Off we gone tords Cambry then.

And stil I aint said all there is to say about that morning in the aulders. The bloody meat and boan of it. The worl is ful of things waiting to happen. Thats the meat and boan of it right there. You myt think you can jus go here and there doing nothing. Happening nothing. You cant tho you bleeding cant. You put your self on any road and some thing wil show its self to you. Wanting to happen. Waiting to happen. You myt say, “I dont want to know.” But 1ce its showt its self to you you wil know wont you. You cant not know no mor. There it is and working in you. You myt try to put a farness be twean you and it only you cant becaws youre carrying it inside you. The waiting to happen aint out there where it ben no mor its inside you. That old man sung his littl song and he put that waiting inside me.

Coming pas Pig Sweet Form I seen them plowing with a 4 crowd plow and 8 oxin. 4 bloaks on the plow and 2 on look out. It wer stil early morning a dul day with the sun low behynt the grey and the way the lite come acrost the feal you cud see some kynd of old pattren unner neath of the new furrows. Strait lines and circels from time back way back. There wer a scare crow on a littl rise of groun it had a crow sitting on 1 arm. The other arm the strawd come out of the sleave and the wind wer moving the sleave a littl on the stick it lookit like the scare crow wer beckoning the plow men. Lookit like the crow wer telling the scare crow to do it. The plow men come to the end of the feal and I heard ther voyces littl acrost the farness when they ternt the team: “Wo Jooper! Go roun Klisto!” Coming the other way then 1 of them seen me and the dogs in a bare space be twean trees. He poyntit at me and the others made the Bad Luck go a way syn. The crow yelt, “Caw caw caw!” and it had the right of me. The scare crow jus kep on beckoning.

On we gone tords Cambry. Dint see no other dog packs tho we wer far and a way beyont the Bernt Arse packs markings. It fealt to me like other packs wer keaping out of our path. Like every thing holding its breaf waiting for some thing special to happen.

So far that morning it hadnt ben raining only hanging over grey. Coming acrost the barrens the sky darkent on and hevvy. When we come to the Ring Ditch the stannings of the Power Ring stood up wite agenst the dark like broakin teef. I tryd to see the Power Ring in my mynd. Hy and shyning with the 1 Big 1 wooshing roun inside it. That story of why the dog wont show its eyes where it tels of putting the 1 Big 1 in to the Power Ring which the very 1st time they woosht it roun it ternt the nite to day then every thing gone black I dont beleave that. Looking at them stannings I knowit inside me they musve had that 1 Big 1 going roun there regler. I cud feal the goast of it hy over me farring roun and out of site going roun that circel and coming back and roun agen EEEeeeeee.

Black sky. Wite broakin teef. “SPIRIT OF GOD,” I yelt. Becaws thats where Goodparleyd said the 1 Big 1 come out of. I dint know nothing about chemistery nor fizzics but I wer getting to where I neadit some thing hy to yel at. I cud feal it like a rushing hy over me roun the hy goast of the Power Ring. The dogs all laid back ther ears and grovvelt so I knowit they cud feal it over them and all. “CANTERBURY,” I yelt. Becaws that wer the old name. The new name wernt no good it wer a stanning in the mud name it dint have no zanting to it. I run down in to the Ring Ditch and up the other side. Stanning on the barren groun I cud feal it coming up in to me thru my feet the Power of the goast of the Power what ben. “IT STIL IS,” I yelt. Becaws it come to me then I knowit Power dint go a way. It ben and it wer and it wud be. It wer there and drawing. Power wantit you to come to it with Power. Power wantit what ever cud happen to happen. Power wantit every thing moving frontways. The same as Goodparley wantit. The same as I wer wanting then.

Thinking back to that nite when I took the scar which it ben jus only 3 nites back it wer that same nite they done the Eusas head show and that same nite Goodparley tol me he wer looking for the Littl Shyning Man nor it wernt jus only the idear of him it wer some thing real. Now I wer beginning to get a idear of what he meant. Plus thinking agen on what Orfingd said. How the Littl Shyning Man wer what ever cudnt never be put to gether. Wel that wer Power wernt it. The Power of the 2ness trying to tear the 1 a part. What if you put the 2 and the 1 to gether tho? What if you put the 2ness inside the 1? Power inside of Power myt that be 1 Big 1 and Spirit of God? The 2 inside the 1 the Big inside the littl like thunner and litening inside a egg shel. Then what if you broak that shel. Parbly thatwd make such a noys such a noys such a noys. Or may be you cud work it so it jus come wooshing out like the Wind of the Worl. Myt that be the same what I cud stil feal the goast of rushing by in the air roun the circel of the goast of the Power Ring? I begun to see why Goodparleyd ternt me luce hed parbly sust it myt come to me by its self if he lef me a loan.