Riddley Walker

12

Like Ive said it stayd qwyet all day we dint hear nothing nor there wernt no lerting from the dogs. A littl too qwyet I thot it wer. Qwyet with may be eyes and ears in it waiting for us to make our move. The rain hevvit on by the end of the day it wer coming down in buckits plus it blowt up a hevvy wind out of the Norf and Eas you cud perwel lean on it.

It come dark early we waitit til it wer solid nite and filfy dark it wer you cudnt hardly see your han on the end of your arm. We slyd out slow and easy we had the woal Bernt Arse pack with us. I had the black leader nexy bumping agenst me now and agen and I wer leading Lissener by the han. Soons we come out of the outers and clear of stumps and stannings he pult his han luce and ternt his self a roun this way and that. Poyntit his self in to the wind and he said, “Cambrys this way innit?”

I said, “Thats it right a nuff.”

He said, “Wel Im on my way then. Thanking you for getting me out of the hoal. Good Luck to you where ever youre going.”

I said to him, “Whatre you on about? Be you out of your mynd or what? You think youre going to Cambry oansome?”

He said, “I can fynd it by insterment. Ive got a knife and spear plus Ive got the dogs to look after me dont you worry over me.”

I said, “Dont you want me to go with you?”

He said, “Back there when you brung me out of the hoal you dint say, ‘Wherewl we go?’ You said, ‘Wherewl you go?’”

I said, “Wel now Im saying, ‘Wherewl we go?’ Any where you go its the 2 of us going.”

He said, “You know how it is with me I wunt ask you to come. Me I dont have nothing to lose they ben going to put my head on a poal any how. It aint the same for you parbly you can stil go back to your fents and Blobs your nunkel.”

I said, “No odds. If the Ram aint after me all ready for what I all ready done theywl be after me soon a nuff for some thing else. We myswel joynt the effert.” When I said that I thot on Fister Crunchman what he said about connecting with a mans doing and how I had follerme. Yet there hadnt no 1 follert me and here I wer follering the Ardship nor I dint care what kynd of doing it wer.

So off we gone. I pirntowt we bes not go the straites way. Keap off the main tracks where we cud. I wer jus going to say les Eas roun by Monkeys Whoar Town and Norf up a long the Nellys Bum when I had like a mynd flash of colourt lites with clicking and bleaping it wernt like nothing I ever acturely seen nor heard only in dreams. I cud like feal the woal circel of the dead towns in me and see a line of grean lite sweaping roun that circel from the senter.

Lissener said, “What is it?”

I said, “What dyou mean?”

He said, “Im lissening some thing nor I dont know what it is. And youre lissening me.”

I said, “Dont break the circel yet.” The words jus come out of me by ther selfs I bint thinking them at all.

He said, “What dyou lissen else?”

I said, “I dont know its jus a line of grean lite sweaping and there come up blips.” Which Id usit that word times a nuff but never til then did I ever think of putting the word blip to a blob of grean lite.

He said, “Blips where?”

I said, “I dont know.”

He said, “Say Fools Circel 9wys.”

I begun it:

Thats where I stoppit. Fork Stoan be come sharp in my mynd. I said, “Fork Stoan.”

He said, “Why cud you lissen me nor I cudnt lissen my self?”

I said, “May be it aint nothing.”

He said, “No its true foller I can lissen that much. If we go to Fork Stoan weare keaping the circel which thatwl be axel rating the Inner G you know. Thats what you do when you Power roun a ring. Which it looks like we bes ful that circel on a wyl yet.”

So we Souf and Eastit then for Fork Stoan which that put the wind on our lef side in stead of in our faces. That wind it jus kep fulling on and the rain like sling stoans in our faces. I wer thinking how it mus be out at sea. Which I wer beartht at Crippel the Farn near Fork Stoan and the sea is all ways somers in my mynd no matter where I am. I said, “I wunt want to be out this nite.” Then I had to larf and shake my head calling to memberment Durster Potter and how he said them same words that rainy nite after the Eusa show which it seamt so long pas yet it wernt no moren 3 nites back. Now I wer wel gone out in to that rainy dark he dint want to be in and where wer he?

Nearing on to Bernt Arse outers we come thru some old bernt over common it use to be a fents there long time back but long since emty gone to scrub and runty woodling they callit Hagmans Il. I pickt up a stoan and put it in my pockit for memberment I said, “Les hoap Aunty lets us get on top.”

Lissener said, “She ever do that?”

I dint tel him the story then it wer too hard talking in all that wind and rain plus I wantit to keap on the lissen but now Iwl write it down here which it like stans for some roading time. I had it from a Eusa show man Wayman Footling.

Time back when Wayman Footling tol me that story I askit him, “Be that realy how that place got its name?”

He said, “No not realy. There use to be a fents there it ben Hogmans Kil Fents befor it be come Hagmans Il.”

I said, “Why wer it callit Hogmans Kil?”

He said, “Bloak namit Hogman he wer the Big Man they use to make pots there. Hogmans Killen wer what it wer but every body callit Hogmans Kil.”

I said, “Howd it get to be Hagmans Il tho?”

He said, “Hogman had a fight with his wife and she kilt him.”

I said, “O that musve ben why they callit Hogmans Kil then.”

He said, “No it ben callit Hogmans Kil befor she done him in. After she done it they callit Hagmans Il. Becaws she ben a rough and ugly old woman and it come to il he marrit her.”

I said, “Then whered the other story come from? The 1 of the bloak as got on top of Aunty.”

He said, “It come in to my mynd.”

I said, “You mean you made it up.”

He said, “Wel no I dint make it up you cant make up nothing in your head no moren you can make up what you see. You know what I mean may be what you see aint all ways there so you cud reach out and touch it but its there some kynd of way and it come from some where. That place Hagmans Il I use to wunner about it every time we come by it til finely that story come in to my head. That story cudnt come out of no where cud it so it musve come out of some where. Parbly it ben in that place from time back way back or may be in a nother place only the idear of it come to me there. That dont make no odds. That storys jus what ever it is and thats what storys are.”

1ce we got a good offing from Bernt Arse we come down be twean Brabbas Horn and Sel Out Form. They ben manooring ther arrabl we wer smelling cow shit on all sides of us. We come on to the A20 then which the Ram hevvys all ways roadit that track be twean Bernt Arse and Fork Stoan but I wernt looking for nothing to be moving on it this nite.

After a wyl the wind easit off and there come thunner and litening. Meat smoak in the rain and fires we cudnt get warm at. It snuck me how soon that come to seam the naturel way of things it fealt like I ben roading in the rainy dark with Lissener and them dogs for years. Yet when the litening flasht and Iwd see all them dog backs wet and shyning in the rain then it wer like a dream.

1ce Lissener said to me, “Dyou have the gethering dream?”

I said, “Whats that?”

He said, “Its where theres all the many nor there aint no end to you there aint no place where you begin nor leave off. Mountins of us valleys of us far far lans and countrys of us. Tits and bellys it wud take you days to walk acrost. Girt roun bums and arms and legs all jynt big and long and long and girt jynt man and woman parts all mullerplying back to gether all what ben de vydit. No mor oansome in the gethering. No mor edge where you leave off and the nex begins jus all of us as far as you can see with all the eyes of us it dont matter whose eyes youre looking out of you dont nead none of your oan. You have that dream?”

I said, “No we have the ½ dream.”

He said, “Whats that?”

I said, “It aint a parper dream realy its a fealing comes on you when youre falling a sleap. Youre jus going off easy when suddn its like a bersting in you like youre bersting in 1000 peaces then you come a wake with your hart going fas.”

He said, “Funny. It ben the Puter Leat give you that dream yet we dont have it our self.”

It realy glitcht my cool how he said that. He dint even have no parper face on the front of his head. Him the Puter Leat. I said, “What ben the Puter Leat any how?”

He said, “What Goodparley calls Eusas head which it ben a girt box of knowing and you hook up peopl to it thats what a puter ben. We ben the Puter Leat we had the woal worl in our mynd and we had worls beyont this in our mynd we progammit pas the sarvering gallack seas WE PROGAMMIT THE GIRT DANTS OF THE EVERY THING. WE RUN THE BLUE THE RED THE YELLER WE RUN THE RED THE BLACK WE RUN THE SEED OF THE RED AND SEED OF THE BLACK. WE RUN THE MANY COOLS OF ADDOM AND THE PARTY COOLS OF STOAN. HART OF THE WUD AND STOMP YOUR FOOT. 1 AND 2 AND SHAKE OF THE HORNS AND 1 AND 2 AND SPLIT OF THE SHYNING…”

That wer when I clappt my han over his mouf it wer giving me the creaps how he wer going on. He wer stomping in the mud he wer dantsing and shouting and his face all wite with no eyes in the litening flashes. He begun to groan then like some terbel thing wer taking him and got inside him. He startit to fall and I easit him down I knowit he wer having a fit I seen that kynd of thing befor. I stuck the clof part of the hump back figger be twean his teef so he wunt bite his tung. I wer on my knees in the mud and holding him wylst he twissit and groant and that hook nose head all black and smyling nodding in the litening flashes. The dogs all gethert roun and them close to him grovvelt with ther ears laid back. Holding Lissener I cud feal how strong he wer tho he wernt putting out no strenth agenst me he wer sturgling with what ever wer inside him. I wunnert what wud happen if it got pas him and out. It dint tho. It roalt him roun and shook him up it bent him like a bow but finely it pult back to where ever it come out of. When it gone he wunt do nothing only sleap nor I cudnt get him to walk 1 step.

By then wed come off the A20 we wer on what they call the Iron Track tho there aint no iron to it only some times in the summer youwl see red dus coming up. I put Lissener over my sholder and forkt off the track and looking for some shelter. Come the nex litening flash I seen a old stoan rune I knowit the place they callit Rose & Power it ben from wel befor time back way back. It wer mosly jus a jumbl of stoans ben dug out here and there for sheltering 1 time and a nother.

I got Lissener inside and covert him up with his doss bag then I huddlt in with all them wet dogs. Warm and coasy it wer plus that pong wer some thing you cud get hy on you dint nead to smoak. After a littl I thot may be there wer a nother smel in there as wel I cudnt say what it wer tho. I stayd sharp and scanful long and long then I thot I myswel catch a littl sleap my self.

When I woak up it fealt like the nite mus be about ½ gone. The storm wer pas the raind littlt off to a girzel. I got Lissener on his feet and off we gone. It wernt no moren a 6fag and we wer in Fork Stoan outers. Its only be twean 4 and 5 faggers from there to the senter so I begun to think on what we myt be going to do when we got there. Suddn it come down hevvy on me how many things I dint know. Dint even have no idear of. Me with my grean lites and my blips. I said to Lissener, “How many Eusa folk be there in Fork Stoan?”

He said, “There aint none there jus now. When its time for Goodparley and the Ardship to do the askings roun the circel they put all the other Eusa folk in Cambry and they keap the dead town hoals all emty for the Ardship.”

I said, “How many Eusa folk be there all to gether?”

He said, “45 counting me. Which they axel rate it roun the circel you see. Counting from Horny Boy its 1 in the 1st then 2 in the 2nd and so on til you have 9 in No. 9 which the pirntowt is 45. They all ways breed us up to moren a nuff and then they kul us down to that.”

I said, “Be you telling me there aint no moren 45 Eusa folk in the woal of Inland?”

He said, “Thats right.”

I thot: 45 Eusa folk. 40 bleeding 5. Wunt you know it. Some how wylst we ben roading to Fork Stoan Id begun to see in my mynd me and Lissener with 100s and 100s behynt us and stomping the Ram flat. There it wer tho. Which ever side Im on theres all ways mor on the other side. I begun to wish I dint know nothing moren I knowit befor I come to Bernt Arse that morning. Iyther you dont know nothing or you know too much it dont seam like theres any thing in be twean. Lissener dint seam to have no worrys tho. He jus roalt a long with a easy kynd of sylents coming out of him I have to say it over loadit my serkits jus that littl bit. I said to him, “You dont seam worrit nor nothing.”

He said, “Why shud I be? When I ben in that hoal it lookit like there cudnt only 1 thing happen. Now it looks like any thing myt happen.”

I said, “Yet it mus be hard for you with no eyes you cant even see what youre walking in to.”

He said, “No 1 can. Onlyes diffrents is them with eyes they think they can.”

I tryd to ease up a littl. I myndit my self itwd parbly be a nother 6fag befor we come in to any bother so why not in joy that peace of time the bes I cud. Stil it takes you strange walking in your old foot steps like that. Putting your groan up foot where your chyld foot run nor dint know nothing what wer coming. All them ins and outs and ups and downs of Fork Stoan outers ben my vencher place when I ben littl. Me and my kid crowd. Some of them dead befor they ever growt up. Follery Digman dog et. Ender Easten kilt in a digging. Belgrave Moaters dead of the coffing sickness. Ferny Carpenter took off by a feaver. And here come Riddley Walker walking thru that dead town dark with his blyn moon brother. Smelling the dead town smel of old grean rot old berning old piss on the stoans. Old littl Riddley Walkers from time back running a head of me and follering behynt. Yelling ther sylents and singing ther rimes and clyming over old walls stumps and stannings.

We kep getting closer to the senter. I hadnt never seen the out poast but I knowit about where it wer and wewd perwel be in it in a minim or 2. I said to Lissener, “I know I ben the 1 as said Fork Stoan but here we are coming in to the senter of it nor I dint have no progam what about you?”

He said, “Im lissening enn I.”

I said, “Youwl lissen us right in to Grabs your Aunty in a minim if we keap on walking dont you have nothing in mynd?”

He said, “I dont know til I get there do I. Youre all ways worrying your self with littl myndy askings. Dont you know if you keap getting a head of your self youwl jus only fall over your self when you get to where youre going?”

I said, “I thot may be you being such a telling head you myt even know some thing befor they acturely put your head on a poal.”

He said, “I know you dont have too much balls but if you cud jus suck your thum qwyet for a wyl and stop giving me inner fearents I cud tune in better.”

I said, “I had balls a nuff to get you out of that hoal when you neadit me tho dint I.”

He said, “Yes you did after I pult the dog and the dog pull you. Hadnt he come for you youwd parbly stil be shovveling cow shit or what ever you done at that form.”

I said, “Cow shit with them or bul shit with you there aint much in it is there.” What hed said it realy hert me tho. Here I ben thinking how wel I done going over that fents and oansome amongst them dogs and he wer trying to make it be nothing. I said, “Any how whatve you done whats so ballsy?”

He put his han on my sholder I fealt like when he took it a way itwd leave a wite shadder behynt. He said, “I know I soun like Im trying to littl you down but that aint what Im doing Im trying to bring on that seed of the red in you Im trying to strong it on Im trying to rise your hump. Dyou lissen me? Im trying to get you to be your oan black dog and your oan Ardship.”

I said, “Why?”

He said, “Becaws you wont all ways have me wil you.”

I said, “Why not?”

He said, “Becaws thats how itwl be nor les not mouf it roun no mor jus keap that in you. Be your oan black dog and your oan Ardship.”

We gone a head on the qwyet slow and easy nor no lert from the dogs no soun only the hisper of the rain. We wer farther in nor ever I ben when I ben littl we kep on thru hevvy rubbl til we come in unner some thing and out of the rain. Cudnt see nothing at all in there. Gone a littl farther and come to big steps going down and warm air coming up. I said to Lissener, “You cern you aint ben here befor?” Becaws he wer moving like a dog on hot foller.

He said, “No but weare coming strong on some thing. Be ready to move qwick.”

He neadntve tol me that I wer ready for any thing and wivvering all over with it. That place wer a Power place you cud feal it all roun you. Smel the Power even with the dog pong. Breave it in to your arms and legs. I cud feal a terning and a rushing in it so strong and Lissener the same. Lissening to our foot steps eckoing in that ringing dark.

We seen a feabl shaky glimmer like from a far off candl it wer jus a nuff so we cud see the edges of the steps. Slow and easy slow and easy. From there on it wer only the black leader and his 2 nexters with us the others ternt roun I gest they wer poasting ther selfs back at the top of the steps I fealt sorry for any body coming that way on our foller. Wunnering at the same time why the dogs hadnt give us warning of no lookouts yet. Lissener said, “The out poasts dont keap sharp they dont think no is ever coming in on them.”

From there on it wer mosly cavit in rubbl we had to sqweaze thru then it opent up big you cudve lissent the diffrents even without looking. The lite wer coming from behynt some girt mouns of rubbl unner where the over head ben barmt out. It cudntve ben no moren a cuppl of candls or lanterns jus a feabl glimmer and the jynt shadders wivvering on the stanning walls and broakin stoans and rubbl and what ever over head wer lef. The jynt shadders wer from girt machines o they wer guvner big things and crouching all broakin but not dead they cudnt dy there wer too much Power in them. Where we wer stanning you cud hear the sea beyont us in the dark. Breaving and sying breaving and sying it wer like them machines wer breaving and sying in ther sleap.

Lissener hispert me, “What is it? Be they terning be they moving?”

I hispert back, “Its broakin machines they aint moving.” It wernt nothing like when you dig up old rottin machines out of the groun these wer in ther parper working place nor nothing rottin they wer some kynd of iron dint rot it wer all shyning all catching that shaky glimmer. Some of them ther shels ben broak open you cud see girt shyning weals like jynt mil stoans only smoov. Id all ways usit the word shyning same as any 1 else myt. The sun is shyning or the moon is shyning. Youwl see a shyning on the water or a womans hair. When you talk of the Littl Shyning Man its jus the middl word of what hes callt there aint no real meaning to it. Suddn when I seen the shyning of them broakin machines I begun to get some idear of the shyning of the Littl Man. Tears begun streaming down my face and my froat akit.

Lissener hispert, “Whats the matter?”

I hispert back, “O what we ben! And what we come to!” Boath of us wer sniffling and snuffling then. Me looking at them jynt machines and him lissening ther sylents. Right then I dint know where I wer with any thing becaws all on a suddn I wernt seeing any thing from where I seen it befor. Up to then I ben agenst Goodparley and I ben agenst what ever he wer for. I dint like him for his littl eyes and his big sqware teef nor I dint like all that Eusas head rubbish nor the res of it. The way he talkit of putting the Littl Shyning Man to gether and that. Now all on a suddn Eusa and Eusas head and the Littl Shyning Man be come some thing woaly diffrent in my mynd to what they ben befor. How cud any 1 not want to get that shyning Power back from time back way back? How cud any 1 not want to be like them what had boats in the air and picters on the wind? How cud any 1 not want to see them shyning weals terning?

All what Ive wrote jus now gone thru my head in a flash that nite and wylst thinking it I wer scanning sharp and lissening hard. Stil dint see no 1 nor nothing moving only them jynt shadders shaking and me shaking with them. Not from fear it wer as citement. Some peopl can feal ther mooning in them some cant. The moon of ther bearthing I mean. Parbly the moon of ther getting and all. Which I know I can. Some times Iwl feal the cross over in my sleap and it takes me strange. I ben got in the las thin sickel of the failing moon and I ben beartht in the Ful. When Im in my ful bearthing moon Im wide on and sharp strung. When Im coming off it to my getting moon Im reaching on and hungering for that nex Ful. That nite in that Power place in Fork Stoan I cud feal that hungry moon what I cudnt see. Feal it thin. Feal it craving. Feal the tide making for the hy I dint have to see it I knowit wer hy water coming on. Feal it neap and craving for its big hy in the nex Ful. I hispert to Lissener, “O yes we done right to foller the circel here its fulling on so strong.”

He dint say nothing I sust how it wer with him some times when we wer boath lissening hy 1 of us wud starve the other like when 1 boat puts a nother in its wind shadder. Becaws I begun to know by then I wer some kynd of lissener as wel. Being with Lissener brung it out and brung it on. I wunnert how I ever cudve fealt real up to then. How I ever cudve fealt a live befor I begun to take things in like I wer now. I wantit to move I wantit to do I wantit to happen with what ever wer happening roun me. Like it says in Eusa 5: “Evere thing blippin & bleapin & movin in the shiftin uv thay Nos. Sum tyms bytin sum tyms bit.”

Thinking on from there. Eusa 6: “Gum tu the wud in the hart uv the stoan.” I knowit I wer there in a way. Right then I wer in the wud in the hart of the stoan. Or the stoan in the hart of the wud it dont make no odds. Youre all ways there only you dont all ways know it.

We movit roun easy for a scan behynt the rubbl where the lite wer coming from. There wer a shelter it lookit to be about a 6 peopl 1 it wer the userel thing baskit and gunge with a thatch roof. Them as bilt it theyd movit rubbl so they cud put the shelter unner the hoal in the over head where it wer open to the sky. Big big that Power place wer you cudve stood 10 men 1 on top of the other nor they wuntve reacht the over head.

The black leader wer looking the same way I wer. I movit my head and han a littl like you wud out foraging and giving some 1 the syn to move up closer. That dogd all ready be come so much like regler crowd I jus done it without thinking. No soonerd I give the syn nor off he gone like we ben foraging to gether our woal lives. Big and hevvy as he wer he dint make no soun he jus slyd like a shadder getting longer til he come to the shelter then he easit to the doar way and lookit in. He lookit back tords Lissener and me with his ears up and waving his tail then he startit on beyont and looking back agen showing all clear as plain as any 1 cud.

Lissener and me follert on then and the 2 nexter dogs with us. I lookit in to the shelter with a arrer on the string. 3 pairs of up and down sleapers 2 benches a tabel with 3 candls lit and a fire place with the fire going. Pots and gear but no weapons in site. I had to smyl at the candls I knowit them Fork Stoan hevvys wer afeart of coming back in to that big place in the dark. I wudve took a doss bag only I dint want to leave no foller.

Follering the black leader we gone down some steps in to a tunnel and you cud hear the sea stronger. We come out in to the open nite and the littl girzel on our faces agen the sea wer beating loud on the stoans it wer by water right a nuff. Where we come out then it wer some where a long the snug I think it wer jus inshoar of the lite house stump.

Lissener and me wer boath on the lissen and boath waiting for some thing we dint know what. Working our way a long the shoar then tords Do It Over we seen a fire and figgers black agenst it. 1st look I got I cudnt be cern how many it wer but I gest it wer all 6 Fork Stoan hevvys parbly changing the look out.

Looking beyont the fire and the figgers looking in to the dark a long the shoar then looking out to the sea dark and Lissener hispert to me, “The littl come big took by the far come close.”

I fealt like putting my 2 hans roun his froat and sqweazing hard. I hist back at him, “Why in the worl did you have to say that? Whatre you trying to put on me?”

He hispert, “Trubba not I wernt saying it to you I dint even know I said it out loud it wer jus some thing come in to my head.”

We workit up on to the top of the clif behynt the hevvys til we wer over where they wer. They had ther fire about ½ way down on some kynd of stanning. Looking over the edge I cud see the woal 6 of them. We kep back out of the fire lite then and we lissent a littl.

Mosly they wernt talking they wer passing a flask roun. Which what they did say mos of it got los in the soun of the sea beating on the stoans. We did hear a littl of it tho. 1 of them said, “…Goodparleys boy and ben throwt over. He cud wel be…”

A nother 1 said, “…do any how?”

The 1st 1 said, “His dad ben 1 Stoan Phist bint he. Iwl give odds there ben knowing… Iwl give odds that littl witey bloakwl go…”

Lissener pult me back he hist, “Come on theres some thing else here les get to it befor some 1 else does.”

I hist, “What is it?”

He hist, “I dont know til we get to it.” He wunt even hol back 1 minim so off we gone a long the clifs tords Do It Over.

We come to where the clifsve fel in to the sea time back way back its broakin groun there all a jumbl we use to go there our crowd of kids when I ben littl. That place stil had its old name from way way back it wer callit The Warnings. Coming on to it I thot: Here!

The sea wer sill chopping and beating on the stoans but there come a nother soun it wer that holler bonking soun of a boat knocking on stoan. Looking hard I cud make out the shape of it black agenst the foam. Lissener said, “There!”

Stanning on The Warnings looking at that boat out of the dark! Never ben befor. Never be agen.

O that water wer col. I pult the boat on to the stoans it wer ½ ful of water and hevvy. Sail dragging in the water the marsed bustit itd come down on the bloak what ben sailing the boat he wer stil unner it dead with his head smasht in. Musve happent in the storm parbly he ben blowt Souf of Fork Stoan then with the tide terning he ben driffing back the other way a long the shoar tords Do It Over.

That dead bloak wer from other side dark as it wer I cud tel by his boots. What ben he doing out there any how? Cawt in the storm parbly and nitefel on the water. Ben he stearing for that fire on the clifs when the marse come down on his head?

Nothing in the boat only oars and a bayling skoop. Hooker roap and hook. Bow and arrers and spears. The bloak had a knife on him he had some roady and some drowndit bread in 1 pockit. In a nother pockit he had flint and striker and makings and a candl stub. About a cut ¼ of hash and some rizlas. Plus a bag of littl stoans all wet and crummly. Not hard at all you cud break them with your thum nail. There wernt nothing else on the bloak nor nothing else in the boat I got my self good and wet looking every where I even lookit inside the drobber case. It wer only a littl open boat there wernt that many hidey places.

Lissener took that littl bag of littl crummly stoans in his hans he said, “This is what I ben lissening. Hol it in your hans and you can feal it in them stoans and scrabbling to get out you can hear it hispering to its self and clacking like a skelter of crabs.”

I said, “What is it?”

He said, “I tol you I dont know nothing only when we gether but I know theres Power in it. And where theres Power theres foller. We bes not ful this circel on no farther we bes get in to Cambry qwicks we can with this here bag of stoans Im going to gether deap Im going to work that Power.”

I had that bag in my han I begun to feal like it wer liting up the dark like a torch and bleaping follerme all over Inland. Suddn I wantit the nite to get darker I wantit dark a nuff to smuvver it qwyet. I thot a littl on our suching waytion and I done what I cud to dark it down a littl. We roalt mos of the water out of the boat so I cud row it then we put the bloak and every thing else back in it only kep out what ben in his pockits and the bow and arrers for Lissener plus I cut off a good lenth of sail roap it wer boun to be neadful some time. Then I got in and pult out to where it wer deap a nuff even at low water. I tyd the hooker roap short roun the dead bloaks leg then over the side I droppt the hooker and him boath. Thinking wylst I done it: That Powers working me all ready nor I dont even know what it is.

Pult back tords shoar and when I come to where some big rocks wer sticking out in to the water I clum out on to them and ternt the boat over and lef it floating up side down and driffing how it wud.

Then we vackt our wayt out of there and roading for Cambry.