Riddley Walker (7 page)

Eusa says, "I dint know that Ive los it clean out of memberment."

The Littl Man says, "Eusa lissen to me now that dont matter. You and me weare 2 �s of 1 thing it dont matter if you tear me a part or I tear you a part. But the 1 as tears the other a part has got to put some thing to gether nor you aint done that. Thats why Im in 2 peaces now and 2 peaces is what Iwl be in til you get your head back. Dyou know why?"

Eusa says, "No I dont."

The Littl Man says, "Becaws you wont put nothing to gether til then thats why. You wont put no Good Time to gether now. Becaws Mr Clevvers going to do a Bad Time with that head of yours nor there wont be no Good Time til you get it back. Bye bye Eusa qwicken up as fas as you can the worl dont wait for no 1."

The Littl Shyning Man goes up and Eusa goes down and it looks like thats the end of the show. Orfing jumps up then he goes over to the fit up and talking to the lower part of it like he done befor the show. He says, "Oy! Eusa! Hang on a minim."

Eusas voyce says:

Eusas ben and showd

Eusas on the road

Orfing says, "Eusa youre getting in front of your self you aint ready to road yet you aint done with this here show."

Eusa shoots up then he says, "Erny youre the 1 whats getting in front of your self and going to fall over your self and all if you dont go careful. Youre getting in your oan way is what youre doing Erny." Eusas face cant change its all ways the same but when youre watching him move a roun and lissening to what hes saying and the torch fires shimmying and all hewl look pernear any way hes talking. This time he looks like hes getting his serkits jus that little bit over loadit.

The show board is near a head hyer nor Orfing so Eusa is wel up of him. Orfing backs off a littl so he can look Eusa in the eye. He says, "Getting in _your_ way is what you mean innit Eusa?"

Eusa says, "I dont think youwd want to do that Erny. You know youwd end up with a face ful of foot pirnts and a hart ful of sorrer."

Orfing says, "Eusa Ive had the boath of them this long time now and waitful for a bettering."

Eusa says, "Erny you aint going to stan there and weary me you aint going to boar me to death you aint going to come the hevvy staytmen are you? You dint call me back for that did you? Whatd you call me back for?"

Orfing says, "You know why I callt you back Eusa."

Eusa says, "If I did I wunt be asking wud I."

Orfing says, "Eusa you know what the _Eusa Story_ says. Every body knows it even them as cant read. It wer you as opent up the Littl Shyning Man and let the Nos. of the Master Chaynjis out."

Eusa says, "Yes I done that right a nuff I never said I dint."

Orfing says, "Plus you put the 1 Big 1 in barms dint you. It says in _Eusa 18_: 'Eusa put the 1 Big 1 in barms then him & Mr Clevver droppit so much barms thay kilt as menne uv thear oan as thay kilt enemes.' Yet now in this here show youre telling us it bint like that. Youre telling us you dint do none of them Bad Time things youre putting it all on Mr Clevver. Youre saying he took your knowing and he done it all. All this long time we ben beleaving it like you tol it in the _Eusa Story_ and now you come on telling it woaly diffrent. What in the worl makes you think weare going to beleave a new story now?"

Eusa says, "This aint nothing new dint I tel you this is trufax and wrote down the same at the Mincery."

Orfing says, "If its trufax then why you ben telling it diffrent all these years? Whyd you pick now to change your story?"

Eusa says, "Erny youre a parper holfas aint you. You get your teef clampt down on some thing nor you wont let go you jus hol fas."

Orfing says, "Im jus only saying what any 1 myt say enn I. The shows are diffrent all the time thats how its meant to be. Which a show is some thing youre doing right now in this here time weare living in and youre doing the Chaynjis with Eusa. New things happening and new chances every time. Thats how its meant to be and thats how we all ways do it. But that story ben wrote time back way back nor you cant change it no 1 never ever changit the story befor this. That storys got to stay the same what ever it is and nothing changit."

Eusa says, "Erny whats the diffrents any how?"

Orfing says, "What dyou mean by that?"

Eusa says, "Whats the diffrents if I done the acturel Bad Time things my self or if I dint?"

Orfing says, "Wel if you dint do it then it aint on you is it."

Eusa says, "And if it aint on me then what?"

Orfing says, "Then youre free aint you. Nothing on you and the worl in front of you. Do what ever you like."

Eusa says, "There you are and said it out of your oan mouf. Which wud you rather? Have the worl in front of you and free or have some thing hevvy on your back for ever?"

Orfing says, "Eusa it dont matter what youwd rather youve got to go by how things are. Youve got to go by whats Truth and what aint."

Eusa says, "Cut my froat and gard my witness if I aint telling Truth. I never made no barms nor never droppit none."

Orfing says, "Here we come roun agen its a fools circel. If you dint make no barms nor drop no barms then whyd you say you did when you wrote down that story? Dont cut your froat now or some 1 I know wil have a bloody finger."

Eusa says, "Whyd I say I did?"

Orfing says, "Thats what I said. Whyd you say you did?"

Eusa says, "Erny you know how it is when you blame your self."

Orfing says, "No I dont. How is it?"

Eusa says, "Wel youwl oversay wont you. Youwl say wersen you realy done. What ever it myt be. Say youve lef a knife where a babby gets holt of it and cuts its self. Heres the babby all bloody and youwl say, 'O dear o dear o dear I done that dint I. Its on me all this blood.'"

Orfing says, "Wel it is innit. I mean if you hadnt opent up the Little Shyning Man the Addom and let out the Nos. of the Master Chaynjis of the 1 Big 1 then if you hadnt put that knowing in that box . .

Eusa says, "If I hadnt some 1 else wudve done. Whyd the Hart of the Wud stan why dint it run? Whynt the Littl Shyning Man hop it whynt he vack his wayt out of there dubbl qwick 1st time he ever seen me? Iwl tel you why its part of ther game thats why. The Hart of the Wud and the Littl Shyning Man the Addom they cant live without you get the knowing of them nor you cant get the knowing of them til you kil the 1 and open up the other. Then its on you innit. Hevvy on your back for ever. Thats my Las word this nite.

Hump my load

Down the road

Its Eusa roading out

That wer my 1st Eusa show being connexion man. Showt by Abel Goodparley & Erny Orfing the Big 2 the Pry Mincer & the Wes Mincer on the nite I took the scar.

9

After the show they snuft the torches then every body got in littl clumps in the divvy roof hummering and mummering and getting pist. Goodparley & Orfing when theyd fittit down they drunk a littl with Straiter Empy and Flora Miltan Empys wife and his nexters and all the seanyer members which now I were 1 of them. Goodparley dint say nothing to me he dint even look at me it wer like hed los me out of memberment and tirely. Orfing dint say nothing nyther only at leas he lookit at me like he knowit I wer a live. After a littl I jus wantit my oan sylents not thers I got up and going out of the divvy roof. Goodparley finely lookit my way then like he cud acturely see me. He begun nodding his head and he said to me, "Thats ther game you know. They cant live without you kil the 1 and open up the other. Youve got to do it its the onlyes way to keap them going."

I noddit my head and all. Dint say nothing. Orfing put his han on my sholder and give me a littl shake frendy. I put up my hood and gone out in to the rain. Out to the fents and up on the hy walk.

Lissening to the nite and the rain. I leant my back agenst the fents and looking to the divvy roof. There hadnt ben no Trubba for a long time but we stil hadnt put no sides on it. Sit there nite after nite getting pist with 1 eye on the dark not to get snuck. Lissening to the rain dumming on my hood and looking at the candls and the nite fires in the roof and the crowd all sat there with the rainy dark all roun them. You know some times you get a fealing you dont want to put no words to.

Durster Potter that wer Nimbel Potters dad come a long the hy walk he wer on look out. He said, "I wunt want to be out this nite." Rain streaming down him and you cudve rung about a buckit of water out of his beard.

I said, "You _are_ out tho. You cant get no wettern you are."

He said, "I mean on the out side of the fents."

I wer thinking how some fents poals and a gate make all the diffrents.

The Big 2 dint drink long jus only for the pearents of it then they roadit out. Ther hevvys come up in the gate house and on the hy walk same as when they come in.

Goodparley lookit up and seen me in the lite of the gate fires and he done some mor nodding. Orfing lookit up and raisit his han. I dint hear him say nothing but I seen his mouf move. I thot he wer saying, "Good Luck." Off they gone then in to the rain.

I had off nex day no digging to do only in my head for Nex Nite and my connexion. I had a nuff and moren a nuff to connect with all I had to do wer sort it out my head wer perwel humming and spinning with it.

Come the nite and stil raining. Dumming on the divvy roof and the wind blowing and spattering in every time it veert and the torch fires shimmying and smoaking. Peopl shushing the kids and waiting for Straiter Empy and me to do the askings.

Straiter said, "Eusas come to us agen. Weve lookit and weve lissent."

I said, "Ive lookit and Ive lissent as wel."

He said, "How is it with you? On or off?"

I said, "On."

He said, "Is there a connexion?"

I said, "Theres all ways a connexion."

He said, "Is there a reveal for this crowd?"

I said, "Theres all ways a reveal if itwl come."

He said, "Is it come?"

I said, "Yes its come. Eusas forage is our meat. Eusas pain is our gain if we look and if we lissen."

He said, "Tel us." Then he sat down.

Every body looking at me waiting to hear what kynd of connexion Brooder Walkers boy wer going to do. On my belly I cud feal them 3 stroaks pulling. Torch fires shimmying and the rain spattering in and the shadders shaking over us inside the roof. Faces all ternt to me out of bodys what lookit like wet bundels throwt down on benches and steaming in the warm. Our crowd pong rising which it wer mud and wet it wer meat smoak and sweat long soakt in to the levver and the wool and the hard clof. Suddn it comes to you: What can any body tel any body?

I said, "All right here I am your new connexion man which Im the son of your old connexion man Brooder Walker him as ben kilt in the digging at Widders Dump for a peace of old rottin iron. Here goes my 1st connexion then."

Befor I write down that 1st connexion I bes say a word or 2 about connexions and I myt as wel tel Truth. When my dad ben a live I all ways thot I cud do better connexions nor him when my chance come. How he done it he wud mummel slow and qwyet and start and stop with long sylents be twean and mosly his connexions wernt nothing very as citing. Every body liket them tho. They all ways gone strait to the hart of the matter plus they wer jus that littl bit else nor mos peopl wuntve thot of it qwite the same way.

Like the time back when I ben 7 or 8 when Littl Salting Fents got largent in by Dog Et Form. That ben up on Top Shoar and we ben down by Fork Stoan then in Crippel the Farn Fents. Every body heard of it tho and talking on it. Dog Et tol some cow shit story of a Outland raid from over water they said thats how Littl Salting got ther Big Man kilt plus 8 mor dead and the res of the crowd sparsit out to who ever wud take them in. In that woal story Dog Et tol there bint a word of Truth only how many dead. Every body knowit Dog Et said, "Les largen in to gether" and Littl Salting said "No" which then it wer arga warga for them.

Wel the Pry Mincer and the Wes Mincer done 1 of ther specials dint they. Coarse they done. My dad tol me that show over when he ben lerning me. I myt as wel tel it here then when I write down the connexion for it thatwl show his styl.

That show ben done by the same Goodparley & Orfing as done the show Ive all ready wrote down. I dont have only the las part of the patter.

Orfing says, "Eusa when you coming up?"

Eusa says rather his voyce says, "I dont know. Longs I stay down no 1 cant put me down."

Orfing says, "Eusa you dont soun very salty." Eusas voyce says, "May be thats why every body ben trying to salt me."

1st figger up aint Eusa its a bloak with a pan of salt. Hes singing a littl song to his self:

"I am the man

With salt in his pan

Every body knows I am a salty man"

Hes singing like that going backards and forit with his salt pan. Mr Clevver comes up then. Hes stanning there watching the salting bloak and hes hummering to his self a littl. The salting bloak stops and hes looking at Mr Clevver.

Mr Clevver says, "Salty bloak are you."

The salting bloak says, "I reckon Im as salty as the nex 1."

Mr Clevver says, "Parbly you are mos of the time. This heres a nice littl peace of shoar."

The salting bloak says, "O yes its a good a nuff peace of shoar."

Mr Clevver says, "You bes in joy it wylst you can. Have good pleasur and good measur wylst youve got it."

The salting bloak says, "What dyou mean? This here peace of shoar its ben myn and it all ways wil be."

Mr Clevver says, "You myt know whats ben but you dont know what wil be. You bes keap your eye on Eusa."

The salting bloak says, "What for?"

Mr Clevver says, "Becaws hes got his eye on your peace of shoar."

The salting bloak says, "Wel he better take his eye off it then. Any 1 trys to move in on me wil fynd his self in Trubba. This heres my groun and Iwl stan my groun."

Mr Clevver says, "And Iwl stan right behynt you. Here comes Eusa now." Mr Clevver goes down then.

Up comes Eusa leading a cow. The salting bloak is looking at him hard. Eusa looking out to 1 side all scanful.

The salting bloak says, "Oy! Whatre you looking out for then?"

Eusa says, "Looking out for raiders. Im worrit over this shoar."