The Nine Pound Hammer (34 page)

Buck’s hand clamped onto Ray’s shoulder. Ray flinched as he saw the expression on Buck’s face, terror welling in his pale eyes. Buck said in a low voice, “Ray, I’ve got to know. Seth was attacking you. I thought he was going to kill you. I wasn’t trying to … but there was so much smoke … and I was enraged. Just tell me. Did I kill him?”

Ray knew that it had been an accident—a horrible, unfortunate accident—but there had been so much tragedy already; he couldn’t bear for Buck to take on the burden of Seth’s death.

“No, Buck,” Ray said. “The Gog’s Hound killed Seth. Not you.”

Buck turned, relief struggling in his expression. As he walked away, he passed Sally approaching Ray.

When she reached her brother, she smiled and took his hand in hers.

“Did they find her?” she asked sleepily.

“Who?”

“The mermaid. They’ve been looking for her, but I heard them say she’d left. Was she a friend of yours?”

“Yes. She was.”

“Then why did she leave?”

Ray thought about this before answering. Had she been hurt? No, they surely would have found her. She had left. But why had she gone without saying goodbye? Why hadn’t she helped him when he fell into the river? Ray pushed these nagging thoughts away.

He was grateful to Jolie. He concentrated on his gratitude; a wave of understanding came over him. Jolie’s separation from her siren sisters. Her illness. Her confinement to the tank aboard the
Ballyhoo
. It was all because the Gog had been hunting her. But now he was dead. Jolie was free.

“She wasn’t meant to live on a train or on a boat or in a house,” Ray said to himself as much as to Sally. “She was wild. She was too much a part of the wild to stay.”

Something nudged Ray’s leg. Rosie, dripping from the river, had left a trail of water across the deck. Sally hid behind Ray, shaking with fear and clutching his sleeve tightly.

“It’s okay,” Ray said. “She’s a friend.”

Rosie opened her mouth and dropped something
golden onto the wooden planks. Ray kneeled and picked up the rabbit’s foot.

“You found it!” Ray smiled and gave Rosie a rub around her scaly snout.

He showed the golden foot to Sally. She took it in her hands and examined it.

“What is it?” Sally asked, glancing warily at the enormous alligator.

“It belonged to Father,” Ray explained.

“Like my book.” Sally smiled.

The book.
The Incunabula of Wandering
. Ray thought about the strange book he had read many times to Sally. Ray had never understood it before. But now he saw: his father had been a Rambler, and this book, whether a source of inspiration or a philosophical guide for his kind, contained his father’s handwritten notes scrawled in the margins. It could be a teacher, at least until he found out whether his father was still alive.

“Is it for good luck?” Sally asked, handing the foot back to Ray.

He held the foot a moment, half expecting it to move as it had when it was the lodestone, or to glow and grow warm. But it did neither of these things. The metal surface was cold. The Gog was dead—and luck had nothing to do with that.

Ray said, “It will help Father find us.” He slid the rabbit’s foot into the red flannel toby and put it in his pocket.

*  *  *

Conker’s funeral was held the following morning on the western bank of the Mississippi. While no hole was dug, Buck had fashioned a marker out of an iron plate from the damaged caboose of the
Ballyhoo
. Etched into the metal was the name
John Conker Henry
.

In the gauzy light of the glade, a large group gathered around Nel, who presided over the ceremony: Ray and Sally. Si and Marisol. The Everett family. Redfeather, recovering from his injury. Buck. The Pirate Queen and Peter Hobnob. The crew of the
Snapdragon
, all but Mister Lamprey, who stayed with the rescued children on the steamer.

The ceremony did not lend any sense of relief or peaceful closure. Nel mentioned the Gog briefly; his destruction was the only comfort the mourners could take in the sad loss of their friend.

“What now, Nel? Will you continue with your medicine show?” the Pirate Queen asked later that day, after the funeral.

Nel rested his elbows on the rail of the steamer, looking out at the swift currents of the Mississippi River. “I don’t believe I have the appetite for root doctoring anymore, at least not commercially. We’ll need to get these children to homes of one sort or another. Mister Everett left to make arrangements in a town just upriver. I’ve given each of the children a choice, and some are staying on with us.”

“Why do you want a herd of brats if you’re not doing the medicine show any longer?”

“I have my reasons,” Nel said.

The Pirate Queen’s eyes flickered to Ray, who was eavesdropping nearby. “What of him?”

Nel turned, smiling as he realized Ray had been listening. “It would seem that not an utterance I make misses young Ray’s ears. I believe Ray will have to make up his own mind about where he will go.”

“You’re welcome on board with us,” the Pirate Queen said to Ray.

“Thank you, but I have my sister to consider,” he said without hesitation. “I don’t know where Sally and I will wind up, but I don’t think the
Snapdragon
would be best for her.”

The Pirate Queen laughed and lit a cigar. “Didn’t think you would. You don’t strike me as one who’s cut out for thieving and pillaging. Just thought I’d offer.” She walked away, chuckling.

Ray turned to Nel. “I’d like to stay with you, Mister Nel. I know you’re not sure of your own plans, but Sally needs a home. And you’re all the home I’ve got.”

Nel smiled and draped his arm over Ray’s shoulder.

The Everetts returned late in the afternoon. They had taken most of the orphans into town, making arrangements with a local parson. The children would be housed in his church until they could be carefully placed with good families.

Ray stood with Redfeather, gazing out on the swirling
river. The Kwakiutl boy was still weak from his injury, but Nel’s tonics had nearly restored him to health.

“Poor Seth …” Redfeather brushed at his eyes.

Ray clapped a hand to Redfeather’s shoulder. “Seth realized that he was wrong. He didn’t understand who the Gog really was until it was too late. But he tried to protect me … in the end.”

After a few moments, he nodded up to the pilothouse, where Buck and the Pirate Queen stood together talking. The Pirate Queen had a strange, gentle smile on her face.

“That’s an odd pair,” Redfeather chuckled, wiping his knuckles across his nose. “I could never imagine Buck being in love with anybody.”

“Or anyone in love with him,” Ray laughed. It was peculiar to see the two of them together—the gruff cowboy and the surly pirate.

“I wish I could go with them,” Redfeather said.

“Who?” Ray asked.

“The pirates,” Redfeather said. “Now that looks like a fun life.”

“You don’t know the Pirate Queen.” Ray smirked, looking back over his shoulder at her and Buck.

“Well then, what are we going to do?” Redfeather asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Cornelius T. Carter’s Mystifying Medicine Show and Tabernacle of Tachycardial Talent,” Redfeather mimicked
in his best Nel roar before returning to his own voice. “The medicine show’s over. So what now?”

Ray shrugged. He had never quite felt a part of the show, but he would miss watching the performances. He’d miss the excitement of preparing for another extravaganza when they pulled into a new town. He’d miss the tired but cheerful sense of contentment as the
Ballyhoo
packed up to leave. He’d miss … Conker and Jolie.

“And then there’s these kids.” Redfeather nodded to the children. Sally was deep in a game of pirates and marshals with the group of orphans. “Mister Nel tell you why he’s taking them with us?”

Ray shook his head. He had an idea, a hope, but he wanted to hear it from Nel first.

After a few moments, Redfeather’s voice broke Ray from his reverie. “Hey, Ray, do you still have my uncle’s copper?” he asked.

Ray looked at him curiously. “Didn’t you … ? I gave it to … to Conker, before we were attacked.”

“Oh,” Redfeather said. “It’s okay. I don’t really need it. It’s just …”

“Something from your home,” Ray finished for him.

They grew quiet and watched the river.

“Ray.” He turned to see Si walking across the deck toward him. Her eyes had dark circles under them, but she managed a smile.

As Si and Ray watched, Redfeather went over to the
children. They stopped their battle to gather around Redfeather. Sally led them in a pleading chorus until he took down a gasoline lamp, dipped his fingers inside, and formed a ball of flames around his hand. The children squealed and cheered.

Si looked up at Ray. “What about the Machine?”

“What do you mean?” Ray asked.

“I’ve been talking to Buck.” Si traced a finger across her tattooed knuckles. “Conker … killed the Gog. But the Machine is still out there. Maybe if we could find it—”

“The Machine is hidden in the Gloaming. Even with your hand, we could never enter in there unless we knew how to cross.”

“You mean like how your father and Nel took animal forms?”

Ray nodded. “And even then, how would we destroy it? Without the Nine Pound Hammer … without Conker.”

Ray sighed, but Si linked her arm through his and nodded. “You’ll learn how to cross, Ray. You’ll find a way to do it. And then, somehow, we’ll destroy that wicked Machine.” She pulled him gently. “Come on.”

They walked together until they reached the stairs down to the
Snapdragon’s
galley. Music wafted from below, along with the smells of one of Etienne Beauvais’s famous feasts. Ray’s thoughts lingered on the future as they descended belowdecks. There would be time for figuring out what lay ahead another day. Tonight, they would enjoy one last meal with the rowdy pirates.

*  *  *

The following morning, Ray stood on the riverbank with the orphans and the remainder of the medicine show, to wave goodbye to the
Snapdragon
. Piglet waved next to Big Jimmie. Hobnob’s glowing hair rustled in the morning air while he shouted promises to visit Ray one day.

As the Pirate Queen climbed the stairs to the pilothouse, she scanned the riverbank until she found Ray. With only the quickest flicker of a smile, she headed to the wheel, barking orders for Lamprey to get everyone to work. Mister Lamprey’s salty curses floated over the river as the
Snapdragon
chugged its way south.

Mister Everett had the
Ballyhoo
turned around to set off at dawn. Its locomotive faced the rising sun as it blew the whistle and set off. Rumbling across the countryside east of the Mississippi, deep green forests gave way to golden, rolling farmland. The orphan children who had come on board the train found rooms to share. Sally and a girl named Renny took Conker’s room to be close to Ray. Ray thought that Conker would like that.

Ray stuck his head into Nel’s car. Redfeather was helping Nel tie herbs into bundles for drying. The old pitchman puffed on his briarwood pipe as he worked and hummed a fiddle tune. Marisol played with a copperhead that Redfeather had found for her. She looked content, at peace. Si and Buck had a hand of cards spread on the table.

“You wanted to see me?” Ray asked as he entered.

Nel looked over his shoulder, his dark, worn hands finishing a final knot. He motioned for Ray to sit down.

“I wanted to speak to you all together,” Nel began as he leaned back in his chair. “We haven’t had much of a chance to talk.”

Peg Leg Nel looked around at each of their faces soberly. He sighed before continuing. “You know I’m not planning on recommencing with the medicine show. Redfeather, Si, and Marisol, you are all sterling performers. You love the stage. I just want you to know that if you want to follow that ambition, well, you certainly don’t need my permission to—”

“We don’t want to,” Redfeather said.

“We’ve been talking,” Marisol said, looking from Redfeather to Nel. “We’re staying with you, Nel. We don’t want to leave.”

“Can’t pass us off that easily,” Si joked.

Buck chuckled, and Nel relaxed into a careworn smile. The pitchman said, “I’m glad. I’m glad, if that’s what you really desire.”

“We do,” Redfeather said.

“Well, then I have an idea,” Nel said. “One that I know Buck shares. For a long time, I’ve tried to protect you all from the Gog, from the outside world, to hide you away, in a manner of speaking. But now with these recent events, I think it’s time I return to an old path I never thought I’d travel again. Just because the Gog is gone
doesn’t mean the Ramblers are no longer needed. I want to restore the order in what limited way I can. I want to see that the ways of the Ramblers are not forgotten.

“I’ve lost many of my own powers, but that may not matter. One cannot really train to be a Rambler. There is no school, if you see? It is a path one walks in life and requires little more than a deep attention to the world around you. Many have walked this path without ever calling themselves a Rambler.”

Excitement swelled in Ray’s chest, and he could see that Si, Marisol, and Redfeather were having the same reaction. They sat forward in their chairs, eager smiles lighting their faces.

“You four have extraordinary gifts,” Nel said. “And with these other children accompanying us now, the Ramblers have a future. I can’t make you Ramblers. That’s a path only you can choose. I could guide you, of course. Help you find those who can pass on hoodoo lore. But any countenance is nothing without the wilderness. It is there that you will find how to enter the … oh, well, it’s all too much to explain just now, and I’m getting ahead of myself.” Nel rubbed his callused hands together. “What do you think?”

“Where would we go?” Marisol asked.

“We’ll have to give up the train life,” Nel answered. “The Everetts are going to move on, which I think Ox has been eager to do for some time. There is a place I visited once long ago in the southern highlands, deep within the
Appalachians. Shuckstack Mountain. It’s a special place, a protected wilderness. I’ve longed to return to those ancient mountains. The six of us and the other children will make a new home.”