Riddley Walker

by Russell Hoban

  I gone up the ladder and in to the gate house no 1 stoppt me the hevvys wer all stood back from Phist and a clear space lef all roun him. His arms wernt out stretcht he had his hans tyd behynt his back and they ben pult up with a roap over a beam so he wer hanging by them with his feet off the floor. His head wer down and his wite hair hanging over his face. I grabbit a knife from 1 of the hevvys I helt Phist up and cut the roap then I cut his hans luce. He seen it wer me and he knowit me. He like pult me to him with his eyes and he hispert:

  When the yeller boy

  Fynds the pig shit

  In the hart of the wood

  He said it so qwick and qwyet I wernt even sure if Id heard him say it or if it ben jus only in my mynd. I waitit for the res of it but all he said wer, ‘Thats my on with its yours now.’ He dint say nothing mor his pink eyes gone glazy and he wer dead.

  1 of the hevvys it musve ben the lstman of them he said, ‘We never done nothing to him Guvner only hang him up. We never done him no greavis at all.’ He wernt calling me Guvner it wer Goodparley behynt me.

  Goodparley said, ‘Whatd he say?’

  The lstman said, ‘He dint say nothing only yelt for his daddy Ice 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 lstman 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 Is 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.

  15

  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 lness 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 hoi 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:

  ‘When the yeller boy fynds the pig shit

  (Dont you wish he cud)

  When the yeller boy fynds the pig shit

  In the hart of the wood’

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

  When the yeller boy comes hoam

  Wewl make such a noys

  Such a noys

  Such a noys

  When the yeller boy comes hoam

  My good old boys

  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:

  ‘When the yeller boy fynds the some thing

  In the some thing of the some thing’

  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 o
nly 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 Is brother?’

  I said, ‘You know a song about brothers?’

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

  When the other brother come

  Stanning at the gate

  When the other brother come

  Then it wer too late

  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.’

  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. Ice 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:

  Wewl make such a noys

  Such a noys

  Such a noys

  My good old boys

  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 Ice 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 hy 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.

  I begun to get as cited then thinking on them things. I wudve liket to gether with Goodparley right then and pul datter wylst my mynd wer running hy like that. Thinking like that I begun to wish I hadnt progammit nothing with Lissener agenst Goodparley. Wunnering then why I ben so qwick to go in with him jus becaws that black dog brung me to him in that hoal in Bernt Arse and I fealt sorry for him. Now Orfing and his hewyswd parbly have him and what wer I going to do about it? Cambry coming up in front of me nor I dint have a idear in my head. I begun to wish that black dogd never brung me to that hoal I jus dint want to have to bother with Lissener right then.

  Thinking on Lissener and wunnering how much him and the Eusa folk realy knowit when they gethert. Membering what he shoutit when he ben took with that fit: ‘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 …’