The Ardship said, ‘May be it aint on you but youve hid it somers havent you.’
I said, ‘No I never.’ With my hart jumping in me.
He said, ‘Whats the use of lying wewl jus hang you up the sames we done your new frend here.’
I said, ‘Lissen me if you think Im lying. When I come to Cambry I lissent you joynt the effert with Orfing and I throwit them stoans in the rivver I knowit I cudnt do nothing with them nor I dint want no 1 else to have them moon brother.’ In my head I wer singing
Sharna pax and get the poal
When the Ardship of Cambry comes out of the hoal
hard as I cud hoaping he wunt lissen nothing only that.
Orfing said to the Ardship, Therewl be mor stoans soon a nuff weve got boatswl go where that 1 come from what we need is the knowing for our 1st try out with the stoans weve got. Have you got that knowing or not?’
The Ardship said, ‘I tol you I dont know nothing til we gether.’
Orfing said, ‘Wel you bes gether then.’
The Ardship said, ‘What about these 2 then?’
Orfing said, ‘They dont have no knowing nor no Belnot Phist nor no hevvys they cant do us nothing.’
The Ardship said, ‘May be theres stil a littl some thing we can do them tho.’
Thats when the Eusa folk opent ther moufs and begun to sing:
Sharna pax and get the poal
When the Ardship of Cambry comes out of the hoal
Which the way they sung it wernt like nothing I ever heard befor.
Then I seen some thing flashing and like dantsing in the lite of the candLs it wer a ax the Eusa folk wer passing it from han to han only it lookit like it wer zanting a bout all oansome.
Looking at that shyning ax nor I cudnt take my eyes off it. All them Eusa faces with ther eyes shyning. All of Orfings hewys which they ben Goodparleys hevvys wester day ther eyes wer shyning the same. Orfings littl eyes shyning as wel.
That shyning ax zanting amongst the many agenst the few. Agenst the 2 of us. It wernt even Goodparley and me I wer thinking on jus then. It wer how that ax wer dantsing for the many. I knowit we wernt going out of that place the same as we come in. All this time Goodparley wer huddelt by me he wunt look up agen Ice he seen that ax. I wer looking from the ax to the Ardship his face wer shyning pernear like that ax. He wer singing:
‘Whatwl we take
Whatwl we leave
Whatwl we chop chop chop
Wherewl we start
Wherewl we end
Whatwl we lop lop lop’
Finely Orfing said to the Ardship, ‘Les not be talking of no chopping we never progammit nothing like that.’
The Ardship said, ‘O no we wunt chop the Pry Mincer like he choppt my father we wunt never do that. Onlyes thing wewl do is make him lissen bettern what hes done so far. Hes all ways telling and asking yet he dont never lissen to no 1 nor nothing.’
By then the Eusa folk had holt of Goodparley and passing him 1 to the nex like they ben doing with the ax. He showit fight then only it dint help him nothing. That black leader dispeart like magic there wernt no 1 on our side only the 2 of us. I jumpt in to it and trying to pul Goodparley out of it only I got clubbit on the head and every thing gone black.
When I come out of it there wer a howling coming and going a roun me. 1st I thot it wer the black leader then I heard a slubbering and a moaning in it I knowit wer some thing else. It wer Goodparley he wer running and falling down and getting up agen running in to stoans and rubbl falling down and getting up agen slubbering and moaning the woal time there wernt no words in it.
I gone after him and cawt him. He ternt his face to me it wer all bloody and blood stil running out of where his eyes ben.
He said, ‘Is that you Riddley?’
I said, ‘Yes its me Im here.’
He said, ‘Wil you stay with me now?’
I said, ‘Yes I wil Iwl stay with you its all right now.’
He musve ben in terbel pain but he stoppt his moaning and his crying then he gone all qwyet. Every 1 else wer qwyet too all of them wer looking at him like he wer magic now theyd made him blyn.
Goodparley said to me, ‘Tut me in front of them wil you please. Put me in front of the new Goodparley.’
I led him over and he poyntit to his blyn and bloody face and said to Orfing, ‘This for you and what for me?’
Orfing said, ‘You know that wernt for me Abel that jus happent befor I cud stop it.’ Lissening to him I cudnt help noatising how ful fed he soundit. He said, ‘Whats your asking?’
Goodparley said, ‘Plomercy Erny I aint asking nothing only jus a littl Plomercy.’
Ording said, ‘Wel what is it Abel?’
Goodparley said, ‘Im broakin now Erny there aint no fight lef in me I jus only want to live qwyet wil you give me letshow?’
Orfing said, ‘You mean you want to go on showing Eusa?’
Goodparley said, ‘O no Erny Eusa is the Mincery show its the Pry Mincers show I wunt even ask to do no shadder mincer show o no not me I aint even arper sitting now.’ He reacht in to my pockit and got that old blackent Punch figger on his han. He begun to zant him a bout and saying, ‘Ah putcha putcha putcha. Ah putcha putcha way.’ Terning his bloody face to Orfing and he said, ‘Its jus only a fun figger Erny it wont be nothing only show for meat roading 1 place to a nother with Riddley here to lead me.’
It wer the terbeles strange thing how he wer then it got to me moren the moaning and the crying. He wer swaying back and forit wylst he talkit so easy them bleading woons musve ben tharbing like the sea pounding on the stoans. It seamt like hed come pas the werst now jus in them littl few minims hed come to a qwyet place where he wer man a nuff for any thing.
Orfing said, ‘Abel you cudnt run a fun show to save your life. If I put you on the road with a fit up that figger on your hans going to come the shadder mincer to Eusa and wel you know it.’
Goodparley said, ‘Wel Erny are you afeart Iwl do a better show nor Eusa are you afeart Iwl bring down your Mincery with Punch? Are you afeart 1 poor old broakin blyn mans going to come the upper of your hoap and your tree? Erny dont you have no balls at all?’
Orfing said, ‘All right Abel this is where weve come to now and wewl see where we come to after this. Iwl give you letshow for that fun figger only you wont be showing Eusa no mor Iwl have a drop or 2 mor of your blood Im putting the down stroak on your scar.’
Goodparley larft then he said, ‘O youre a careful 1 Erny youre afeart Iwl sly a roun making Eusa say the wrong things are you.’
Orfing said, ‘You jus mynd what I say Abel dont stress me now dont strain me.’
Goodparley said, ‘Iwl be careful not to do that Erny I realy wil.’ He opent his anrack and pult up his jumper and his vesses then. ‘Here we go Erny,’ he said. ‘Take your littl knife and put the Z to my E.’
Which he steppit up to Orfing then with all them Eusa faces looking on and his hevvys from wester day. The Ardship now when he lissent to Goodparley you cud see even with his no eyes face he wer lissening him diffrent. The Ardship never ben afeart of Goodparley when Goodparley ben Pry Mincer but he wer afeart of him now. The woal lot of them wer that littl bit afeart they sust theyd put some kynd of Power in him when they blyndit him.
There wer Goodparley with his belly uncovert agen the same as when I took my scar from him. Which the scab wernt even off my E it wer only 4 days back I took that scar. Which the wood slid out from unner me that nite and I had to grab him and he said, ‘Take that for a blip.’ There wer them jynt shadders wivvering and wayvering. Orfings han with the knife poyntit at Goodparleys belly.
Theres words for down stroaking a scar as wel as putting 1 on. Orfing said, ‘Wheres Eusa?’
Goodparley said, ‘Hes gone from my belly like Im gone from his hart.’
Orfing said, ‘Dont lissen for his voyce in you no mor.’
Goodparley said, ‘Iwl have the sylents I know that.’
Orfing said, ‘Dont talk for him out of your m
emberment. You cant talk for Eusa now hes going a head and leaving you behynt.’
Goodparley said, ‘I know that I know Im the 1 whats lef.’
Orfing said, ‘Its E to Z then.’
Goodparley said, ‘My blame my shame.’
Orfing cut the down stroak then. Goodparley took some mud off his boots and prest it in to the cut he said, ‘Inland be my healing.’
Orfing said, ‘That aint in the wording.’
Goodparley said, ‘It is now.’
Then we wer outside in the rain and the dark and Goodparley with a bloody clout roun his head. In my mynd I cud stil see that ax shyning and dantsing in the candL lite I wer a littl bit snuck wed come out of there a live. The handl of that ax ben what they blyndit him with. It all happent so fas and now there I wer with blyn Goodparley took on me. When I said Iwd stay with him I never give no thot to how long. A mooning? A year? The res of his life? I took his fit up on my back. The littl man all ways carrys the fit up the big 1 is the hevvy.
Goodparley said, ‘Let me carry the fit up Riddley its me as put this woal thing on our backs.’
I said, ‘Its me as took it on with you.’
He said, ‘Dont you see it aint going to hevvy me down its going to hoi me up.’
I let him take the fit up and I took his bundel. Here come the Bernt Arse pack then with the black leader. Goodparley said, ‘I aint ben this close to dogs this long time.’
I said, ‘You myswel get use to it theyre the onlyes hevvys weve got.’
He said, ‘I dint noatis them doing no hevvying in there jus a littl wyl back.’
I said, ‘I think they knowit bettern to get ther selfs trappt in there.’ What I wer thinking tho it cud wel be them dogs wunt come in with Goodparley til hed paid some thing. They had ther oan progams.
We headit out of Fork Stoan going Norf. Goodparley said, ‘Where we going?’
I said, ‘You tol me Granser done healing and curing.’
He said, ‘Gransers dead.’
I said, ‘No he aint hes berning chard coal in the aulders acrost the rivver from Good Mercy. He tol me to tel you he wer Drop John the Foller Man.’
Goodparley dint say nothing to that he wer qwyet for a long time. Jus walking a long keaping nexy but not holding on to me. In the dark I cud see the clout roun his head moving he wer shaking his head and tsissing thru his teef. Finely he said, ‘O yes why not. Why not him a live and riding my hump. I stuck that knife in him and I run. Looks like I dint have it in me to finish him. May be I never had it in me to start my self nyther.’
I said, ‘No 1 never starts his self.’
He said, ‘Yes they do. You dont start the life in you thats like a rivver running in you stil there comes a time when you push your oan boat out in to the middl of it.’
I said, ‘Or you put your self on the road to the hart of the wud.’
He said, ‘How dyou spel that?’
I said, ‘W-u-d.’
He said, ‘You think this is the road to the hart of my wud? You think I put my self on it?’
I said, ‘Seams like it dunnit. Them as ben progammit to bring you down you let them run luce til they done it. Thinking on it now you musve knowit Orfing ben ready to try it 1 way or a nother.’
He said, ‘Yes its funny how youwl do. I dont think I ever beleavit I wer man a nuff for what I wer. For Pry Mincer. Time that yellerboy stoan come in to Fork Stoan being Goodparley wer a hevvyness I wer pernear ready to put down. I dint have my hart in it no mor. I cudnt keap thinking on all them things you have to keap thinking on if youre going to stay on top. Time Id put Orfing on the road to Cambry and Lissener headit the same I musve ben perwel ready to let it happen. After you gone to Cambry this morning I thunk on it and I knowit I bes have a nother look at things in Fork Stoan. Id lef hevvys there to help the qwirys on them other bloaks what ben beckoning that boat only I hadnt stoppit to see to it my self. Wel I shudve knowit them hevvys all ben in it to gether and Orfing ready to take over with them. I had Belnot Phist in my mynd poor littl bloak.’
I said, ‘I dont think he knowit nothing of it nor I dont think them Fork Stoan hevvys ben beckoning. Theywdve ben looking a woal lot sharper a long that shoar if they ben waiting on a boat with all the storm there ben that nite. May be that bloak in the boat bint even heading for Inland may be he jus ben blowt here.’
Goodparley said, ‘Wel may be. Any how it dont matter now. That yeller boy is luce now and ½ of it with us.’
I said, ‘All that what you said about the Punch show wer that jus to get the yellerboy stoan out of there?’
He said, ‘No it wernt. I wantit to hoi on to it the same as you but what I said about the Punch show wer strait it jus happent youd put the 2 of them to gether.’
I said, ‘Theres a Power in it right a nuff look how it made the 2 of us get it a way from them others.’
Goodparley said, ‘O wel you cant help trying to shortin the odds longs youre a live but Im so tiret Riddley. Too many Drop Johns on me by now. After a wyl its all jus 1 girt big Littl Shyning Man nor you cant put him to gether. O them dretful Eusa faces. Wel Orfing he ben all ways fealing bad for them now heres his chance to make it right with them. Granser Drop Johning me and all. Wel why not. The old man never dyd nor the boy never be come a man. Every thing is stil where it wer may be when I grow up Iwl be Pry Mincer.’
On we gone roading thru the dark and rain roading for the aulders and the chard coal berning. In your mynd places be come the name of what happent in them. Like Iwd say in my mynd ‘befor Cambry’ or ‘after Cambry’ meaning befor or after what happent there. Thinking on the aulders it wer a jumbl of words and picters all mixt up. All kynds of diffrent things in it when I said ‘the aulders’ in my head. Like what the Ardshipd said about his dead father: ‘I can feal him in me when its moving I can feal him in me when its stil.’ Why that? May be becaws the aulders put me in mynd of seed of the berning and hart of the chyld. The berning chyld and the dead father may be its all 1 thing. And Goodparley trying all them long years to man for his self that wer part of it the same. With Granser and the bloody meat and boan.
So roading thru that rainy dark my mynd wer saying to its self: Now for the aulders. Saying the name of what wer going to be yet not knowing what itwd be. Jus saying that over and over: Now for the aulders.
We wernt doing no mor talking we sunk in to a sylents. It wer slow going Goodparley wernt up to much by then. Hed had like a hy after they blyndit him. Hy on stil being a live nor not being Pry Mincer no Mor. Hy in some kynd of way on being blyn. Ice that begun to wear off he be come a plain woondit man slow and herting.
Time we come over the Bundel Downs it wer broad in the day. Stil raining it wer. Looking down from the hy groun in to the aulders you cud see in to the chard coal berners fents. Smoak and steam coming up in the rain from the harts and huts all huddelt they wer crouching in the wood like girt old shaggy wet naminals sleaping. The harts with roun backs and the huts with humps. Beyont them you cud see the rivver you cud hear it running hy in the col grey rainy morning.
I cud see a littl fire going unner a littl humpy roof on poals and a chard coal berner sqwatting by it with his back to us. He stood up and ternt roun it wer Granser. We come down off the hy groun to the fents it wer jus thin poals and flimsy for easy moving made in seckshins and peggit to gether it wernt much mor solid nor a fit up you cud pernearve kickt it down and dogs cud cernlyve got unner it easy a nuff. Coarse that dint make no diffrents to Granser. I wunnert if all them chard coal berners wer dog frendy. I stood at the gate and callt, ‘Trubba not.’
Gransers face come up over the top of the fents he had his neck stretcht out and looking at us hard. He said, ‘Is that who I think it is? Is that who I ben waiting for so long?’
Goodparley said, ‘You know it is you stinking crows meat and glad you are to see me brung down aint you.’
Granser opent to us the dogs dint try to come in they rathert keap on the out side of the fents. Granser throwing his arms roun Goodparley he we
r hugging him and kissing him and muching over him he wer saying, ‘O my poor boy my poor poor boy my poor old boy.’
Goodparley said, ‘Yes you rottin old barset its your poor old boy and youre in joy of it aint you youre getting a hard on from it you filfy old thing why dint I do a parper job of it when I stuck that knife in you.’
Granser said, ‘Becaws you never wantit to kil me o no you dint want to do your old Granser dead you dint want to Drop John him you lovit your old Granser too much for that you wantit me to live. Which I knowit that and I knowit youwd come back to me 1 day my poor dear boy.’
Goodparley said, ‘Be you going to healf me or you going to stan there wanking?’
Granser said, ‘Iwl see you right dear boy you neadnt worry. Whatve they done to you whatve they done to my poor old Abel?’
Goodparley said, ‘Theyve put my eyes out Granser I cant see no mor Iwl never see nothing no mor.’ He begun to cry then.
Granser said, ‘Never you mynd Abel Iwl look out for you youre hoam now you can res easy from now on.’ He took him in to a littl hump back hut then I lef them to it and going down by the rivver for the loan of my thots.
I have to keap counting to keap it strait in my mynd what day it wer. Wel I have noats but what I mean is I have to keap counting to beleave how far I come in my life 1 day to the nex. That morning it wer the 9th day from my naming day. That day when it come that las boars tern to dy on my spear in the grey morning girzel on them very same Bundel Downs. 9 days dont soun like a long time yet I stil cudnt take in all whatd happent. Seeing that boars face in my mynd that morning in the aulders and seeing it in my mynd now I have the same thot I had then: If you cud even jus see 1 thing clear the woal of whats in it you cud see every thing clear. But you never wil get to see the woal of any thing youre all ways in the middl of it living it or moving thru it. Never mynd.
We stoppit there then with Granser in the aulders it wer a good place to ly up. Granser he dint have no crowd there he wer oansome like the chard coal berners mosly wer. The forms all ways give them road crowd and hault ther fentsing 1 cutting to a nother then they fentst them in and lef them til they finisht ther berning and ready to move on. This year the chard coal berners ben doing the 6 year cutting in the aulder coppises all up and down the rivver. They had long flat boats for the fentsing and the chard coal there wer 1 tyd up by Gransers cutting with bags of chard coal covert with hard clof. All up and down the rivver you cud see the loppt off aulders when they wer fresh cut they wer red they ternt pink after. Red wood. Red wud. Seed of the red. All ways words in things. 6 year cuttings. Which this wer a Ardship year and a cutting year boath. Every 2nd cutting yearwd all ways be 1 of them 12th years when a Pry Mincer and a Ardship gone the Fools Circel 9wys. Them aulders wer trying to tel me some thing I knowit that much.