I said, “And yet you know may be weve boath got it wrong. May be Goodparley aint on to us may be Belnot Phist dont have a thot in the worl agenst Goodparley may be the bes thing is jus vack our wayt over the border in to Outland and take our chance there.”
Lissener said, “You can do what you like moon brother but my peopl ben the Power Leat when Goodparleys peopl ben the maggits in the iron. My peopl ben the 1s as bilt the Power Ring and sent the air boats out beyont the sarvering gallack seas. He aint nothing only rottinness growt out of rottinness nor I aint leaving Inland to him jus yet.”
Wel I wernt realy too kean to split up I wernt realy on for what I wer getting in to. When I gone over the fents at Widders Dump it ben jus me throwing my self in to the black and taking my chance what it myt do with me. Swaller me up or spit me out I dint care I dint have no 1 on my back only my self. Only my self! Looking at them words going down on this paper right this minim I know there aint no such thing there aint no only my self you all ways have every 1 and every thing on your back. Them as stood and them as run time back way back long long time they had me on ther back if they knowit or if they dint. I had Lissener on my back plus a woal lot moren him I cudnt even say what all it wer and mor and mor I wer afeart it wer coming to some thing I wernt going to be hevvy a nuff for.
I said, “I know you all ways say every 1 goes in to every thing blyn but you know if you go in to Cambry oansome you aint got the same chance as a bloak with eyes.”
Lissener said, “You know and I know Ive parbly got a better chance so dont try to bul shit your self out of it if youre afeart to go jus say it strait.”
I said, “Im afeart and Iwl go but we myswel road on to gether a littl way yet. Iwl fork off in a few faggers.”
He said, “Lissen me now Riddley we dont have no minims to spare. The sooner you piss off out of here the sooner Phistwl have them stoans working for us.”
There wernt no mor to say about it. We boath knowit cud jus as wel be arga warga at boath ends. I said, “Im off then. The sooner I get to Phist the sooner Iwl get back to where you are.”
He said, “Good Luck moon brother.”
I said, “Good Luck to you the same.” O I dint want to leave him. We huggit each other and I ternt to go. The black leader bumpt his sholder agenst my leg. I dint even want to think if any dogs wer coming with me or not I wer progamming to go it oansome what ever. Soons I movit off tho the 2 nexter dogs movit with me and it lookit like ½ the pack follert on behynt so I wernt qwite oansome in the worl after all.
Lissener gone Norf and Wes tords Cambry then and I gone Wes and Norf tords Widders Dump. For a wyl I dint hardly know which 1 of us I wer with. I knowit I wer Riddley Walker heading for Widders Dump but I wer mor with Lissener heading for Cambry. I never ben there I never ben no closern the Ring Ditch yet I cud feal it coming closer to me with every step I took the other way. No 1 uses the old place names now they ben unspoak this long time but mos of them are stil there in the places. You know Cambry ben Canterbury in moufs long gone. Canterbury. It has a zanting in it like a tall man dantsing and time back there ben foun there girt big music pipes as big as fents poals peopl said. You try to think of how it musve soundit when the Power Ring ben there and working not jus crummelt stannings and a ditch. It musve ben some girt jynt thing hy hy up and with a shyning and a flashing to it time back way back when they had boats in the air and all the res of it. Did it woosh and hum or ben it dumming and beating like the hart of the worl and what ben the music come out of them pipes? You dont know nor you wont never know. You can feal how there ben Power there. You go down 1 side of the Ring Ditch and up the other side you can feal it in your knees how youre walking tremmery and you can feal it in your belly. Feal it hy hy over you and overing you. Old foller in the air the after blip and fading of what ben. Fading fading dwindling on the air but the fading and the dwindl sending out ther sylents roun and roun that circel never slowing to a stilness. Wel realy there aint no stilness any where is there. Not 1ce you begin to take noatis.
