Any how when nite come on I put Greanvine back in his hidey hoal and my self on the road to Fork Stoan.
It come on to rain I dint mynd that I like the rain plus by then I wer out path myndit. Put me on a muddy track in a black nite with the rain pissing down and I wer hoam.
Roading with them dogs thru the dark it wer like I wer in a diffrent country from the res of Inland. Every 1 else the formers and them what jobbit or foragit or what ever they had the country of the day time. That same country I use to go in. In the day time there wer all ways things coming up in front of your eyes. In the nite you cud may be see other things. Other ways.
I stil aint qwite said how it wer. Not like a diffrent country. It wer mor like I wer behynt the back clof in a show. Thats how it wer. Thru the clof I cud see the other figgers moving I cud see the peopl watching only no 1 cud see me. If I wer a figger in a show what hand wer moving me then? I cudnt be bothert to think on that right then. Theres all ways some thingwl be moving you if it aint 1 thing its a nother you cant help that.
Fealing that black leader bumping agenst me roading thru the hispering rain and dark and Fork Stoan coming closer and closer. Nor I dint realy want to think about it. Dint want to get in front of my self. I cudnt lissen what wer happening but I cud lissen wel a nuff there
It wer stil fresh in my mynd from the nite befor I cudnt keap my mynd from showing me that big space with the girt sleaping machines in it. I cud see figgers moving in that space and then jynt shadders wivvering and wayvering all roun. Not wanting to see no faces til I had to.
Closer closer the rain hispering down on the old stoans and my new foot steps going on top of my old 1s. Trying to lissen and not lissen boath at 1ce. Knowing the Ardship mus be lissening me as wel.
Closer and closer. No lookouts on the steps it wer like they wantit any body to come in as wantit to. There I wer then. By then I knowit what I wer going to see befor I seen it jus by lissening the regler way. The dogs helt back only the black leader come forit with me.
They had Goodparley hung up by his hans tyd behynt him sames hed hung up Belnot Phist. I thot I wer going to vomit when I seen that. It wer like that torcher wer all ways waiting and sooner or later every 1 wer going to have a tern. I cud feal it like it wer happening to me I cud feal my hevvyness pulling my arms out of ther sockits.
Goodparley wer twissing and terning on that roap he wer pulling up his feet like he thot he cud stan on air and ease his arms. There wer some twissit iron beams sticking out of the wall by them girt broakin machines theyd past the roap over 1 of them. There he hung and ternt and twissit and his jynt shadder twissing and terning with him and him crying and moaning with his head hung down.
Orfing and his hevvys looking on. The Ardship and the Eusa folk looking on as wel. Faces like bad dreams. Faces with 3 eyes and no nose. Faces with 1 eye and a snout. Humps on backs and hans growing out of sholders wer the leas of it they had every kynd of crookitness and ther shapes and shadders wivvering and wayvering on the wall with the shadder of Goodparley twissing and terning.
The black leader he laid back his ears and poyntit his nose up at the shadders and he begun to howl. Some of the hevvys uppit bow but the black leader stayd where he wer.
Orfing said, “Down bows.” Which they done.
I said, “What is it you want from him?”
The Ardship said, “I want to hear him sing like that its a good soun to lissen to.”
I said, “Orfing whyve you hung him up like that?”
Orfing said, “I aint Orfing no mor Im Goodparley now.”
I said, “Whats Goodparley then is he Orfing now?”
Orfing said, “He aint nothing no mor.”
I said, “Then whyve you got him hung up whynt you let him go?”
Orfing said, “Now you know he aint a bloak you can jus let go of. Tern him luce and hewl be binsyern ever. He cant live qwyet you know hes all ways got to be doing and moving.”
I said, “Stil you dont have to hang him up do you?”
The Ardship said, “O yes we do we have to hang him up sames he hung up my father we have to hang him up the sames he wer going to do me.”
Goodparley said, “Riddley dont you look at me like this o please dont look at me this aint me youre seeing this aint me no mor.”
The Ardship said, “O yes it is and its the reales part of you. Its the Littl Shyning Man of you innit. Which thats what you ben looking for this long time Ive heard you say that times a nuff.”
