Riddley Walker

We took up the slack then Straiter Empy give the syn and Chalker Marchman the Widders Dump 1stman chanting us on:

Gone ter morrer here to day
Pick it up and walk a way
Dont you know greaf and woe
Pick it up its time to go
Greaf and woe dont you know
Pick it up its time to go

Roun we gone with the roap winching in and the A frame taking the strain. Straiter Empy and Skyway Moaters leavering the girt thing wylst we wincht and Dad and Leaster Digman working the sling unner.

London Town is drownt this day Hear me say walk a way
Sling your bundel tern and go Parments in the mud you
know Greaf and woe dont you know Pick it up its time
to go

Weals creaking stoppers knocking 32 legs going. The roap gone iron hard and the girt big thing coming up out of the muck all black and rottin unner the grey sky. A crow going over and it had the right of us.

Dad and me looking up at the crow. I knowit that crow wer going to say some thing unner that grey sky. I knowit that crow wer going to tel.

The crow yelt, “Fall! Fall! Fall!” I dont know if I wer falling befor he said that or not. The treadls wer wet and slippy but I had a good grip on the railing any how I thot I did. But there I wer with my feet gone out from unner me and nothing in my han. Falling I wer I knockt Durster Potter and Jobber Easting luce and they grabbit me they dint have nothing else to hol on to. Fister Crunchman cawt my arm only the railing he had holt of with his other han come a way in his han and off he gone with the res of us. I cud see in my mynd how funny it musve lookit I wer near larfing with it only I seen that weal going backards and I heard some thing tear luce it wer the stoppers 2 on each weal all 4 gone whanging off. Boath weals screachit and the 4 bloaks on the out side of the other weal shot off tords the hoal like stoans out of a sling. Wel it wen the load took charge and SPLOOSH! Down it come that girt big thing it made a jynt splosh and black muck going up slow and hy in to the air. That girt old black machine fel back in to the muck with my dad unner neath of it. It all happent so fas the crow wer sill in site he larft then. “Haw! Haw! Haw!” and off he flappit.

We pickt our selfs up then all but 1 of us. The roap wer sill fas to the girt big thing. We all got on that roap then we dint use the weal winch only the A frame and the pullys. Chalker Manchman chanting us on the strait pul:

Heard it and the news of 10
Sling your bundel haul agen
Haul agen and hump your load
Every bodys on the road

We shiffit the thing and got Dad out from unner. Parbly it kilt him soons it come down on him he dint have no time to drown in the muck. He wer all smasht up you cudnt tel whose face it ben it mytve ben any bodys.

I begun to clym all over that thing then. That girt big black thing. I wen looking to see if it had a name stampt in or raisd up in the iron of it like them things do some times. It had a shel of old muck stoan hard unner the new muck tho nor I cudnt fynd no name.

Every 1 wer saying, “What is it Riddley whatre you doing?” I said, “My dad ben kilt by some thing I dont even know the name of aint that a larf.” I begun larfing then I cudnt stop.

They let me have my larfing out but I wer stil wanting some thing some kynd of las word some kynd of onwith. If I wernt going to get it from Dad at leas I wantit some thing for onwith even if it wernt nothing only the name of that girt black thing what smasht him flat so you cudnt even tel whose face it ben. I said that to Fister Crunchman.

He said, “You look at your dads face Riddley thats what Widders Dump done to him theres your onwith.”

I said, “It wernt Widders Dump done it to him it wer me I los my footing and I pult you with me. It wer me made the woal of us lose our perchis.”

Fister said, “That load wer too much for that weal. It wernt us falling kilt your dad it wer the stoppers coming luce and the weal took charge.”

Straiter Empy said, “Fisters right it wer too much of a load for that weal.”

Chalker Marchman said to Straiter, “It wer you lot put it on the weal. All I tol you wer to get that thing out of the hoal. You cudve draggit cudnt you I never give you the do it for the weal. Any how that weal wudve ben all right if youd had a nuff hevvyness on it and kep your hevvyness where it ben meant to be.”

Straiter said, “Widders Dumpwl give comping station for Brooder Walker tho youwl do that much wont you.”

Chalker Marchman said, “O yes wewl sen Reckman Bessup with it hewl road back to fents with you.”