Outer Dark(40)

When he woke it was growing late and he could see the ferry on the river. What woke him was a horse and when he turned to look there was a man at the landing holding the reins while the horse drank in the river. Holme rose and stretched himself. Howdy, he said.

Howdy, the man said.

You goin acrost?

No, he said. He was watching the ferry.

Holme rubbed his palms together and hunched his shoulders in the cold.

He thinks I am, the rider said.

He does?

Yes. He jerked the horse’s head up and ran his palm along its neck. You reckon that’s half way, he said.

What’s that? Holme said.

The man pointed. The ferry yander. You reckon she’s half way here?

Holme watched the ferry coming quarterwise toward them with the snarl of water breaking on the upriver side of her hull. Yes, he said. I allow he’s a bit nigher here than yander.

That’s right, the man said. Hard to tell where half way is on a river unless you’re in the middle of it. He pulled the horse’s head around and put one toe in the stirrup and mounted upward all in one motion and went back up the road in a mudsucking canter.

The ferry was the size of a small keelboat. It slowed in the slack shore currents and nosed easily into the mud. The ferryman was standing on the forward deck adjusting the ropes.

Howdy, Holme said.

You still cain’t cross. You a friend of that son of a bitch?

Him? No. I was asleep and he come up.

I’m fixin to get me one of them spyglasses anyways, the ferryman said. He came from the barge deck with a little hop and seized up nearly to his knees in the soft mud and cursed and kicked his boots about and made his way to the higher ground. Yes, he said. One of them spyglasses put a stop to that old shit. He was raking his boots in the grass to clean them. He wore a little leather vest and a strange sort of hat that appeared vaguely nautical. Holme chewed on a weed and watched him.

Little old spyglass be just the thing to fix him with, the man said.

What all does he do? Holme said.

The ferryman looked at him. Do? he said. You seen him. Just like that. He does it all the time. Been doin it for two year now. All on account of a little argument. Sends his old lady over to Morgan for him. I ort by rights to quit haulin her fat ass.

Holme nodded his head vaguely.

So anyway you still cain’t cross till I get a horse.

All right, Holme said.

People is just a dime. Horses is four bits.

All right.

I cain’t afford to make no crossin for no dime.

No. How long do ye reckon it’ll be afore a horse comes?

I couldn’t say, mister.

I ain’t seen many people usin this road.

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t. It was busy yesterday evenin. I ain’t never been more’n a day or two without somebody come along.

Day or two? Holme said.

They be somebody along directly.

I sure would hate to have to wait any day or two.

They ort to be somebody along directly.

It’s nigh dark now, Holme said.

They come of a night same as they do of a day, the ferryman said. It’s all the same to me. You goin to Morgan?

If it’s yan side of this river and in the road I’m goin thew it.

Good little old town, Morgan. Say you ain’t never been there?

No, Holme said.

Good little old town, the ferryman said again. He squatted in the grass, looking out over the river. Say you don’t aim to lay over there?

No, Holme said. I don’t reckon.

Well, I don’t ast nobody their business.

Holme sat and crossed the boots before him. He plucked a grass stem and fashioned a loop in one end. It was growing dark rapidly. The river hissing blackly past the landing seemed endowed with heavy reptilian life.

She’s still risin, the ferryman said

Yes.

Say you just goin thew Morgan?

I don’t know, Holme said. They any work there?

The ferryman spat and wiped his mouth on his knee. What sort of work? he said.

I don’t know, Holme said. He knotted the stem and snapped it. I ain’t choicey.

You ain’t got nary trade?

No.

I don’t know. Might find somethin. Nice enough little old town, Morgan.

Is that your home?

Yep. Borned and raised there. My daddy built this here ferry. I guess you come from over in Clayton County.

No, Holme said.

He could no longer see the ferryman’s face and the ferryman didn’t say anything for a while. With the dark the river grew louder and Holme wondered if the water was rising or if it was just the dark.

She runs just on the current I reckon you noticed, the ferryman said.

What?

I said she runs on the current if you’ve not seen such a ferry afore.

No, Holme said. I ain’t.

I allowed maybe you’d not. What you do is you snug up the front and let out the back on a loose line so she noses upriver and the water just pushes her right acrost. Then when ye want to come back you just loose up the snug end and snug up the loose and here she comes.