As I Lay Dying Page #2

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Pick up! Pick up!

Watch it, Jewel!

She's backwards.

Jewel! You leave that horse

here, you hear me?

We all go in the wagon with your

Ma, like she wanted.

Not with you prancing around

like a darn circus animal on

that horse.

My mother's a fish.

Yeah. Jewel's mother's a horse.

And what's your Ma, Darl?

I ain't got one.

Why you got them tools?

'Cause I aim to stop off at

Tull's on the way home

and get that roof up on that

barn.

It ain't respectful. That's

deliberate flouting of her and

of me.

Where your sister?

What's that?

Mr. Tull's cakes.

Taking them to town, Pa.

It ain't right.

It's flouting of the dead.

And there's little enough for

you do to do for her.

What sprung hell from her own

flesh and blood.

Then go on. Leave him stay if he

wants to.

Pepper!

It's a hard country on man.

Nowhere in this sinful world

can a honest, hard-working man

profit.

It takes them that run the

stores in the towns...

doing no sweating, doing no

sweating...

living off them that sweat.

It ain't the hard-working man,

the farmer.

Sometimes I wonder why I keep at

it.

It's because there's a reward

for us above...

where they can't take their

autos and such.

Everyone will be equal there.

And it will be taken from them

that have...

and give to them that have not

by the Lord.

But it seems like a long ways.

I told them it wasn't balanced.

They should'a let me put it on a

balance.

Yeah, maybe so, but we done

waited long enough.

Especially in this heat.

Hey! Jewel!

I don't expect you to have no

respect for me...

but with your own Ma not cold in

her coffin yet.

I don't know how many times I

have to tell you--

Jewel!

I don't know how many times I

told you...

it's doing such things makes

folks talk about you.

Come on!

Darl knew. He knew this and he

knew before.

He knew the first time me and

Lafe picked on down the row.

We'd picked on down the row, the

woods getting closer and closer

and the secret shade.

Picking on into the secret shade

with my sack and Lafe's sack.

Because I said, will I or won't

I when the sack was full?

'Cause I said, if the sack's

full when we get to the woods,

then it won't be me.

I said, if it don't mean for me

to do it

the sack will not be full and I

will turn up the next row.

But if the sack is full, then I

cannot help it.

And so it was, because I could

not help it.

He was in.

And then I saw Darl, and he

knew.

He said he knew without the

words

like he told me that Ma was

gonna die without words.

And I knew he knew 'cause he

said he knew with the words.

I would not have believed that

he had been there and saw us.

But he said he did know.

And I said, "Are you gonna tell

Pa? Are you gonna kill him?"

Without the words I said it. And

he said, "Why?" without the

words

Why not admit it?

You know it's true.

Even if it's just to yourself.

The relief you feel.

You needed her to die so that

you could

go to town and get it done.

And that's why I can talk to him

with knowing and hating

'cause he knows.

Couple of days now, it'll be

smelling.

You might tell Jewel that, he'd

like to hear it.

It ain't balanced for no long

ride neither.

You can tell him that, too.

We're going to use your bridge!

Bridge is out!

Louder!

The bridge is out!

We'll be all right.

How about use the one across at

Samson's?

Yeah.

That bridge is gone.

Like this?

Worse. It's gone entire.

What now?

I guess we ford here.

If it was just up, we could

drive across.

We could just drive right on

across it.

That's where the ford was.

That don't show nothing.

That could be a bar of quicksand

built up there.

Mr. Wheatfield crossed it.

On horseback. Two days ago.

It's raised five foot since

then.

Mr. Wheatfield crossed it.

If the bridge was just up.

But it's not, is it?

I bet you a careful fella could

walk across on those planks and

those logs.

Yeah, but you ain't gonna tote

nothing.

Likely you put a foot on that

mess, the whole thing go too.

I gave her my promised word in

the presence of the Lord.

I reckon it'll cross fine.

It probably start falling come

the night.

You can lay over a day.

You should get the hell back to

your own damn plowing.

Ain't nobody asked you to follow

us here.

Never meant no harm.

Why don't you shut up, Jewel.

Yeah, shut up, Jewel.

What you wanna do?

If the bridge was just up, we

could drive across it.

What you say, Cash?

Dewey Dell and Vardaman and

Pa...

they all better walk across on

foot.

He's right. Vernon can help

them.

Come on.

You go with them.

We'll go on down the ford, meet

you on the other side.

I don't advise it.

Come on, Vardaman.

I gave her my word!

It is sacred on me.

I know you begrudge it...

but she will bless you in

heaven.

This is fool's work. Y'all

should'a laid over a day.

Water's gonna go down, ain't

gonna rain no more.

Surely ain't gonna get no

higher.

It's the turning back. It ain't

no luck in turning back.

I give her my word. She's a-

counting on it.

The dark current runs.

Talks up to us in a murmur...

become ceaseless and myriad.

Fading swirls move along the

surface for an instant...

silent, impermanent...

profoundly significant...

as though something just beneath

the surface...

huge and alive...

was waked for a moment.

I reckon we're still on the

road.

Tull taken and cut down those

two big white oaks.

I hear tell, at high water in

the old days...

people used to ford by those

trees.

If I'd suspicioned it, I coulda

come out here last week

and taken sight of it.

There's no way we coulda knowed.

What do you want me to do?

All right, I'm gonna go on

ahead...

and y'all just follow where I

am, okay?

I ain't gonna let nothing

happen to you. okay.

It's just you and me. I ain't

gonna let nothing happen to you.

Come on. Come on.

Come on. Come on now.

Guys! This way!

Guys, here! The ford is over

here!

This is it, Jewel! Right here!

Wait! Jewel, wait!

It ain't on a balance!

Well, then go back and walk on

the goddamn bridge, both you and

Darl! You let me on that!

Ride back and cross, too! Walk

across the bridge...

and meet us on the other bank

with the rope, and then Vernon

will take your horse!

- There's some loose logs!

- Yeah, you go to hell!

Take the rope around the other

bank!

Three ain't no better than two.

We got one to drive and one to

balance.

I don't care what we do just so

long as we do something!

Sitting here not doing a goddamn

thing!

Take the rope and meet us on the

other side! Can you do that

jewel?

You might as well hop off now

and go across the bridge, too,

if you want.

I'll stay. Might take two of us.

Watch yourself!

I'm on it! Come on!

Come on! Come on then, you can

come to me, all right?

Come on!

Watch it! Log!

Jewel! Let the rope go!

Go! Go!

I used to hear the dark land

talking God's love...

His beauty and His sin.

Hearing the dark voicelessness

in which words are deeds

and the other words that are not

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